Introduction

Preschool Preschool education in Australia
Preschool and pre-prep programmes in Australia are relatively unregulated, and are not compulsory. The first exposure many Australian children have to learning with others outside of traditional parenting is day care or a parent-run playgroup. This sort of activity is not generally considered schooling, as preschool education is separate from primary school in all states and territories, except Western Australia where pre-school education is taught as part of the primary school system and Victoria where the state framework, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) covers children from birth to 8 years old, is used by some schools over the national framework. In Queensland, preschool programmes are often called Kindergarten or Pre-Prep, and are usually privately run but attract state government funding if run for at least 600 hours a year and delivered by a registered teacher.

Preschools are usually run by the state and territory governments, except in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales where they are more often run by local councils, community groups or private organisations.[36] Preschool is offered to three- to five-year-olds; attendance numbers vary widely between the states, but 85.7% of children attended pre-school the year before school. The year before a child is due to attend primary school is the main year[clarification needed] for pre-school education. This year is far more commonly attended, and may take the form of a few hours of activity during weekdays.

Primary and secondary education
People attending a primary school as a percentage of the local population at the 2011 census, geographically subdivided by statistical local area

People attending secondary school as a percentage of the local population at the 2011 census, geographically subdivided by statistical local area
There are 10,584 registered schools operating in Australia in 2019 of which 7,092 were government schools.[41] As of 2019, government schools educated 65.4% of all students. In 2017, there were just under 282,000 teachers in Australian primary and secondary schools. Of the non-government schools, nearly two-thirds were Catholic schools. The major part of government run schools' costs are met by the relevant state or territory government.The Australian Government provides the majority of public funding for non-government schools, which is supplemented by states and territories.

Non-government schools, both religious or secular typically charge compulsory tuition and other fees. Government schools provide education without compulsory tuition fees, although many government schools ask for payment of 'voluntary' fees to defray particular expenses.

Regardless of whether a school is government or non-government, it is regulated by the same curriculum standards framework. The framework is administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Most schools require students to wear prescribed school uniforms. A school year in Australia starts in January and finishes in December.

Provider of school education to international students
Main article: International students in Australia
Not to be confused with International school.
In Australia, a student is considered as an international student if he/she studies at an approved educational institution and he/she is not an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, New Zealand citizen, or a holder of an Australian permanent resident humanitarian visa. Under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth), the Australian Government regulates the delivery of school and tertiary education to international students who are granted a student visa to study in Australia. The government maintains the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and, as of 2018, there were 396 school providers with an overall approved capacity of 88,285 students.:6 While Australia as an education destination showed strong and sustained growth over many years, as of June 2019, school-based education fell by three percent for the year, and represented approximately three percent of all international student enrolments; with tertiary education, vocational education and training, and English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS)comprised 93 percent of all enrolments and recorded 21 percent annual growth.