Senate inquiry · The National Trend of School Refusal (2023)
Where are we at?
14 recommendations. None clearly done.
In 2023 a Senate inquiry into "school can't" — school refusal — made 14 recommendations. The Australian Government responded in April 2024. Two years on, this is a plain-language scorecard of where they stand, and which government is actually responsible for each. We offer it constructively, to help an inquiry's findings reach families.
◷ Government response April 2024 · this scorecard reflects the public evidence at July 2026The headline
How the 14 recommendations stand
The Government noted 12 of the 14 and supported just two "in principle" — largely because schools are run by the states. Here's our read of where delivery actually sits.
(see the AERO note)
Source: Australian Government response to the Senate inquiry, 11 April 2024 (12 recommendations noted; Recommendations 1 and 7 supported in principle). AERO's 2025 outputs on school attendance are titled Rapid Literature Review (Barriers to School Attendance; Interventions to Promote School Attendance), AERO, Jan 2025. Status assessments are Helen's Way's, based on the sources listed below.
The heart of it
No one government owns school refusal
The inquiry heard from families across the country and agreed the problem is real and growing. The Government agreed with almost none of the recommendations outright — not because it disputed the problem, but because responsibility is split between the Commonwealth and the states. When everyone is partly responsible, no one is answerable for the whole. That accountability gap is why so much of this scorecard reads "not known."
The Government's own framing: working "with states and territories and the non-government education sector is key to implementing effective and holistic policy improvements." (Australian Government response, April 2024)
The scorecard
All 14, and who is responsible
Each recommendation, the government it was addressed to, and where it appears to stand on the public evidence.
Task AERO with research into school refusal's drivers, prevalence and effective interventions
Why Recommendation 1 is "partial," not "delivered"
The inquiry asked Education Ministers to task AERO with research into the drivers and prevalence of school refusal in Australia and the cost and effectiveness of interventions. In January 2025 AERO published two documents each titled Rapid Literature Review, plus an explainer. A rapid literature review scans what existing studies already say — it is not new research measuring Australian prevalence or evaluating intervention effectiveness, and it did not engage the students, families and schools living school refusal. On the public record, that research has not been done.
Develop national resources on school refusal for parents, teachers and school leaders
Review child-health screening to identify autism, ADHD, learning disorders and anxiety earlier
Identify students at risk of withdrawal earlier, especially at transition points
Increase flexibility of delivery — mainstream, distance, home and alternative settings
Develop a national action plan on school refusal, informed by the AERO research
Improve awareness of school refusal in the health sector and embed it in training
Review and soften attendance messaging so it doesn't alienate families
Develop resources for trauma-informed practice in schools
Develop family-engagement resources and specialist family-engagement staff
Build schools' capacity for reasonable adjustments under the Disability Standards
Identify and promote effective education–health collaboration models
Fund an independent peer-support network / "one-stop shop" for families
Increase subsidised mental-health visits for students experiencing school refusal
Sources: Senate inquiry recommendations (2023); Australian Government response (Apr 2024); AERO school-attendance rapid literature reviews (2025); Better and Fairer Schools Agreement 2025–2034; Better Access initiative (Dept of Health). Full list below.
Who has to act
The responsibility, mapped
This is the reason so much reads "not known" — half the list belongs to eight separate state and territory systems.
Mostly the states
State & territory governments
7 recommendations · 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11
Schooling delivery, health screening, attendance practice, flexibility and reasonable adjustments. Where progress is least visible nationally.
The federal lever
The Commonwealth
5 recommendations · 2, 7, 12, 13, 14
National resources, health-sector awareness, education–health models, a funded support network, and Medicare mental-health visits. The two most tangible — 13 and 14 — are the clearest gaps.
Acting together
Education Ministers
2 recommendations · 1, 6
An AERO literature review (not the research Rec 1 sought) and a national action plan (not delivered as a standalone plan). Routed in practice into the schools agreement.
The clearest gaps
Three things that would make a difference now
Each is well within reach — and two of them the Commonwealth can act on by itself.
A dedicated national plan (Rec 6)
The evidence exists and the schools agreement is moving — join them up into a dated national plan on school refusal, so the research reaches classrooms.
Fund family support (Rec 13)
A funded, independent "one-stop shop" and peer network for families — instead of leaving it to volunteers. A Commonwealth-clear ask with no visible action.
More mental-health visits (Rec 14)
Better Access is still capped at 10 subsidised sessions a year. For students in crisis, that runs out fast. This is the one clearly not-actioned item.
What we're asking
How to turn the inquiry into change families feel
The findings are agreed. What's needed now is for the responsible governments to close the loop.
Education Ministers: deliver the dedicated national action plan on school refusal (Rec 6), built on AERO's evidence and with dates attached.
The Commonwealth: fund the independent family support network (Rec 13) and increase subsidised mental-health visits (Rec 14).
States & territories: report publicly on the recommendations you own (3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11) so progress can be seen, not guessed.
Everyone: build schools' capacity for reasonable adjustments (Rec 11) — the same reform Helen's Way pursues in Priority 3.
An inquiry is only as good as what happens next.
Families told the Senate what they needed, and the Senate agreed. Two years on, one recommendation is done and the rest are split across governments that each point to the others. Naming who is responsible is the first step to getting it done — together.