Understanding your child's NAPLAN report and results timing

Who delivers the report

Every student who sits NAPLAN receives an individual report↗ (external link). State and territory test authorities send these reports to schools, and schools pass them to families, so the date for your child depends on where you live and when your school distributes them. Everyone in Australia receives the same report format. The school will tell you when reports are going home, and results are confidential.

ACARA holds no individual reports, so it cannot reissue a lost one. If a copy goes missing, ask the school first. If the school does not have one to hand it can request a replacement from its test authority↗ (external link), and parents should not contact the test authorities directly.

How to read the pages

ACARA describes the layout in some detail, which makes the report easier to read once you know it.

• Page one introduces the tests and guides you through reading the report.
• Pages two and three show the result for each area your child sat. Each result falls into one of four proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing or Needs additional support.
• The dots and the box. Your child's result is a black dot. The national average for the same school year is a black triangle. A light shaded box shows the range for the middle 60 per cent of students. In some states, the average for your child's school is shown too.
• The final page gives a short summary of the skills students typically show at each level.

The report does not list the questions your child saw. Because the tests are tailored, children see different questions, and ACARA does not publish answers to recent tests. What the report does give is the skills that were assessed.

When results arrive

For the 2026 tests, ACARA's reporting key dates↗ (external link) show preliminary summaries going to schools in April and final school summaries from mid-June. Individual student reports went to schools from the start of Term 3, and national results were released on 5 August 2026.

For 2027, none of these dates is confirmed yet, so treat them as expected rather than fixed. If the rhythm repeats, expect reports at schools around early Term 3 and national results in August. Your state sets its own timing, so the date for your child could differ. See NAPLAN 2027 for the test window itself.

Questions worth asking

ACARA describes NAPLAN as one aspect of each school's assessment↗ (external link), alongside the ongoing judgements teachers make about a child, so treat the report as a way to start a conversation.

• Is this what you notice in the classroom?
• Which area deserves our attention first?
• If the level matches the last report, where have you seen growth?
• Is there anything in the skills summary we could talk about at home?

Comparing years

Results from 2023 onwards sit on the same scales and compare with each other. Results from 2008 to 2022 compare with each other but not directly with later years, because new scales arrived when testing moved online and into Term 1. The skills needed for each level also rise as children move through the tested years, so the same level in Year 3 and Year 5 can still mean real progress.

Also see the NAPLAN FAQ for missed tests and selective entry, and XReady's free sample papers if your child would like some gentle NAPLAN-style practice.

Checked 19 October 2026. National results for 2027 are expected, not confirmed.