When I was younger, the idea of tax and superannuation was both foreign and terrifying to me. I would watch my mum do the bookkeeping for our family’s business and think to myself, ‘how on earth does she know what she is doing? She is legitimately the smartest person alive!’ The whole system seemed so complex to me.

Sure, in primary school I learnt fractions, decimals, percentages, compound interest, ratios and rates, and these understandings underpin the ability to work with Australia’s individual income tax system and superannuation. But for me, high school is where I feel our education system steers away from teaching the simple basic life skills that you need in everyday life, such as tax and super, and focuses too heavily on teaching things that students won’t ever use again. I agree that kids do need to find their niche and learn skills based on their interests, but who on earth uses Pythagoras Theorem after school finishes (seriously, please let me know if you do)? It seems like what is compulsory and what are selective topics being taught are all jumbled up.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) conducted research with focus groups consisting of both parents and high school children and found the following insights:

• There are low levels of knowledge and confidence among parents with respect to tax and superannuation
• There is very strong importance placed on educating students about tax and superannuation
• There is almost universal support for the inclusion of education about tax and superannuation in the school curriculum

Now let’s look at the current curriculum and how they teach tax and superannuation to high school students:

• Year 7 – Humanities and Social Sciences & Economics and Business – Why individuals work, types of work and how people derive an income
• Year 9 – Economics and Business – Why and how people manage financial risks and rewards in the current Australian and global financial landscape. Identify employer responsibilities to work and the government
• Year 10 – Economics and Business – The ways that governments manage economic performance to improve living standards

It seems that tax is taught an extremely vague level and is addressed indirectly and is taught at a business level rather than individual. I also saw no mention of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) scheme, which is available to encourage students to attend university without thinking they are expected to front up $20k+ for their degree. So, if the tax and superannuation conversations are not happening at home, and it is only vaguely covered at school, how can we throw school leavers into the workforce and expect them to know how to complete their tax return?

How can this change?

• As parents, we can educate ourselves about tax and superannuation so when our kids ask questions, we know the answers. I was lucky because I had my genius mum and I ended up working at Progue, so my life has been tax, super, tax and more tax! Most others aren’t so exposed.
• Urge schools to educate about tax. The ATO has a great School Education Program that is laced with free teaching resources and is aligned with the Australian Curriculum
• If by any chance an Australian policy maker, curriculum writer or school leader is reading this, recognise this gap in the high school education system, make the changes and make it stick!

Written for you by Keira Borg