Castlereagh Statement – May 2026 soft launch webinars

On 13 and 14 May 2026, we heard from leaders across K-12, VET, HE, and industry discuss the need for national, collective action to shift our education and training systems to better prepare our learners for the future, and how you can get involved.

The Castlereagh Statement launch made the case that Australia’s challenge is fragmentation, with every sector working in silos and values misaligned with what’s actually measured and rewarded. Across the speakers, key points included:

• Sectors are at wildly different starting points: higher education and schools have moved, variably, whilst VET may benefit from further engagement especially as it trains a significant proportion of Australian workers.
• Industry’s expectations have already arrived: employers want strong human skills and AI literacy now, not in 5–10 years, but who actually owns AI skilling?
• AI-literate ≠ AI user, and “going back to exams” isn’t the answer: accrediting bodies and educational institutions alike landed on judgment, ethics, and real-world capability.
• Teachers aren’t change-resistant, they’re bad-change-resistant: what’s needed is time, tools, training, and trust, not more fads.
• Independent corroboration exists: a parallel national skills report from the Future Skills Organisation reached the same three conclusions (AI is a skills challenge not an IT rollout; coherent lifelong pathways are essential; coordination is the binding constraint).
• The real test is what happens next: monthly working parties feeding a white paper by September/October, with encouragement for the Castlereagh coalition to become a collective action body that can influence nationally.

The unifying message was that “we’re ready to change, but we cannot do this alone.” Another speaker said, “no one is coming to our rescue.” Every speaker, in their own way, said the same thing: this is a collective-action problem, and the statement’s job is to make collective action possible.

Recording and resources

Watch a recording of the webinars below. A synthesised transcript is also available.

If the Castlereagh Statement speaks to you, we would love for you to host your own local discussions around the Statement. If helpful, the slidedeck used during the webinar is also available as a PPTX or PDF.