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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:

Andrew Dickson - 0421 285 529
Carla Horton - 0423 618 776
Reid Jermyn - 0412 803 566
Ben Chenoweth 0413 346 934

Box of pencils

News articles

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021

2024

ABC RN Sunday Extra  Digital poverty the new frontier of educational disadvantage 20 October 2024

The Educator  Digital divide causing student experiencing disadvantage to fall further behind in class 18 October 2024

The Guardian  'I felt I had no choice': Why Deborah did her school using the shopping centre wifi 15 October 2024

Our Community  Technology can transform the not-for-profit sector 8 October 2024

The Mandarin  Inequity in education is holding back more than just the students 22 August 2024

Ch.10  National Skills Week highlights importance of skills for transition from school to the world of work 19 August 2024

The Hobart Mercury  Tasmanian Zac is thriving outside of the classroom thanks to his love for hens 18 August 2024

The Age – Digital divide: Students filing assignments on phones or using public computers 2 August 2024

The Daily Telegraph – One in four Aussie families struggling to afford school lunches 1 August 2024

The Brisbane Times – Her Brisbane family had to struggle for everything but at 16 this 'lion' is now an Olympian 21 July 2024

Australian Financial Review  Time running out to fix school funding sticking point 16 July 2024

ABC Radio AM – Data sharing a win for disadvantaged students in South Australia 17 June 2024

ABC RN Life Matters – People are giving less: how are charities pivoting to stay afloat during a cost-of-living crisis? 11 June 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 News Online – As school costs rise, charities and community groups are helping parents get through 18 January 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 Australian Financial Review – Absenteeism, bad behaviour compound poor school performance 6 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 Educator – It's time for a national strategy to ensure every child is digitally included 24 July 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 – COVID-19 has widened Australia's educational digital divide. But one program is closing the gap 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 

Latest news

Important Notice: The Smith Family does not offer loans to the public
21 November 2024
Find out more
Digital inequality is the new frontier of educational disadvantage this anti-poverty week
13 October 2024
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 2024 NAPLAN results show there is no time to wait for urgent education reforms.
14 August 2024
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