In December 2025, Secretary Phillipson visited Adelaide and Sydney, engaging with representatives from universities, schools, early childhood education and care providers, and TAFEs. The visit highlighted shared priorities and opportunities for future cooperation across all levels of education.
As part of the program, Secretary Phillipson met with Minister Clare, Senator Walsh, Minster Giles, and Assistant Minister Hill. Discussions focused on strengthening the bilateral education partnership to drive innovation, economic resilience, and global competitiveness.
Key priorities agreed by Ministers include:
- Advancing quality, inclusive, affordable, safe and accessible early childhood education and care systems.
- Supporting innovation in schools.
- Exploring flexible and modular tertiary education pathways aligned with future workforce needs.
To support these goals, Ministers agreed to re-establish the Australia-UK Education Dialogue (AUKED), enabling officials to meet annually for policy exchange and knowledge sharing on areas of mutual benefit.
During the visit, Minister Clare and Secretary Phillipson also witnessed the signing of the Advanced Skills Alliance at the University of New South Wales. This initiative will strengthen defence-related workforce and skills development, aligned with AUKUS and the UK-Australia Geelong Treaty.
Initial members of the Alliance include UNSW Sydney, Curtin University, and Adelaide University in Australia, alongside Cranfield University, King's College London, Imperial College London, the University of Southampton, and the University of Strathclyde in the UK. The Alliance is open to all Australian and UK universities.
For more details, read the communiqué from the Australia-UK ministerial meeting.
