Provides a basis for comparable administrative and statistical data on educational activities and attainment classified by level and field
The Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) is a statistical classification for use in the collection and analysis of data on educational activity and attainment. ASCED has been developed as part of a national framework for the storage, exchange and dissemination of statistical and administrative data on educational activity in Australia. It replaces a number of education classifications used prior to 2001 for data from the various sectors of the Australian education system.
ASCED comprises two classifications: Level of Education and Field of Education. Both the level and field of education components can be used to report statistics on various aspects of educational activity, such as student enrolments by level of course or by field of study; teaching resources by level of course; financial resources by field; or educational attainment by level and field.
In designing ASCED, the need for a classification which catered for the requirements of all sectors of the Australian education system was the primary consideration. An additional consideration was the desirability for ASCED to be broadly comparable with the relevant international standard, the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).
These introductory chapters provide an overview of the conceptual basis and structure of ASCED, describe the ASCED code structure, and outline the format of the ASCED Level of Education and Field of Education definitions.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001), Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), ABS Website, accessed 7 March 2025.