Australia’s school attendance crisis is worse than most realise. Only 62% of students now attend regularly — compared to 82% in England — and the decline is sharpest in secondary school, where just half of Year 10 students make it 90% of the time. Indigenous and remote students miss on average a quarter of the school year. The brief makes a clear case for why this matters: every missed day compounds learning loss, stunts social and emotional development, and reduces lifetime earnings. On solutions, it argues that the most effective schools combine high-quality teaching, calm and safe environments, and a strong culture of belonging — backed by robust daily monitoring and genuine family relationships. It draws on England’s national attendance reforms as a model, and calls on Australian governments to overhaul data infrastructure, clarify roles, and treat attendance as the system-wide priority it deserves to be.