Data sources and licences
Every number on this site comes from a published government or statutory-authority dataset, and each one is listed here with its licence. The gaps are deliberate: some data exists but is not licensed for a public website.
What is deliberately missing
School-level NAPLAN results
ACARA publishes these on My School under terms that do not allow reproduction on another public website or use as a competing source of NAPLAN data. We link to each school's My School page instead and show state-level NAPLAN context only. If ACARA gives consent, per-school results could appear here.
Catholic or independent, where no source says
In Tasmania the label comes from Land Tasmania's map layers, and elsewhere from ACARA. A school no source labels is shown as Independent and its profile says so.
Rankings of NSW schools by results
The Education Act 1990 (NSW) section 18A prohibits publishing rankings or comparisons of NSW schools by results, except a top-10% list based on NESA's merit lists. We follow that exactly: one top-10% list, and each school's own figures on its own page. ICSEA is shown on profiles but ranked only for NSW public schools, using the NSW Department of Education's open data.
Queensland, SA, Tasmania, ACT, NT senior results
These states do not publish school-level Year 12 results as open data. We do not estimate them.
Sources in use
| Dataset | Publisher | Licence | Fields used | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW Public Schools Master Dataset | NSW Department of Education, via Data.NSW | Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) | Name, address, coordinates, years, enrolments, ICSEA, language background, Indigenous students, selective and opportunity-class flags, contact details, region. | 2,184 |
| Student attendance rates by school | NSW Department of Education, via Data.NSW | CC BY | Attendance rate 2011–2024 and 3-year trend. | 2,136 |
| Enrolments by school headcount 2004–2025 | NSW Department of Education, via Data.NSW | CC BY | Ten-year enrolment history and 5-year growth. | 2,169 |
| Support classes in NSW public schools | NSW Department of Education, via Data.NSW | CC BY | Count of support classes. | 1,093 |
| ACT priority enrolment areas | ACT Education Directorate, via data.act.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Number of priority enrolment areas per school. | 85 |
| Selective high schools and opportunity class lists | NSW Department of Education website | CC BY 4.0 | Selective type and opportunity-class status, 2027 places. | 135 |
| HSC merit lists (Distinguished Achievers, All-round Achievers) Section 18A of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) prohibits ranking NSW schools by results except for the top 10% based on published merit lists. We show each school's own count and count per Year 12 student, and a single top-10% list ordered by the per-student figure. | NSW Education Standards Authority | NESA copyright; counts derived from published merit lists | Count of Band 6 / E4 results per school, 2021–2025, and all-round achievers, 2024–2025. | 654 |
| Victorian school locations | Victorian Department of Education, via data.vic.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Name, address, coordinates, sector, type, region. | 2,297 |
| Victorian government schools and enrolments | Victorian Department of Education, via data.vic.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Year range and total enrolments for government schools. | 1,557 |
| Senior secondary completion and achievement information | Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority | VCAA copyright; reproduced with attribution for non-commercial information | Median VCE study score 2021–2025; share of study scores 40 and above and completion rate, latest year. | 468 |
| Queensland school details (state and non-state) | Queensland Department of Education, via data.qld.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Name, address, coordinates, sector, type. | 1,773 |
| Queensland state primary school sites and catchments 2026 | Queensland Department of Education, via data.qld.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Current state primary school sites and catchment boundaries. | 994 |
| Western Australian schools list | WA Department of Education, via data.wa.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Name, address, coordinates, classification, enrolments by year level, contact details. | 1,135 |
| Year 12 student achievement data | School Curriculum and Standards Authority (WA) | SCSA copyright; reproduced with attribution | School-level WACE achievement, 2021–2024 (2025 not yet published as open data). | 250 |
| Gifted and Talented (GATE) selective programs | WA Department of Education | CC BY 4.0 | Minimum entry scores per program 2019–2025 and 2027 vacancies. | 24 |
| Government preschool and school sites | SA Department for Education, via data.sa.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Name, address, coordinates, schooling type. | 509 |
| Tasmanian government schools | Department for Education, Children and Young People, via Land Tasmania | CC BY 3.0 AU | Name, address, coordinates, type; intake areas. | 201 |
| Tasmanian school key data | Department for Education, Children and Young People (Tasmania) | CC BY 3.0 AU | Enrolments (2021, latest open release). | 180 |
| ACT school locations | ACT Education Directorate, via data.act.gov.au | CC BY 4.0 | Name, address, coordinates (reprojected from MGA zone 55), sector, type. | 157 |
| NT school directory | NT Department of Education | CC BY (NT Government open licence) | Name, address, coordinates, sector, type, contact details. | 209 |
| Australian Schools List (ASL) | Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) | CC BY 4.0, as shown on the ASL site; we intend to ask ACARA to confirm this in writing | Non-government schools in NSW, SA and Tasmania: name, suburb, postcode, school type, coordinates, ACARA ID (list dated 31 July 2026, downloaded 6 October 2026). | 1,554 |
| Enrolments by Grade 2008–2025 (multi-year) Year 12 enrolment is not the exact number of HSC candidates, so the per-student figure is approximate. Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). | ACARA, Data Access Program | ACARA copyright, released under the My School terms of use | Year 12 enrolments (August census, 2021–2025) for NSW schools, used only as the divisor for HSC Band 6 / E4 results per Year 12 student in each year. | 607 |
| School Profile 2025 and School Location 2025 These figures are ACARA data reproduced by us. ACARA's My School terms limit reproduction on public websites; we are seeking ACARA's written confirmation of the terms for this use and will remove the figures if ACARA asks. NSW government school enrolments are full-time equivalent (NSW Department of Education); ACARA figures are headcounts. Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). | ACARA, Data Access Program | ACARA copyright, released under the My School terms of use | ICSEA, total enrolments, language background other than English (%), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (%), teaching staff (FTE), year range, and Catholic/Independent sector. Used where no state open dataset publishes the figure; state figures take precedence. | 9,961 |
| Catholic and independent school locations (LIST) | Land Tasmania, LIST Education map service | CC BY 3.0 AU (Land Tasmania default open-data licence; not confirmed in the layer metadata) | Catholic or independent label for Tasmanian non-government schools. | 82 |
| Queensland state school annual reports | Each Queensland state school (eq.edu.au site) | Published by each school; copyright stays with the school and the Department | Link to the school's latest annual report PDF. We link to the school's own published report and do not host or extract it. | 1,243 |
| South Australian government school annual reports | SA Department for Education | Published by the Department; copyright stays with the Department | Link to the school's annual report PDF on the Department's site (latest published). We link to the system's own published report and do not host or extract it. | 506 |
| ACT public school board reports | Each ACT public school (act.edu.au site) | Published by each school; copyright stays with the school and the Directorate | Link to the school's own page listing its Annual School Board Report. We link to the school's own published page and do not host or extract the report. | 4 |
| School annual reports (private schools and others) | Each school or its school system (school website, or Catholic education office site) | Published by each school or system; copyright stays with the publisher | Link to the school's latest published annual report (PDF or the school's own page listing it), found by a web search and checked to be on the school's or its system's own domain. We do not host or extract it. | 1,373 |
| Reported gifted classes (hand-added) Added by hand where the owner knows the class runs and another public source reports it; labelled "reported" on the school page. Schools can ask us to correct this via the contact page. | Other public sources (e.g. Wikipedia), reviewed by the site owner | Facts summarised by us with a link to the source | Name of a gifted class that the school's own website does not currently describe. | 1 |
| School websites (gifted and extension classes) Recorded only where the school's own site describes a dedicated class; each link was checked when collected (2026-10). Schools change programs, so confirm with the school. | Each public school's own website | Facts (class name, year levels, entry method) summarised by us with a link to the school's page | Name, year levels and entry method of a school-run class for high-ability students. | 336 |
| HPGE Extension Classes (schools list) | NSW Department of Education website | CC BY 4.0 | Gifted program label: which public high schools host HPGE extension classes. | 8 |
| High schools with special programs and interests (IGNITE) | SA Department for Education website | CC BY 4.0 | Gifted program label: IGNITE schools and entry method. | 3 |
| PEAC venues, North Metropolitan Education Region Other regions' venue lists were not available online when checked (October 2026). | WA Department of Education, North Metro PEAC | WA Department of Education website; facts (venue names) only | Gifted program label: schools hosting a PEAC centre, year levels, entry. | 8 |
| SEAL schools Each member school was checked against its own website, October 2026. | School websites; The Academy of Accredited SEAL Schools (member list) | Facts (school names, program names) only; each school's page is linked from its profile | Gifted program label: SEAL or equivalently named accelerated program, entry method. | 34 |
| Schools and settings targeted to high-ability students | Victorian Department of Education, Policy and Advisory Library | CC BY 4.0 | Gifted program label for academic high-ability settings (CHES; Elizabeth Blackburn Sciences, a campus of University High School). | 2 |
Attribution: © State of New South Wales (Department of Education); © State of Victoria (Department of Education); © State of Queensland (Department of Education); © Government of Western Australia (Department of Education); © Government of South Australia; © State of Tasmania; © Australian Capital Territory; © Northern Territory of Australia. © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2009 to present; ASL material modified (filtered and reformatted); ACARA does not endorse this site. School Profile and Location figures: Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Universities
The universities section uses these sources. Ranking figures come from commercial publishers, not open data: we show each university's rank only as a single published fact with attribution and a link, never a combined score, and we will remove any publisher's figures on request.
| Dataset | Publisher | Licence | Fields used | Universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of higher education providers The register is a search interface without a bulk download; we checked categories and names by hand (October 2026). Carnegie Mellon University Australia (Overseas University category) and Batchelor Institute (not a university) are not listed. | Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) | CC BY 3.0 AU (TEQSA website licence) | Which providers are in the Australian University category, and current names (Adelaide University from January 2026; Avondale University; Australian University of Theology, formerly Australian College of Theology). | 42 |
| List of higher education institutions (Tables A and B) | Australian Government Department of Education | CC BY 4.0. © Commonwealth of Australia | State and public (Table A) or private (Table B) status. Latest list found is dated 2020; later name changes and the Adelaide merger come from TEQSA. | 40 |
| Higher Education Statistics 2024, Section 2: All students (Table 2.5) | Australian Government Department of Education | CC BY 4.0. © Commonwealth of Australia | Total students by institution, all levels of course, 2024. | 41 |
| Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 and 2026 | Times Higher Education (THE) | Times Higher Education World University Rankings; single rank figures reproduced as facts with attribution and link; THE copyright; we will remove on request | World rank or band as published, per edition; our position-in-Australia count. | 37 |
| Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026 and 2025 | ShanghaiRanking Consultancy | Academic Ranking of World Universities; single rank figures reproduced as facts with attribution and link; Copyright ShanghaiRanking Consultancy; we will remove on request | World rank or band as published (top 1000 only), per edition; our position-in-Australia count. | 29 |
| QS World University Rankings 2027 and 2026 Read from Internet Archive (web.archive.org) copies of QS's own ranking data, because topuniversities.com blocks automated access; we did not bypass it. QS's terms ask commercial users to obtain written permission. We have not yet received it and will remove QS figures on request. | QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd | Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.qs.com). Copyright © QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. | World rank or band as published; our position-in-Australia count. 2027: ranks 1-300 only (Wayback captured pages 0-2 of 16); 2026: complete list (all 16 pages captured). | 36 |
| Group of Eight members | Group of Eight Australia | Fact (membership) only | Group of Eight membership flag. | 8 |
| University websites | Each university | Link only | Link to the university's official website (checked October 2026). | 42 |
| University descriptions (our own summaries) Generated summaries written in our own words from the universities' own websites and other public pages, with the source links shown on each profile (October 2026). Not official data: check details with the university. | SchoolList AU, from each university's website and public sources | Our own words; facts only, no text copied | About section on university profiles: two-paragraph overview, founding year, campuses, network membership and areas the university is known for. | 42 |
Attribution: Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency; © Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Education). Not used: QILT survey results, Good Universities Guide, AFR and U.S. News rankings (no licence for reuse on this site).
Update cycle
School lists are rebuilt from the latest published file each term. Senior results are added when each authority publishes them, usually December to February. Every page shows the year of the data it uses. If a figure looks wrong, the source link above is the place to check first, then tell us.