Australia has recorded a significant improvement in educational attainment over the past two decades, but rising rates of poor mental health and persistent disadvantage among low-educated groups continue to cast a shadow over the gains, a new government report has found.
The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee’s 2026 report, drawing on 24 years of data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, tracked social and economic disadvantage across seven key life domains, including education and skills.
Education gains
The report, authored by researchers from the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy and Centre for Social Research and Methods, and the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne, recorded one of its most significant improvements in the education domain. The share of Australians with low educational attainment fell by nearly half, from around 40% in 2001 to closer to 20% by the end of the study period. The rate of poor English proficiency among the population also declined over the same period, though it remained comparatively low throughout.
Low work experience, however, proved more stubborn. That indicator generally fluctuated between 11% and 13% across the study period, showing no clear trend of improvement.
Disadvantage among the low-educated
Despite the broader gains in education, Australians with low educational attainment remained among the most deeply excluded groups in the country. The report found that 16.3% of people with low educational attainment experienced deep social exclusion in 2022 – defined as exclusion across at least seven of 28 measured life indicators spanning areas such as employment, health, housing, and personal safety.
Rates of deep disadvantage for this group have increased significantly since 2010, the report noted. The finding placed low-educated Australians alongside public housing tenants, the unemployed, and income support recipients as groups where disadvantage had worsened over time.
The report identified deteriorating health outcomes as a key concern intersecting with educational disadvantage. Poor mental health rose from 9.3% in 2011 to above 14% since 2020, while the share of Australians living with a long-term health condition increased from 23.9% in 2001 to 29% or higher since 2020.
Test scores expose persistent gaps
The 2025 NAPLAN National Results, released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority on July 30, showed that one in 10 students needed additional support to meet minimum standards – a figure that rose to three in 10 for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, compared to just three in 100 for students from high socioeconomic backgrounds.
ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel said the results “continue to highlight areas that need collective attention, such as supporting students from our regional and remote areas, those from a disadvantaged background, and Indigenous students.”