The Smith Family In the News
As Australia’s largest children’s education charity, we’re often featured in the media.
You can find out more about how we support young people, and our positions on issues affecting students supported by The Smith Family, in the stories below.
If you are a journalist with an enquiry about The Smith Family’s work or would like to interview one of our spokespeople, please email:
Caitlin Dickson - 0466 955 633
Carla Horton - 0423 618 776
Reid Jermyn - 0412 803 566
2024
Teacher Magazine – Why are young people leaving school early? 22 April 2024
The Educator – Early intervention crucial to boosting Year 12 completion rates - study 8 April 2024
Australian Financial Review – School dropouts don't always lack ambition, just fewer choices: study 26 March 2024
ABC News Online – Federal Government announces plans to build 10 regional university hubs 25 March 2024
Our Community – Charities hungry for change 19 March 2024
Education Daily – Rethinking attendance is the change educators and families need 6 March 2024
The Canberra Times – What's driving the surge of children missing days at school? 6 March 2024
Philanthropy Australia – The case for doubling giving: 'Now is the time to lay the groundwork' 1 March 2024
The Guardian – 'Exciting advance' or 'poor public policy'? Debate over proposed new $10bn university fund 27 February 2024
Education Daily – Universities Accord final report recommends pathway for fairer tertiary education 26 February 2024
The Mandarin – How to get school attendance back on track 19 February 2024
ABC RN Life Matters – Fixing inequality in our schools 8 February 2024
ABC Radio PM – Green leasing tackles digital divide 17 January 2024
Ch.10 The Project – Back to school costs rise as parents feel the pinch 17 January 2024
The Advertiser – One in two families face back to school cost fears 17 January 2024
The Guardian – Jahmel can’t do his homework at home without a laptop. It’s a school essential his family can’t afford 17 January 2024
Australian Financial Review – Inflation brings a brutal start to the school year 17 January 2024
ABC News Online – Private and public school costs are rising, new data shows, with parents making sacrifices 17 January 2024
3AW – Interview with Anton Leschen on the cost of going back to school 17 January 2024
ABC NewsRadio – Parents being squeezed by the cost of sending kids to school 17 January 2024
The Educator – Kids to go without essential school items as cost of living crisis ramps up 17 January 2024
Sky News – Interview with Doug Taylor on back to school costs 17 January 2024
2023
The Educator – NAPLAN data reveals mixed picture on student attendance 21 December 2023
The Australian Financial Review – A chance to fix the inequity chasm in Australian schools 17 December 2023
ABC News Breakfast – Review finds widening gap between privileged and disadvantaged students 12 December 2023
The Guardian – Public schools must be fully funded as soon as possible 11 December 2023
The Australian Financial Review – Every child, better outcomes, every year: schools plan goes to states 11 December 2023
The Educator – Fixing educational policy for generational change 20 November 2023
The Guardian – How a donation could change the course of a child's life 17 November 2023
The Canberra Times – Families learn to stretch the budget further as cost-of-living rises 8 November 2023
The Mandarin – Advisory panel's review critical for Australia's public school sector 5 October 2023
The Newcastle Herald – Creative students channel their inner Van Gogh at Artcastle 28 September 2023
The Australian Financial Review – Why we need to rethink careers education in schools 20 September 2023
The Canberra Times – Our best chance yet to fix Australia's schools 7 September 2023
The Guardian – Bridging the divide: The new program tackling digital exclusion 17 August 2023
The Age – More students choose insecure work over study as cost of living bites 10 July 2023
The Conversation – 'I was putting like 20 resumes in a month': research tracks young Australians' precarious work and study lives after Year 12 10 July 2023
ABC Online – Grandmother founds Grandma's Wish to make pencil cases for school children in need 9 July 2023
WA Today – Can't afford Perth public schools' "hidden fees" this year? Read this 26 June 2023
The Educator – It's time to get serious about careers education 6 June 2023
ABC Online – Cost of living worsening child poverty says Smith Family survey 2 May 2023
The Age – Inadequate school career education leaving students lost and directionless 28 March 2023
The Australian – Digital skills critical to education gap 20 February 2023
The Guardian – If it wasn't for The Smith Family I definitely wouldn't be at uni 24 January 2023
The Guardian – In Australia 1.2 million children and young people live in poverty: how can education make a difference? 23 January 2023
Sydney Morning Herald – How to help school kids start the year right 23 January 2023
ABC Online – Single mum sells her car to afford back-to-school essentials as costs spiral 23 January 2023
The Age – Dire times as families juggling back to school fees with rising cost of living 23 January 2023
News.com.au –The Smith Family helps ease cost of children going back to school as bills spiral 23 January 2023
The Project – As children head back to school, there are fears that families will be unable to find the funds to support their kid's education 23 January 2023
The Canberra Times – The Smith Family online tutoring program helps students catch up after COVID 11 January 2023
2022
The Canberra Times – How we can better prepare students for challenges ahead 20 December 2022
The Educator – Tutoring program producing strong literacy, numeracy results 5 December 2022
Channel 9 – Today's Brooke Boney shares the power of education with students in Tamworth 16 November 2022
The Guardian – Disadvantaged students at risk of falling behind as parents struggle to afford school costs 7 November 2022
The Canberra Times – Smith Family charity explores ways to revolutionise education support 19 September 2022
The Conversation – 'Thinking about my future is really scary' – school leavers are not getting the careers support they need 16 September 2022
ABC Saturday Extra – Doug Taylor discusses The Smith Family’s new Five-Year Strategy 10 September 2022
Mama Mia – What Brooke Boney Wants You To Know About Kids Experiencing Disadvantage 25 July 2022
ABC Melbourne – This charity helped Sedef finish high school and start university during COVID 2 June 2022
Pro Bono Australia - “Rediscovering not for profit ‘superpowers’ for the challenges ahead” 18 April 2022
The Illawarra Mercury – Shakira wants you to step up for Illawarra kids 3 March 2022
The Sydney Morning Herald – Inside Australia’s child poverty crisis 21 February 2022
The Sydney Morning Herald – I found solace at school, I hope all children get that chance 6 February 2022
The Canberra Times – This is a back-to-school period like no other 2 February 2022
ABC Melbourne – The Smith Family 'Back to School' appeal is on now 31 January 2022
The Australian Financial Review - The Smith Family alumni series profile of former student, Simply Energy CEO Shannon Hyde 30 January 2022
ABC Radio Melbourne – Interview with former The Smith Family student Erick Armando 31 January 2022
News.com.au - The impact of the pandemic on learning 25 January 2022
2021
The Australian Financial Review - The Smith Family alumni series profile of former student Miki Cvijetic 22 December 2021
The Australian Financial Review - The Smith Family alumni series profile former student Lenique Lawson 13 December 2021
The Saturday Paper – Meet 2021’s most resilient school leavers 11 December 2021
The Canberra Times – How The Squid Games captured our attention 5 December 2021
The Australian Financial Review - The Smith Family alumni series profile of former student Mark Ryan 1 December 2021
Pro Bono Australia – “My first 500 Zoom calls” 1 December 2021
The Canberra Times – Remote learning widens digital inequity 27 November 2021
The Australian Financial Review - Interview with The Smith Family CEO Doug Taylor 24 November 2021
News.com.au – Digital divide a huge issue during lockdown 17 November 2021
The Age – Schools results of disadvantaged students down during lockdown 16 November 2021
ABC Online – Anti-Poverty week. Overcoming poverty and breaking the cycle of disadvantage 22 October 2021
Pro Bono Australia – “Now is the time to tackle child poverty as a national priority” 20 October 2021
The Daily Telegraph – Parents struggle with remote learning during lockdown 23 August 2021
ABC News - New program hopes to bridge digital divide for students 10 August 2021
The Conversation – Article by the Australian Council for Educational Research’s Dr Sue Thompson about The Smith Family’s Catch-Up Learning program 10 August 2021
ABC News – Zahra Khorami’s story 21 June 2021
The Courier Mail – Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 13 June 2021
ABC Radio National Breakfast – Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 9 June 2021
The Canberra Times - Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 9 June 2021
2GB The Ray Hadley Morning Show – Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 1 June 2021
Sky News – Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 29 May 2021
The Age - Insights Snapshot and Winter Appeal 29 May 2021
The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun Stellar - Smith Family ambassador Sarah Harris talks to kids about their education 27 February 2021
The Weekend Australian Magazine - Q&A with Dr Lisa O’Brien 13 February 2021
The Australian – Education key to breaking the poverty cycle 11 February
The Sydney Morning Herald - Remote learning exposed Sydney’s digital divide. But not much has changed 7 February 2021
ABC Radio National The Money - Child poverty in Australia 4 February 2021
The Canberra Times - How much it costs to send a child to school in Canberra 29 January 2021