Reading between the lines: what literacy rates really look like in Australia

Following the 2026 NAPLAN report and Australia Reads surveys, there is growing concern about young people’s decline of literacy. 

It’s not that Australians don’t want to read. In fact, according to an Australia Reads 2026 report, over two-thirds of Australians aged over fifteen read for pleasure. 

However, the main concern lies with the one in three Australian children who aren’t mastering the reading skills they need. 

NAPLAN’s most recent results found that on average 11.3 per cent of children in Year 3 in Victoria are in the ‘Needs Additional Support’ proficiency level for reading and writing. 

Reading skills are important in building strong literacy as they are “central to academic success, wellbeing, and employment outcomes” according to a Queensland government literacy review. 

Libraries on the frontline

But literacy in Australia is more a complex issue than a rise and fall in data. 

Monash University lecturer  in education, Kylie Bradfield, said “it’s a much more complex picture than simply thinking about decline”. 

“We really have to remember that [NAPLAN] can only identify an area of need in that short area. It can't tell us the whole story about the child, or their family, or their teacher, or their school,” she said. 

Bradfield said that what is important to think about is the one in 10 of students who need additional support and what that support looks like. 

Another report collated by Australia Reads, including research from the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), specified the main barriers to literacy are: the lack of reading role models, the emphasis on skill instead of enjoyment, and significantly, access to literacy resources. 

Bradfield is from a working-class family and said the local library was how she engaged with reading and had access to books. 

“That is why [libraries] are just such precious places, because in a world where disadvantage is everywhere, we can look at these places and say, here, we can have some kind of action in making things more equitable,” she said. 

But there is a relationship between the amount of resources and funding that libraries receive with their capacity to support lifelong literacy and learning for all Australians, according to the Municipal Association of Victoria. 

CEO of Public Libraries Victoria (PLV), Angela Savage, said there is funding for statewide projects but the difficulty is in the funding formula. 

“Our library services in the growth corridors, for example, are chronically underfunded for the size of the population that they're supporting,” Savage said. 

The library sector in Victoria is funded by both state and local government, however, Savage said the proportion the state government supports has been “shrinking over time because they haven’t actually increased the funding pool at all”. 

This means local councils have to make up the shortfall in funding and resources, with the PLV claiming state government funding only represents 15 per cent. 

According to the 2026 PLV Statistical survey, there is a continued “long-standing downward trend in real State Government funding”. 

This has put pressure on the Victorian government to increase their financial support for libraries. 

As of June 2026, the Victorian government has invested in over 150 library projects, which amounts to $522.4 million. 

Through the Living Libraries Infrastructure Program, public libraries can also apply for a grant up to $1 million for any upgrades. 

But libraries often have to prioritise what to cut and keep to stay afloat with the funding they receive. 

“Our biggest cost is staff. It's also our biggest asset. So, you know, we are advocating for an increase in funding because we want to put more people in the library to help the people coming in,” Savage said. 

Redefining Reading

Access to literacy resources is essential for young children and their future, as higher rates of literacy generally provide opportunity to better education and work, according to the Australian Government's manual on literacy. 

To ensure Aussie kids are being supported, there needs to be a more nuanced perspective towards reading and literacy, according to another Monash University academic in Education, Kelly Carabott. 

Instead, Carabott encourages the definition of reading to include audio books, graphic novels, film and digital texts. 

“It's about thinking about what we value and what we privilege in reading and literacy in the classroom, in society, and in thinking about reading as multifaceted,” she said. 

Surrounding the data on Australian literacy rates is the real concern for the 1 in 3 Australian children who need additional support. 

If funding and resources are not accessible, it’s their future in literacy learning that is at risk of slipping through the gaps.