Victorian schools are ahead of the curve in transforming reading outcomes, with the overwhelming majority of government primary schools surveyed already embracing a daily phonics-based approach – well ahead of the 2027 mandate.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll commended the state’s educators for their commitment to early reading success.
“Thank you to our incredibly hard-working teachers and principals, who have shown nothing but support in our approach to phonics in schools,” he said.
“We’re grateful to see such a promising response so early on as we make best practice common practice in every Victorian classroom.”
The Victorian approach to reading, which includes daily systematic synthetic phonics instruction as part of their reading program, is due to fully mandated in Victorian government schools by the start of 2027.
A Department of Education survey showed 93% of government primary schools have adopted a focus on delivering daily phonics instruction.
Carroll said it was fantastic to this level of uptake, with primary schools delivering daily phonics instruction, despite providing a two-year transition period.
“Schools are getting on board, and we’re excited to see schools embracing change,” he said.
The Phonics Plus program, developed to support the transition, has been well received.
Among surveyed schools, 88% reported engaging with the program, and 37% are already using its resources. Since its release in February 2025, the materials have seen nearly 16,000 downloads and close to 100,000 views, showing a strong appetite for structured literacy tools.
In another key change, the Year 1 Phonics Check is being piloted in Term 2 of 2025, with optional rollout in Term 3 before becoming mandatory in 2026.
The new check, which takes around 10 minutes per student – down from the current 40-minute assessment – will save teachers an estimated 12 hours in testing time.
Already, around 80% of government primary schools are opting to trial the Phonics Check early, underlining sector-wide momentum for change.
To support this shift, the Victorian Government has invested $5 million in transition funding for primary schools, allowing schools to purchase decodable texts, classroom whiteboards, and other essential phonics-aligned resources.
So far, 64% of schools have plans to use this funding in 2025, with further uptake anticipated throughout the year.
