Overview

The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) is led by the Acting Director, PEO, Lee Katauskas within the program responsibilities of the Clerk Assistant (Procedure). The PEO delivers parliamentary education services on behalf of the Australian Parliament to students, teachers and others across Australia. To date, more than 2.4 million students have expanded their knowledge of the Australian Parliament through participating in a PEO program.

The PEO is jointly funded by the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives. In addition to operational management by the Department of the Senate, the PEO is guided by the PEO Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of members and senators, is co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy President and meets three times a year.

The full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing level for the PEO in 2022–23 was 14.2 (in 2021–22 the FTE staffing level was 10.8.) The cost of providing the services of the PEO in 2022–23 was $2.0m ($1.5m in 2021–22).

Education programs: onsite, digital and outreach

The PEO is a leader in civics and citizenship education in Australia and delivers education programs for teachers and students on-site at Parliament House and in classrooms across Australia though its video conference program and outreach program.

By the end of the reporting period, school visits to Parliament House started to return to pre-pandemic levels, with the PEO delivering 2,247 onsite programs to school students from across Australia. This is a 74% increase from 2021–22.

The PEO expanded its video conference program offerings this year with the launch of its Introducing Parliament and the Australian Constitution: past, present and future programs. Demand for video conference programs remained strong, with the PEO delivering 357 video conference programs in 2022–23. While this is a 20% decrease from 2021–22, the levels indicate that while on-site programs are expected to return to pre-pandemic leaves in the next reporting period, the demand for videoconference programs will remain much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The PEO did not conduct its outreach program in 2022–23 (due to a combination of pandemic and resourcing constraints), however the program will recommece in the next reporting period. The PEO’s teacher professional learning (TPL) program was expanded to further the PEO’s delivery of parliamentary education across Australia. The TPL program provides professional learning for teachers and pre-service teachers to support the delivery of an informative and engaging parliamentary and civics and citizenship curriculum for students.

In 2022–23, the PEO introduced the Referendum masterclass program to complement its existing TPL programs, Teaching civics and citizenship: a parliamentary approach and the Constitution masterclass, which is delivered in collaboration with the National Archives and the High Court of Australia. In 2022–23, the PEO delivered 25 TPL programs, one fewer than in the previous reporting period.

Content: online and print

While the number of users to the PEO websites decreased by 7% in 2022–23, demand and interest in the PEO website remained very strong with 1.4 million users (representing 3.4 million unique page views) accessing high-quality information about Australia’s system of government and the Australian Parliament. These websites include the PEO website (peo.gov.au) which provides information about parliament and curriculum-aligned teaching resources for all Australian teachers and students and the Australian Constitution online (ausconstitution.peo.gov.au).

In 2022–23, the PEO website was further enhanced by the addition of interactive posters on the key features of Australia’s system of government and the Australian Parliament.

The PEO also produced, refined and distributed a range of print publications during the reporting period. These include the Australian Constitution pocket edition, Your Parliament (an introduction to the work of the Parliament) and Parliament in pictures (a set of 10 posters with accompanying Classroom Guide). Demand for PEO print products increased over the reporting period, with a notable increase in demand for the pocket edition of the Constitution.

Services for members and senators

The PEO provides educational resources to senators and members to support their engagement with teachers, students and community groups across Australia. Members of parliament are offered a complimentary annual allocation of education and information materials for students, teachers, and others in their communities.

In 2022–23, to support senators and members, the PEO:

• provided customised resources in-person and virtual briefings on request;
• delivered five on-site and virtual information sessions for senators, members and their staff on PEO content, programs and bespoke resources;
• facilitated referendum information sessions for parliamentarians and their staff, delivered by the Australian Electoral Commission; and
• supported the Speaker’s Parliament in Schools program through the provision of information sessions, bespoke resources, and briefings for parliamentarians and staff.

In this reporting period, the PEO Advisory Committee was re-established for the 47th Parliament, with the PEO providing secretariat services to support three committee meetings.

Performance outlook

Over the next reporting period, the PEO will scope a range of engagement activities to support the development of young Australians as active citizens.

In 2023−24 the Federal Parliament history timeline and the Australian Constitution online websites will be redeveloped and the PEO website will undergo a five-year review to ensure it continues to meet the needs of users and the PEO into the future.

The PEO will also continue to enhance and promote its video conference and TPL programs to engage students and teachers who are unable to visit Canberra.

In addition, the outreach program will be reinvigorated in 2023−24, with a focus on visiting electorates with high levels of relative disadvantage.