The Australian Education Engagement Taskforce: a national partnership to enhance educational engagement

ImpactEd Group and Social Ventures Australia are announcing the launch of the Education Engagement Taskforce – a cross-sector initiative designed to understand lead indicators of engagement before they impact outcomes

Student disengagement is one of the most pressing challenges facing Australian schools. In 2025, nearly 40% of students attended school less than 90% of the time (ACARA). But the warning signs appear much earlier, in how students feel about school, their relationships with adults and peers, and their motivation to learn.

Today, ImpactEd Group and Social Ventures Australia (SVA) are announcing the launch of the Education Engagement Taskforce. A cross-sector initiative designed to understand these lead indicators before they impact outcomes, and to empower schools with the data and strategies they need to address disengagement at its roots.

Delivered by The Engagement Platform (TEP), this will be the first project of its kind to support Australian schools in acting on educational engagement data in real time, comparing their results to national and contextual benchmarks.

‍Why engagement matters

Engagement encompasses an individual's sense of emotional, cognitive and behavioural investment in education and school. It's not just about whether students are physically present, but whether they feel connected, motivated, and capable of success. TEP’s research consistently shows that changes in engagement levels act as powerful early warning signs, predicting academic achievement and attendance patterns before problems become entrenched.

The challenge is that most schools lack robust, actionable data on these early indicators. Without this insight, educators are left responding to attendance crises and achievement gaps rather than preventing them.

‍A cross-sector approach to a national challenge

The Education Engagement Taskforce brings together leading researchers and educators from across Australia's education sectors to build the country's largest dataset on student engagement drivers. The methodology is based on a successful UK research study of over 100,000 students, adapted to the Australian context by the taskforce.

Working across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and expanding to other states, the partnership spans state, independent and Catholic systems. Leaders in the taskforce include Dr Mary Oski (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools) Karen Money and Tipp Kennedy, (Victorian Department of Education), Dr Lisa Williams (AERO) and Tracey Taylor (Association of Independent Schools ACT).  

James Toomey, CEO of SVA:

“At SVA we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in their educational journey. We’re pleased to partner with ImpactEd Group and TEP in launching the Education Engagement Taskforce which aims to strengthen practices in our schools and tackle the root causes of educational inequity. By supporting schools with evidence-based tools and resources, this initiative will help lift student engagement and learning outcomes at scale."

‍What schools gain from participation

Schools joining the engagement project receive access to research-led questionnaires designed to understand student engagement drivers in their specific context. Through termly "census" surveys conducted via TEP, participating schools receive detailed reports and dashboards that allow them to analyse data by student groups and compare their school to national and contextual benchmarks.

These aren't just reports to file away. The TEP team then support schools to review the data effectively and support communities of practice, helping schools translate insight into action through evidence-based strategies. These are grouped by three key domains: cognitive engagement(including students' sense of agency, drive and the value they place on education), emotional engagement (relationships with peers and adults, enjoyment of school), and behavioural engagement (effort and participation).

Dr Chris Wilson, Director at TEP commented:

“We are delighted to have established the Australian Engagement Taskforce, building from TEP’s work in England which established the largest engagement dataset in the UK. Success will ultimately be measured by the change this helps schools drive in their settings, and early feedback has shown the potential of this work to help Australian schools use lead indicators to target support where it is needed most.”

‍Looking ahead

The first cohort of schools recently completed initial data collection from 5,000 students, comprising schools from across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. We will be sharing insights from our early findings shortly, with a further wave of schools set to participate in February and March.

As the pilot expands we expect to develop a more comprehensive picture of engagement drivers in Australian schools. Over time, the project will expand beyond student engagement to include indicators of staff and family engagement, creating a complete picture of the success factors that can help improve outcomes for young people – this is already the case for TEP in the UK.

Our ambition is not just to create another dataset, but to build a national movement that empowers schools with the insight and support they need to keep students engaged, motivated and on track for success.

Schools of all phases and sectors are eligible to participate. To express interest in participating in the pilot, please get in touch.

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‍Education Engagement Taskforce Members

• Clayton Reedie (Director of Educational Leadership, NSW Department of Education)
• Karen Money (Regional Director, Victoria Department of Education)
• Leanne McLean (Director, Peter Underwood Centre, University of Tasmania)
• Dr Lisa Williams (Principal Researcher, AERO)
• Dr Mary Oski (Director of Education, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools)
• Owen Carter (Project Lead, TEP and ImpactEd Group)
• Professor John Jerrim (Research Director, ImpactEd Group and Professor, University College London)
• Rydr Tracey (Education Director, Social Ventures Australia)
• Steph Hamilton (Director, The Engagement Platform)
• Professor Theresa Dicke (Professor and EDP Program Leader, Australian Catholic University)
• Tip Kennedy (Regional Director, Victoria Department of Education)
• Tracey Taylor (Executive Director, Association of Independent Schools ACT)
• Will Bickford Smith (Advisor, McKinnon)

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