School Can't Australia

School Can’t Australia is a national lived experience peer support organisation providing support to parents and primary carers who are caring for young people who are experiencing school attendance difficulties characterised by distress or disengagement.

We SUPPORT, EMPOWER & ADVOCATE.

We SUPPORT parents and carers by providing a safe space to make sense of their experiences and to both receive and offer mutual support.

We EMPOWER, by building shared understandings about school can’t and providing resources that enable parent/carers, and other stakeholders to support their child/young person. Topics include: problem solving, collaboration with schools, alternative education settings, self-compassion, stress, self regulation, co-regulation, mental health, disability, and inclusion.

We ADVOCATE by amplifying the lived experience voice of children and young people, and their parents / carers to inform and influence systemic change across education, disability, mental health and welfare services.

In mid 2025 we have 16,000+ parent/carers and over 2,500 waiting to join our group for support. In Feb 2025 we started a podcast to share lived experience knowledge which has over 1000 subscribers and exceeded 5,500 downloads in August 2025. Demand for support is relentless and donations large and small will help us secure and extend this support to others as well as lift the capacity of the community to better support young people who are struggling to access education that feels safe and meets their needs.

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