Rights and Realities in Australian and New Zealand Education: ‘regular and systematic and not unsuitable’?

Education: the key to lifes expectations and a nations future. The right to an education is fundamental. It is enshrined in several international conventions which have been ratified by Australia and New Zealand. The rights therein are now contained expressly or impliedly in the education legislation of most Australian states and territories, and in the New Zealand Education Acts of 1964 and 1989. This article discusses the extent of the right to education, the accompanying responsibilities, and the realities surrounding the exercise of that right in the free, compulsory and secular' education systems of Australia and New Zealand. Within a wide brief it endeavours to provide a snapshot of topical issues within the '4 A' components'2 - that education is available, accessible, adaptable and acceptable for all persons