The Australian Government provides a national career and transition support network for all young Australians 13 to 19 years of age.
Career Advice Australia (CAA) will strengthen the role of Local Community Partnerships, to improve career choices of young people and increase levels of student engagement. An important element of this initiative is elevating the standard of career advice in schools and the regard held for career advice as an integral part of the curriculum. For more information see www.deewr.gov.au/careerdevelopment .
Raising the quality of career advice and recognition of the value of career advice and the role of career practitioners is being achieved through
- introducing national professional standards;
- expanding professional development opportunities;
- providing scholarships for career advisers to undertake study and industry placements;
- rewarding and highlighting the work of schools which integrate quality career advice into their school curriculum via Career Education Lighthouse Schools projects; and
- funding School and Industry Leaders’ Forums.
The Schools and Industry Leaders’ Forums builds on work which began with the Leaders in Careers initiative.
In 2003, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (http://www.mceetya.edu.au/ 
) , through the Australian Education Systems Official Committee, funded the Leaders in Careers project in response to a range of concerns about:
- the often unstructured nature of career education in schools as highlighted in the 2002 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development review of career guidance policies in Australia;
- the tendency for some schools to encourage students to aim for university rather than provide them with the full range of options to assist them to select a pathway best suited to their aspirations, strengths and abilities; and
- industry concerns about the limited take-up of employment opportunities in skills shortage areas.