The Literacy Advisory Panel has now completed its work and delivered its Final Report to Government and Lifting Literacy: The Community-wide Framework. View here.

The Literacy Advisory Panel was an expert group appointed by the Premier in September 2021 to create a community-wide framework to achieve a literate Tasmania. The Panel was appointed after a public expression of interest process and panel members selected consisted of experts with a range of professional and lived experiences. The Panel was Co-Chaired by:

• Jenny Gale,  the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and
• Professor Natalie Brown, the Director of the Peter Underwood Center for Educational Attainment.

Panel members included:

• Anne Bayetto
• Jane Bovill
• Kate de Bruin
• Courtney Dunbabin
• Brendan Gill
• Sally Rowlands
• Lucy Whitehead
• Jodee Wilson (ex-officio)

How the Panel met its Terms of Reference

For details on how the Panel met its Terms of Reference please see the Final report: Lifting Literacy (LINK).

The Report addresses the way the Panel approached specific tasks within its Terms of Reference, including:

1) Review current literacy policies, approaches and supports in place in Tasmania in the early years, schools and adult learning environments,

2) Map existing effort, including the organisations, plans and activities that currently support the establishment of a Literate Tasmania and identify any gaps. These may include evidence-to-practice gaps, and/or program, cohort or skills-gaps,

3) Consider the efficacy of existing literacy measures and target, and

4) Make specific and targeted recommendations to inform and build upon existing literacy approaches and supports in the early years, schools and adult learning environments.

Consultation:

In meeting its Terms of Reference the Panel also conducted  heard from over 700 Tasmanians  through three rounds of community consultation. To learn more about what the Panel heard from Tasmanians, please see the Consultation webpage (LINK).

What are the next steps in Lifting literacy?

For more information on the next steps for the Tasmanian Government on reaching the aspirational goal of 100 per cent functional literacy, please see the Lifting literacy homepage (LINK).