Public and Private Education in Australia

Education in Australia is sometimes divided into two categories - public and private.


Primary/Secondary

These public schools educate the majority of primary and secondary age school children. The costs associated with this are borne by the relevant State or Territory government.

These schools normally operate under a curriculum standards framework and students are required to wear uniform.


Government schools

These schools are run by their respective state governments. They charge minimal fees and admit students on either an open or selective basis. The open schools admit all students from their defined catchment area and provide a curriculum under the CSF.

The selective schools are normally for gifted students. They normally have higher entrance requirements and a larger area of operation.

Private

Private schools are sometimes operated by religious denominations such as the Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic faiths. There are also a number of other church based low fee schools.

The Catholic schools are by far the most numerous and they operate under their respective Catholic Departments of Education, Some of these schools exercise more independence in their day to day operations.

There are also independent schools comprising mostly Protestant Grammar schools. Besides this, the Jewish and Islamic faiths also operate their own schools and there are also independent Montessori schools.


Tertiary

As of 2006, there are 36 public, 2 Catholic and one private university in Australia. Admission to public and Catholic universities is primarily on the basis of academic achievement. Bond University, a commercial university, admits students primarily based on their ability to pay tuition fees.

The public universities are increasingly following Bond's lead. In fact, Melbourne University Private (MUP) is a totally commercial operation that is operated by the publicly owned Melbourne University and which operates under the Bond model.