Backing Every Child’s Right to Music Education: Our Federal Election Statement
The evidence is clear: quality, ongoing music education supports academic achievement, wellbeing, and engagement.
With less than a week until the federal election, Music Education: Right from the Start has sent a policy proposal to candidates ahead of the 3 May vote, urging the incoming Australian Government to ensure every child has equitable access to quality music education through the public education system. We ask the next government to commit to three key principles: the right to quality music education for every child, the fundamental support of teachers, and the urgent need for national leadership.
Beyond music’s benefit in its own right, research shows that quality, ongoing, and sequential music education plays a pivotal role in addressing many of the challenges facing Australian primary school education. Yet too many students across the country are missing out on these benefits, despite music and creative arts being a key learning area in the Australian curriculum. This leaves gaps in cognitive development, academic achievement, wellbeing, and engagement at a critical stage of learning.
In making this bid, we ask the incoming government to consider how quality music education can support positive education outcomes in primary schools - and the federal government’s role in making this a reality.
To turn these principles into action, we’ve outlined six key steps the government can take – including:
Establishing a National Music Education Taskforce
Adopting a National Quality Standard for music education
Strengthening Initial Teacher Education, creating pathways for specialist teachers
Funding national data collection, and
Scaling evidence-based programs already driving change.
This call builds on findings of a 2025 Live Music Inquiry, which recognised the importance of music education to a thriving arts and entertainment industry. It recommended stronger federal and state government partnerships to raise national standards, including improving training and support for primary teachers to confidently deliver quality music education in the classroom, to the benefit of all students.
We urge all candidates to champion music education as a right for every child - not a privilege - and take action to improve elements of the education system for better outcomes, strengthening the future of all young Australians as envisioned in the Australian Curriculum.
You can read our full election statement here.
(Feature image courtesy of the Australian Children’s Music Foundation).
