Key Organisations in Australian Education
ACARA, AITSL, TEQSA, state education departments — the bodies that shape schooling in Australia and what each one does.
When you're trying to navigate an issue at your child's school — a dispute about support, questions about curriculum, concerns about a teacher — knowing which organisation is responsible for what matters enormously. The Australian education system divides responsibility between federal and state bodies in ways that are not obvious from the outside. Here is the map.
ACARA — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
ACARA is the federal statutory body that does three things: develops and maintains the Australian Curriculum (F–10), administers the NAPLAN assessment program, and publishes the My School reporting website. It does not run schools. It does not employ teachers. It does not regulate school standards.
If you have questions about the curriculum content your child should be studying, or about how NAPLAN data is reported, ACARA is the relevant body. If you have a complaint about a school or a teacher, ACARA is not.
State and territory education departments
Each state and territory runs its own government school system, and this is where most day-to-day accountability sits. The NSW Department of Education, the Victorian Department of Education, Queensland's Department of Education, and so on are responsible for: setting state curriculum (which adapts the national curriculum), employing and registering teachers in government schools, managing enrolment zones and policies, and handling complaints about government schools.
If you have a serious concern about a government school that the principal cannot resolve, your state education department's relevant complaints or parent engagement team is the escalation path.
AITSL — Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
AITSL sets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers — the framework that defines what teachers at Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished, and Lead levels need to know and be able to do. It also manages the certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teacher status nationally.
AITSL is not a complaints body. It does not investigate individual teacher misconduct (that sits with state teacher registration boards). What it produces is the professional framework that all teacher registration and accreditation builds from.
State teacher registration authorities
Every state and territory has a body responsible for registering teachers to practise — NESA in NSW, VIT in Victoria, QCT in Queensland, TRB in WA, and equivalents elsewhere. These bodies set registration requirements, can suspend or cancel teacher registration, and investigate complaints about teacher conduct. If you have a serious concern about a specific teacher that the school cannot or will not address, the state registration authority is the appropriate external escalation.
Catholic education authorities
Catholic systemic schools are governed by diocesan Catholic Education bodies (e.g., Catholic Education Diocese of Broken Bay, Catholic Education Melbourne, Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese). These operate independently of state education departments, set their own staffing and policy framework within the Australian curriculum, and have their own complaints processes. If you're enrolled in a Catholic school and have an unresolved concern, the relevant diocesan body is the escalation path.
ACECQA — Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority
Regulates early childhood education and care services — long day care, family day care, preschool, and kindergarten (before formal schooling). Relevant for families with children under school age, but not for primary or secondary school issues.
TEQSA — Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
Regulates universities and other higher education providers. Relevant only when your child is making decisions about post-secondary study, not for primary or secondary schooling.