The Tasmanian Government is taking strong action to improve student outcomes.
We want the best possible start in life for every Tasmanian child and young person. We are supporting our school leaders and teachers to make that happen.
The Independent Review of Education in Tasmania was clear that change is needed. It highlighted the merit in trialling Multi-School Organisations – or MSOs – in Tasmania (Recommendation 8, Finding 23).
MSOs are strong ‘families’ of schools that aim to deliver better outcomes for students by strengthening support for principals and teachers, reducing administrative burdens, and allowing schools to focus more on learning and wellbeing – together.
All schools not yet in an MSO are working together in School Groupings, led by an Executive Lead. The Executive Leads are supporting school improvement, leadership and collaboration. They are also laying the foundations for full-system rollout of MSOs.
What is a Multi-School Organisation (MSO)?
MSOs are strong ‘families’ of schools, united under shared executive leadership, with tight alignment across curriculum, teaching and operations, and provided with greater autonomy to achieve this.
Schools in the family act in the interests of the collective, and leaders are accountable for the outcomes of all students within an MSO.
An MSO’s size and ability to pool resources allows it to provide targeted and effective assistance to each school in its family, reducing the administrative load for school staff.
While collaboration between schools isn’t novel, the close, formal relationship between schools in the most effective MSOs allows for purposeful collaboration across the family of schools. This happens by design, not by accident.
MSOs have a central executive team, with Principals reporting to a Chief Executive Officer and supported by a Head of Operations.
MSOs are driven by improving outcomes for students, but the way each MSO will achieve this may vary.
Benefits from being part of an MSO
- Students: • Students: MSOs have emerged internationally as a powerful mechanism to improve student engagement and learning. Students will get the best possible start in life through learning supported by strong school communities and the collective expertise of staff from across the MSO. The MSO will complement the results achieved through the lifting literacy initiative as well as the focus on numeracy by supporting high quality teaching and a common curriculum.
- Teachers: Reduced lesson planning and administrative duties, freeing up more time for teaching, supporting students with additional needs and professional development
- School leaders: Reduced administrative burdens, enabling a greater focus on leadership and community engagement. School leaders will have increased professional development, a broader peer network to collaborate with and increased access to mentoring.
- Parents: Schools will be better supported to provide high-quality education and address barriers to learning.
Tasmanian MSO approach
- Our first MSO – MSO1 – launched at the start of 2026. It consists of New Town Primary, Moonah Primary and Risdon Vale Primary Schools. In 2027, MSO1 will grow, with the addition of Hobart City High School.
- Our second MSO – MSO2 – will launch in 2027. It will commence in the north of the State with details on the successful schools to be announced in coming weeks.
MSOs are inspired by the successful Multi-Academy Trust model in England and evidence from the Grattan Institute on adapting the model for Australia.
However, we are not picking up the model from the UK and replicating it in our system. The trial is being independently evaluated with continuous improvements made to ensure the model works in the Tasmanian context, for our schools and our communities.
Three MSOs will be established over the five-year Trial, with each MSO growing by around 2-3 schools per year.
We anticipate around 30 schools being in MSOs by the end of the five-year Trial. The MSO model and implementation approach is being carefully designed and will be built slowly through consultation and evaluation over the length of the trial.
The Department will continue to play a key role in:
- setting public expectations for schools
- holding schools accountable and
- providing support to schools on priorities, such as literacy and wellbeing.
To implement the MSO Trial, the department is working closely with McKinnon, an independent not-for-profit organisation with deep expertise in the MSO model.
At the heart of all everything we do is one simple goal: We want to ensure every child and young person in Tasmania has the best possible start in life and learning, supported by strong school communities.
What are School Groupings?
All Tasmanian schools not in an MSO are working together in a School Grouping. School Groupings are laying the foundations for full-system rollout of MSOs. They offer many similar benefits to an MSO but don’t have the same structural and governance changes.
Each School Grouping will sit under the experienced leadership of an Executive Lead. Executive Leads will line manage principals across School Groupings, ensuring cohesive, system aligned leadership that supports sustained improvement in every school.
School Groupings are designed to strengthen collaboration, improve consistency, and ensure every school has access to the support it needs.
There are 11 School Groupings across Tasmania. View the 2026 School Groupings, CFLC Network and MSOs (PDF, 1MB)
Contact us
Contact the MSO Trial project team with any queries about the model at msotrial@decyp.tas.gov.au