Parental school choice in Australia

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The CIS education program focuses on School Choice and School Funding among its key areas of research.

School choice continues to be a policy area that attracts considerable public attention, particularly concerning funding strategies. Choosing a school is important to parents, but CIS research shows that many experience buyer’s remorse.

To coincide with the release of our CIS education report on school choice, we held an education discussion moderated by Fiona Mueller former CIS education program director. The panel featured Glenn Fahey CIS research fellow, Dallas McInerney, CEO of Catholic Schools NSW, Michael Nuttall, Executive Officer of Australian Primary Principals Association and Dianne Giblin, CEO of Australian Council of State School Organisations.

Dallas McInerney was appointed CEO of Catholic Schools NSW in August 2017. CSNSW is the representative body of almost 600 Catholic schools. It is also the system authority for the approximately 550 NSW Catholic diocesan schools, with responsibility for their funding, distribution, compliance and governance. Previously, Dallas spent two decades in financial regulation and public policy across the government and private sectors.

Michael Nuttall was appointed Executive Officer of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) in late 2010. With over 30 years in primary school education, he has taught in government, Catholic and Independent schools and was principal of two primary schools over twelve years. Michael oversees the operations of APPA’s Canberra-based national office and provides executive-level support to its elected President, 28-member National Advisory Council and 8-member Board.

Dianne Giblin is CEO of the Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO), Di leads the secretariat of a national organisation whose motto is ‘One voice for every child in public education’. Over the past 35 years, her passion for education has seen her in roles such as founding Director of the Public Education Foundation, the Primary Ethics Board, the Parenthood Board. Di has also worked for the NSW Department of Education.