School choice in Australia: A contextual framework for understanding market-oriented policies and incentives

Mark Wood and Michael C. Nagel
University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia

The Australian P-12 education system is underpinned by a set of market-oriented policies, frameworks, and incentives that seek to provide parents with a choice of schools. One choice parents can make is the sector of schooling they send their children to, with two common options being State schools or non-Government schools. In the Australian context, non-Government schools comprise Catholic and Independent schools. Over the past several decades the proportion of students attending State schools has steadily decreased, while the proportion of students attending non-Government schools has been increasing. Since 2020, this trend has accelerated (ABS, 2025). The demographic data on this phenomenon is clear; however it is unclear why parents are increasingly choosing to send their children to non-Government schools, as contemporary, peer-reviewed Australian research on this topic is scarce (Larsen, 2024). This article examines the historical and political context that has contributed to this phenomenon, presenting the available literature on this important topic as a contextual framework for an ongoing research project.
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Authors: Mr Mark Wood is currently pursuing a Master of Education by Research at the University of the Sunshine Coast. His research focuses on the decision-making processes of parents who choose to enrol their children in non-Government schools. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3376-5302 Email: mwood@usc.edu.au Associate Professor Michael C. Nagel is an Associate Professor in Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast. His research and teaching interests extend across a number of areas, but focus primarily on human development and the psychology of learning. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6596-8491 Email: mnagel@usc.edu.au Please cite as: Wood, M. & Nagel, M. C. (2026). School choice in Australia: A contextual framework for understanding market-oriented policies and incentives. Issues in Educational Research, 36(1), 375-391. http://www.iier.org.au/iier36/wood.pdf