National Executive Director’s Welcome

Welcome to Edmund Rice Education Australia.

I acknowledge the First Nations people of Australia, elders past, present and emerging, on whose lands our schools are placed, land never ceded. Through our RAP, EREA commits to truth-telling and reconciliation for all Australians.

The visionary decision by the Christian Brothers, enacted on October 1 2007, to transfer its schools to the care and management of EREA initiated the journey of a unique, courageous, innovative and resilient educational community. In 2024, it remains the case that over 40,000 young Australians are connected to the message of Jesus, the prophetic mission of the church and the charism of Edmund Rice through the Charter and Touchstones of EREA.

EREA is faithfully committed to strengthening child safety as we regenerate our governance through incorporation to meet contemporary standards and better serve our school communities. As a community of schools supported by the National Office, we celebrate many strategic, professional achievements in Reconciliation, Care for our Common Home, Charism Formation, Learning, Flexible Schooling, Research, Global Engagement, Leadership Development, sustainable growth and financial stewardship.

Underpinning these achievements and challenges is an ongoing commitment to working with our partners in Catholic Education in sixteen diverse dioceses. We faithfully pursue our mission in Catholic Education and respond to the changing educational and regulatory landscapes in each jurisdiction with young people and children at the centre of our endeavours. In partnership with families, it is our task as Catholic educators to inspire young people with a passion for learning so they are able to make meaning, and contribute to a better world. We do this with humility, resolve and respect.

I express a deep appreciation to all in our school communities as they “explicitly co-create the learning conditions, dispositions and relationships which enable deep listening, confidence, agency and freedom” – so that all have a voice, so that all are safe – and all “may have life and have it to the full”.

Thank you for your interest and support as we strive to provide a Liberating Education, based on a Gospel Spirituality, within an Inclusive Community, committed to Justice and Solidarity.

Kind regards

Dr Liam Smith