On Friday, 7 August 2026, more than 600 principals, deputies, department heads and teachers converged at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney to recognise and celebrate the best that Australian education has to offer.
The Australian Education Awards 2026 showcased the achievements of the country’s top-performing schools, principals, department heads and teachers across all states and territories and all school sectors.
The evening – including dinner, music and live entertainment-focused on celebrating the industry’s high achievers across 29 categories.
The top accolades of the night were the national awards of Campion Education Australian School of the Year and Australian School Principal of the Year – these were presented to Haileybury and Stuartholme School Principal Daniel Crump, respectively.
Students and teachers: the driving force
Scott Doran, Vice Principal of Community and Engagement at Haileybury, said winning the Campion Education Australian School of the Year award was “incredibly humbling.”
“It’s wonderful to be nominated alongside such extraordinary schools across the nation, but also to represent the great work all schools across the country do every day. We’re very proud,” Doran said.
When asked about the biggest contributors to the school’s success, Doran was unequivocal.
“It’s the students we're able to teach – they’re extraordinarily talented and hard-working – but it’s also the wonderful teachers we work with and their ambition to drive outcomes for individuals, their communities and the nation. We’re very fortunate.”
Tom Bradley, CEO and Managing Director at Campion Education, said sponsoring the Australian School of the Year award was a no-brainer.
“This is a really important award for us. We have 3,000 customers in Australian schools across the country, and we want to represent all of them, so we felt this was the right award for us to support,” Bradley said.
“Events like the Australian Education Awards are about recognising the achievements and celebrating the teachers and schools who contribute so much to families, communities, and progress in Australia.”
Teaching is a ‘superpower’
Special guest of honour at the Awards was Federal Education Minister Jason Clare, who delivered some opening remarks and later presented the Best Co-Curricular Program Award.
Addressing the room, Clare said educators don’t just teach kids to learn to read, write or count – they shape and make the people that we become.
“In everything that our teachers do, teaching kids to be braver, stronger, not go out and hurt themselves and to believe in themselves – in that sense, what you do is like a superpower,” Clare said.
“This is no ordinary job, and you know that. But what I want you to know is that it’s not just the kids that you teach and educate whose lives you’ll change, because you’ll change the lives of their kids too, and the communities you live in, and the country that we’re yet to become. This is because a child who finishes school, well, their kids are more likely to finish school, too.”
Investing in a future we can’t yet know
When asked what he believes makes a great school principal, Crump said it’s about “holding true to a stable core while being prepared to disrupt at the edges.”
“Have a clear sense of direction, while remaining curious and open to other perspectives. Listen outrageously loudly. Be prepared to make difficult decisions, but also have the humility to acknowledge when you might have got something wrong,” Crump said.
“There is also a constant balance between thinking strategically about the future and remaining attentive to the here and now.”
Above all, said Crump, principals need to care deeply about young people and believe in their capacity for success and growth.
“Education is incredibly hopeful work. We are investing in a future we cannot fully know, and I think maintaining that sense of hope and possibility is one of the most important things a principal can bring to a school community.”
The team at The Educator is thrilled to host the Australian Education Awards for the ninth consecutive year. As Australia’s premier media resource for the education sector, we remain dedicated to bringing you essential news, insights and analysis every week.
The previous year may have brought a welcome sense of stability, but the challenges facing our schools haven’t disappeared. Today’s educators are still balancing teacher shortages, funding pressures and the complex wellbeing needs of their students. Yet, time and again, our school communities rise to the occasion. The unwavering commitment of teachers, leaders and support staff is precisely what we are here to honour. Tonight is all about pausing to recognise that incredible work and celebrating the very best of Australian education.
Each year, the Excellence Awardee submissions set a new benchmark for professionalism, innovation and leadership, and 2026 is no different. Our judging panel continues to be inspired by the sheer quality of work across the country. Tonight, we celebrate the ultimate achievements in K-12 education, honouring exceptional teachers, principals and schools of all backgrounds. Welcome to an evening celebrating the best of the best.
A huge thank you goes out to our judges for dedicating their time and insights to evaluating this year’s entries. With hundreds of top-tier nominations streaming in from across the country, the competition was tougher than ever. Just being named a finalist is a massive achievement, and tonight’s winners are truly the best of the best. Congratulations and good luck to all our Excellence Awardees. We hope you have a wonderful and well-deserved night!
Finally, we would like to thank all our sponsors whose generous support of these awards is greatly appreciated. Our thanks go out to Woolworths at Work, A Team Tuition, Campion Education, Essential Assessment, Kingswood College, OneSchool Global, StreetScience, Toddle, Australian Boarding Schools Association, FACTS, Kahoot, People Bench, Captain Cook Cruises/The Jackson, Lois & Co, Lexus Chatswood and Mount Pleasant
Brett Henebery
Editor
The Educator
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This award recognises the most outstanding school in Australia. The excellence awardees in this category will comprise the winners of the following categories:
Primary School of the Year – Government
Primary School of the Year – Non-Government
Secondary School of the Year – Government
Secondary School of the Year – Non-Government
Special Education School of the Year
Sponsored by
This award recognises the most outstanding school principal in Australia. The excellence awardees in this category will comprise the winners of the following categories
Primary School Principal of the Year – Government
Primary School Principal of the Year – Non-government
School Principal of the Year – Government
School Principal of the Year – Non-government
Stage One – Nominations
A nationwide call for nominations was conducted from February to March 2026 using The Educator’s online channels. Any individual or school operating in the Australian K-12 education industry was eligible to submit a nomination, either on their own behalf or for another individual or school. Nominations focused on achievements and results from the previous 12 months.
All information contained in the entries that was marked Confidential was treated as such and not released without permission from the entrant. All nominations were submitted via the official Australian Education Awards online portal and submitted on or before the final date of entry (13 March 2026). The Australian Education Awards team reserved the right to refuse any nominations submitted after this date.
The nomination process was completed in one step. Excellence Awardees were not required to provide further information at a later stage. All documents provided to the judging panel were requested at the time of the nomination.
Stage Two – Research and selection of Excellence Awardees
The Australian Education Awards team reviewed the submissions and drew on industry knowledge and information gained through sister publication The Educator to identify the outstanding schools and individuals in each category that would receive an Excellence Award.
Stage Three – Confirmation of Excellence Awardees
Once the research was completed, Excellence Awardees were selected in each category (except Australian School of the Year and Australian School Principal of the Year) and notified via email. Excellence Awardees were also announced on The Educator’s website on 11 May 2026. Excellence Awardees for Australian School of the Year and Australian School Principal of the Year comprised the winners of the other school and principal categories and were announced at the event.
Stage Four – Judging
The Australian Education Awards team sent the shortlisted Excellence Awardee submissions to an independent panel of judges, comprising education industry leaders and senior representatives. Judges are well known and well respected within the industry, and their judgement is impartial, balanced, incisive and fair. Any judge with a conflict of interest in a particular category would have recused themselves from judging that category. Judges reviewed the Excellence Awardee submissions and allocated a score for each Excellence Awardee. Once the judging process was completed, the Excellence Awardee with the highest score in each category was named the winner.
Stage Five – Awards ceremony
The winners in each category were announced at the Australian Education Awards official gala event and awards ceremony on Friday, 7 August 2026, at The Fullerton Hotel Sydney. Winners’ names are also published on The Educator’s website.
