Academic Term - Australia

Australia

In most of Australia, the school year lasts from late January or early February to mid-December, and is split into four terms:

• Term 1 starts in late January or early February and ends in late March or early April (often in close proximity to Easter).
• Term 2 starts in mid-to-late April and ends in late June or early July.
• Term 3 starts in mid-July and ends mid-to-late September.
• Term 4 starts in early-to-mid October and ends mid-December.

Australian states and territories vary their approach to Easter when determining the dates for the holiday at the end of Term 1.

The exact dates vary from year to year, as well as between states, and for public and private school. In Tasmania until and including 2012, the school year is split into three terms, the first one being the longest and including an extended Easter holiday. However, in 2013 Tasmania will introduce a four-term year, to conform to the rest of the country. The terms are separated by a holiday lasting two weeks with the Christmas/Summer holidays between the end of a school year and the start of another lasting six weeks.

Most Australian universities have two semesters a year, but Bond University has three. Many universities offer an optional short summer semester. One recent innovation in Australian higher education has been the establishment of the fully distance–online Open Universities Australia (formerly Open Learning Australia) that offers continuous study opportunities of individual units of study (what are called courses in North America) that can lead to full degree qualifications.

Open Universities Australia operates four 13-week study periods each year. Since students study only part-time and off campus these study periods mesh reasonably easily with existing university offerings based on semesters. In some cases, a "semester" is referred to as a "Study Period", for example by Centrelink.