National report explores why Australian families are choosing Independent schools, the commitments they make to sustain that choice, and what those decisions mean for education policy.

The Great Education Shift brings together official sector data and national research with current and prospective parents. It shows a genuine behavioural change underway in Australian schooling: families are actively choosing schools based on learning, safety, wellbeing, values, expectations and fit.

It also examines the substantial contribution families and school communities make to education, the financial sacrifices many households make to keep their chosen school within reach, and why policy should reflect the choices parents are already making.

The Great Education Shift in five findings:

• Parents are voting with their feet
• Families invest heavily in education, and Independent schools contribute
• Families make real sacrifices
• Choice strengthens the education system
• Policy should reflect reality

The report also explores how parents make school decisions, affordability pressures, the school funding partnership, the diversity of Independent schools and families, and the local impact of national education policy.