Calls are mounting for the Federal Government to release the findings of an independent evaluation of Australia’s peak, government-backed research body, arguing that if teachers must follow its advice, everyone deserves to see whether it works.
When the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) was established in April 2021, it came with a $50m commitment, and joint government funding has flowed into it every year since.
In mid-2025, the Federal Government commissioned KPMG to evaluate how the organisation was performing. The review, which cost taxpayers $420,951.74, was completed and handed over in April of that year. However, the findings of that review have been kept from the very professionals it impacts the most.
When a Freedom of Information request sought its release, it was refused on the grounds that disclosure might “undermine confidence” in AERO’s work.
On 29 September, Tom Mahoney, a Deakin University PhD candidate and VCE teacher, launched a petition calling for the report’s release. As of the time of publishing, the petition has received more than 600 signatures.
“Disheartened by a lack of democratic process in relation to the public release of KPMG’s evaluation of AERO, a number of us decided to do something about it,” Mahoney wrote in a statement posted on his LinkedIn page on 2 October.
“We believe that the KPMG report on the effectiveness of AERO’s contributions to Australian education must be released immediately, to gain public trust and ensure the integrity of educational organisations operating in Australia.”
‘Ultimately indefensible’
Speaking to The Educator, Mahoney said the withholding of KPMG's evaluation of AERO is “ultimately indefensible considering AERO's commitment to transparency, accountability and evidence.”
“Among the reasons for refusing the release of the review was the potential for reputational harm, which doesn't hold up for an organisation that proclaims itself to ‘welcome scrutiny to enhance the integrity’ of their work,” Mahoney said. “By continuing to refuse the release of this review, we risk undermining public faith in our educational institutions that ought to serve in the best interests of the community at large.”
Mahoney said this ultimately comes down to “a commitment in the principles of integrity and accountability.”
“In the same way that we expect leaders and teachers in schools to be accountable to the communities they serve, so too ought we hold our educational organisations to the same standards,” he said. “Especially considering the large influence AERO has had in directing educational policy and practice across the country since it began operating.”
Clare urged to break the deadlock
Ben Sacco, Managing Director of Education Economy, a national education consultancy, is a signatory of the petition. He said there’s no reason Federal Education Minister Jason Clare can’t push the states and territories to release the review’s findings.
“The Commonwealth may require agreement from the states and territories, but Jason Clare also chairs the Education Ministers Meeting,” Sacco told The Educator. “That places him in a position to demonstrate national leadership by bringing ministers together, seeking agreement and explaining what is preventing the report's release.”
Sacco said while he understands that Clare’s hands have been tied by the refusal of the states and territories to release the report’s findings, what remains unclear is why that agreement hasn't been reached and what steps have been taken to resolve the matter.
“I appreciate that intergovernmental agreements and processes need to be respected, but those arrangements shouldn't prevent transparency about how decisions are made,” he said.
“If governments are collectively responsible for decisions concerning publicly funded research, the public should reasonably expect to understand the reasons behind those decisions and who is accountable for them.”
‘An act of blind institutional faith’
Adam Voigt is Founder and CEO of Real Schools, a national school culture organisation partnering with approximately 370 Australian schools, said it is “patently unfair” to Principals to hide the full details of what they’re being mandated to implement.
“The public funded this arbitrarily established advisory body and then we funded the review. But we can’t apparently be trusted see it because of what it might say,” Voigt told The Educator. “In that context, conditioning school funding on AERO-aligned practice is not an evidence-based policy position.”
Voigt said it is better described as act of “blind institutional faith” that is being demanded of principals who have no basis on which to extend it.
“That is not how a government accountable to the public should operate and it is not how a profession as important as teaching should be led,” he said.
Voigt is also concerned that AERO’s ties to the lobbying groups behind its creation, and its partnership with MultiLit, a company selling the programs it recommends, were never clearly disclosed, leaving school leaders unsure how much weight its advice deserves.
The case for a national research register
Sacco has called for every Australian education department to create and maintain “a publicly accessible register of commissioned research, identifying the report title, author, commissioning agency, cost, completion date and publication status.”
He says the most meaningful difference this register would make is a fundamental shift in how Australians think about transparency, accountability and the role of evidence in shaping education policy.
“At present, governments can commission research using public money without the public necessarily knowing what was commissioned, how much it cost, whether it was completed or why it hasn't been released,” he said. “A publicly accessible register would change that.”
Sacco said the register would “establish transparency as a standard expectation rather than something the public has to continually request.”
“It would also make it easier to scrutinise public expenditure, identify duplication and better understand the evidence informing government decisions,” he said.
“More importantly, it would help create a culture where publicly funded research is recognised as a public asset, not just a government document. Over time, this could strengthen public trust in education research and policy development.”
‘Trust requires transparency’
Voigt said AERO should make three significant public disclosures to ensure public and school sector confidence.
“First, simply release the KPMG review. The argument for suppression - that transparency might damage confidence - has it backwards. Confidence is built by transparency, not protected by concealment,” he said.
“Second, declare the full nature of its relationship with MultiLit. AERO has partnered with and recommended MultiLit, a commercial literacy program.”
Voigt said one key detail remains hidden from the people who need it most.
“What school leaders are entitled to know - and currently cannot easily establish - is that MultiLit’s founder and owner also directs the MultiLit Research Unit that generates much of the efficacy evidence for its own programs. That is an obvious and material conflict of interest,” he said.
“The school leaders I speak with are not opposed to explicit literacy instruction and nor am I, but many have also reported feeling pressured to use MultiLit’s programs.”
Voigt said school leaders are “simply asking a fair question”.
“When the body recommending a program has an undisclosed relationship with the company selling it, how do they assess the recommendation on its merits?” he said. “They deserve a straight answer.”
The third public disclose, said Voigt, should be AERO’s lobbying history.
“AERO’s creation was actively advocated for by organisations with strong ideological commitments to particular instructional approaches,” he said. “Who those organisations were, what access they had, and what influence they exercised over AERO’s founding mandate has never been transparently disclosed. It should be.”
Voigt said school leaders are being asked to trust AERO’s advice, but that trust requires transparency.
“At the moment, they are being offered neither.”
AERO and the office of Federal Education Minister Jason Clare have been contacted for comment.