By Kirrin Sampson, 3 March 2023

The Australian Industry Group has identified critical skill issues facing Australian businesses, with 99% impacted by low levels of literacy and numeracy. Adult Learning Australia reports that, “1 in 7 Australians (14%) have very poor literacy skills and 1 in 3 (30%) Australians have literacy skills low enough to make them vulnerable to unemployment and social exclusion.”
Sounds pretty drastic, so what’s happening?
The good news is we are as a population the most educated (and literate) that we’ve ever been in history. Many more young Australians successfully complete school education than our forebears ever did.
However, with the change in our workplaces and the rise of digital communication and ways of working, having good literacy skills has become much more important than it has ever been, even to navigate the basics of life.
And like many things being literate is not simple. It is not just decoding symbols on a page or a screen, it requires good general knowledge and an understanding of context and culture. It requires inference, guidance and practice. It is underpinned by the successful acquisition of language, and that is dependent on exposure, positive experiences, and good health.

The National Early Language and Literacy Coalition (or ‘NELLC’) began in 2016 following an early literacy summit hosted by ALIA (the Australian Library and Information Association). A number of other organisations with expertise in this area were represented there on the day, and it was decided that we should all work together to coordinate and improve the approach to early language and the other foundations of literacy – for children 0-5 – in Australia.
Chaired by Speech Pathology Australia CEO Gail Mulcair, the one-day forum was also an opportunity for government representatives from education, health, and social services and key stakeholders in the early years sector to hear more about early years initiatives and programs that support early language and literacy development.
We were delighted to be joined by Professor Tom Calma AO, the co-chair of coalition member The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), who opened proceedings with a reminder to us all of the social justice aspects of being literate, that being literate was the key to a functional, fulfilling life in modern Australia, and at the same time he drew attention to the holistic importance of first languages for children’s educational and wellbeing outcomes.
This was followed by a panel discussion made up of coalition members who had attended the Federal Government’s earlier Early Years Strategy Summit; Sam Page from ECA, Mary-Ruth Mendel from the ALNF, and our own Penny Dakin from ARACY.
The rest of the day was filled with four compelling presentations.
Louise Denoon from the State Library of QLD shared the success of First Five Forever a library-supported state-wide, community-based early literacy program, this was followed by Michelle Csapo from TAFE NSW who filled us in on some challenges and hopes for change within the national curricula for the Cert 3 and Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care, currently there is very little content covering the foundations of literacy or identifying children who may benefit from additional supports.
Following the lunch break, Jane Vadiveloo from Children’s Ground drew our attention again to the importance of first languages, cultural contexts and ways of learning, and the challenges for many remote communities around health and living circumstances, particularly the significant impact that otitis media (middle hear infection) has on language development and learning.
Finally, the Honourable Kate Ellis inher new role as CEO of Raising Literacy Australia (also a coalition member), shared with us how they, as the lead agency for the South Australian Early Years Strategy, have been developing outreach and educational programs focussed on the importance of the neurodevelopment that occurs in the first three years of life. She delighted us all by sharing their catchy Words Grow Minds campaign video and pointed to some early strong successes in their pilot program areas.
Gratifyingly I witnessed several conversations throughout the day where plans for future collaborations and information sharing were being made, and it was wonderful to have the support and interest from many government and related organisations who joined us in the room making notes and gathering information, and via the Zoom broadcast.
We are feeling very positive and hopeful that the Federal Government’s current work on developing and supporting the early years sector will include a focus on supporting early language and literacy.
As a coalition we stand ready to act as an expert reference group to progress change and improvement, so that all of Australia’s children can have an equitable start to school, and later become literate young adults that are able to fully participate in their community and society, and benefit from every opportunity.
The event was made possible through the generous ongoing support of The Ian Potter Foundation.
Members of the coalition are:
Australian Library and Information Association, The Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation, Australian Literacy Educator’s Association, Early Childhood Australia, Evidence for Learning (Social Ventures Australia), Foundation for Literacy and Learning, Indigenous Literacy Foundation, National and State Libraries Australasia, Raising Literacy Australia, Speech Pathology Australia, The Smith Family and ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth).
More information about our activities and the draft National Early Language and Literacy Strategy can be found on our website
A recording of the forum can be accessed here
Some more statistics:
- In 2021 almost 23% of Australian children started primary school at risk or vulnerable in the developmental areas of communication, and 17% for language. This number increased in the last AEDC reporting period and is around double for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds (Australian Government, 2021).
- Ear disease such as otitis media is three times more common in Indigenous children than in non-Indigenous children (AIHW 2018). In remote NT communities 90% of children have some form of otitis media which can cause hearing loss. Children with persistent hearing loss often have communication and behavioural problems, low levels of literacy and numeracy, poor employment opportunities, increased poverty, youth justice issues and increased incarceration rates (Leach et al, 2021).
- The 2022 Productivity Commission report on the National School Reform Agreement highlighted that there is a connection between student wellbeing and low achievement in literacy and numeracy (Australian Government, 2021).
- Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 44% of Australian adults don’t have the functional literacy skills they need to cope with the demands of everyday life and work.
- Low language, literacy and overall education attainment have a significant correlation to offending behavior and subsequent incarceration rates in Australia. 60% of prison entrants have not studied past Year 10. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015) Oral language impairments have been found in up to 50% of young male offenders. (Australian Government 2010-2013)
