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Australia

This page is brought to you by your hosts:

Dr Glenn Melvin

Glenn is a clinical psychologist and an academic at the School of Psychology, Deakin University. Glenn’s research aims to develop and evaluate practical strategies and supports for children, parents and schools that improve attendance. To achieve this aim, Glenn collaborates with colleagues from a range of disciplines both locally in Australia and from around the world.

Dr Lisa McKay-Brown

Lisa is an academic in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Lisa has extensive experience as a teacher working in a range of education settings with a particular focus on students with disability. Her research intersects health and education and focuses on school attendance problems, positive behaviour support, and inclusive education.

Information in the menus below was updated in July 2025. To contribute information that may be of interest to others in your country, please contact your country’s hosts: Glenn Melvin (glenn.melvin@deakin.edu.au) or Lisa McKay-Brown (lisamb@unimelb.edu.au).  

Not for profit

  • The Navigator Program is funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Training and provides support to young people aged 10-17 years who are not connected to school at all, or are at risk of disengaging.
  • The In2School programs provide intensive supports for youth that responds to school refusal. There are two projects, in Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria. The programs are a partnership between the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, the Royal Children’s Hospital, Travancore School and MacKillop Education Services. The projects are led by Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown (University of Melbourne).

  • Missing School - work to solve the academic and social isolation facing kids with serious physical and mental illness and injury when they miss school.

  • CatholicCare in Victoria provide support to families where a child is experiencing school refusal.
  • Australian academics working in the field of school attendance problems:
  • The Australian Network for School Attendance (ANSA) is hosting its inaugural conference to be held on September 4th and 5th 2025. For further details or to register, click here. Please contact seed-mhc@deakin.edu.au with any questions.
  • In January 2025, the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) has released multiple reports on school attendance. See Barriers to School Attendance and Reasons for Student Absence and Interventions to Promote School Attendance and Address Student Absence.
  • The Australian Government recently handed down its response to the Senate Inquiry into School Refusal and related matters. Their response was disappointing for those advocating for change with little action forthcoming.
  • Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for school attendance problems (SAPs) in Australia. This research project is a partnership between A/Prof Lisa McKay-Brown (University of Melbourne), A/Prof Glenn Melvin (Deakin University) and A/Prof Patricia Graczyk (University of Illinois Chicago). We examined the use of MTSS for SAPs in schools particularly focusing in prevention and early intervention.

  • MissingSchool is an Australian not-for-profit keeping students with complex health and attendance issues connected to their schools, learning and peers. Since 2018, their national school telepresence service has reconnected thousands of classmates and trained hundreds of teachers. They’ve secured government adoption of a new attendance measure for chronic health-related absences, support parents and educators through digital communities and tailored resources, and drive national efforts on data, policy and practice in consultation with the Commonwealth Department of Education.

  • 2024 Dr Kirsten Hancock, Dr Patricia Graczyk and Caroline Fishpool presented a webinar Rethinking School Attendance. This presentation discussed declines in school attendance and strategies to address this.
  • 2023 A/Prof Lisa McKay-Brown and A/Prof Glenn Melvin along with Rebecca Plunkett and Katie Archibald discussed the complex issues around school attendance with Dr Sophie Specjal in the Talking Teaching podcast
  • 2023: Dr Kirsten Hancock completed a Churchill Fellowship that explored successful (and unsuccessful) strategies to improve student attendance. Read: Student absenteeism is a symptom of a possible problem, not the problem itself.
  • 2023: The Australian Senate Standing Committees on Education and Employment held an Inquiry into “The National Trend of School Refusal and Related Matter”. The report from the Inquiry can be found here.
  • Parent Guidelines for School Refusal and Reluctance. These evidence-based guidelines are intended for parents who are worried about their child’s engagement with school and those whose child is already experiencing school reluctance or refusal.
  • Orygen has developed a toolkit for schools and professionals to support school attendance.
  • Be You return to school fact sheet
  • Listen to a podcast about school refusal from the perspective of families. Listen here.
  • Raising Children presents information about school refusal among children aged 5-8 years. 
  • School-Link Program in NSW published a resource for schools and families.
  • A/Prof. Lisa McKay-Brown and A/Prof Glenn Melvin published an article on the recommendations from the Senate Inquiry in Pursuit. 
  • Travancore School, a mental health focussed special education setting, has resources for school, parents/carers and young people that focus on school attendance.

  • MissingSchool works to solve the academic and social isolation facing students with serious medical and mental conditions and injury when they miss school. Their helpline and directory links to best practice information, guidance and resources for parents, teachers, peers and health professionals.

  • School Can't Australia is a parent-created site that aims to provide a forum to support parents and carers of school refusing young people. 
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The International Network for School Attendance (INSA) promotes school attendance and responds to school attendance problems. We compile, generate, evaluate, and disseminate information, assessment, and intervention strategies.

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