Australia's education technology market was worth an estimated USD 4.2 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 7.7 billion by 2034, according to IMARC Group. Spending is only part of the picture. In the OECD's TALIS 2024 survey, 66% of Australian lower secondary teachers and 69% of New Zealand Year 7 to 10 teachers reported using AI. Among Australian lower secondary teachers who had not, 75% said they lacked the knowledge or skills to try.
That gap between fast adoption and thin capability, combined with stricter privacy rules and more cautious investors, now shapes how schools, universities and training providers buy technology. This guide explains how the education technology market is defined and sized in Australia and New Zealand, which five trends matter in 2026, where buyers face pressure and how to compare vendors.
SotaTek ANZ is a Managed Services and IT Consulting Partner that helps education providers plan, build and run the cloud, AI and managed IT services behind their digital learning programs.
What the Education Technology Market Covers in Australia and New Zealand
Education technology market ANZ market coverage
Education technology, or EdTech, is the software, hardware and digital content used to teach, learn and run education institutions. IMARC splits the Australian market by sector (preschool, K-12 and higher education), by type (hardware, software and content), by deployment (cloud or on-premises) and by end user (individual learners, institutes and enterprises). For a plain-language primer, SotaTek's guide to education technology benefits, case studies and trends covers the basics. In practice, the market includes learning management systems, student information systems, assessment and feedback tools, AI tutoring and teacher assistants, and the cloud and security services that keep them running.
Buyers in ANZ fall into four groups, and each buys differently. Public school systems, independent schools, universities, TAFE and private training providers follow different procurement paths, so a tool that sells well in one segment can stall in another.
| Segment | What buyers typically purchase | 2026 signal |
| Early childhood | Childcare management, family communication, early learning apps | Holds 10% of HolonIQ's 2026 ANZ EdTech 50 cohort, up from 8% a year earlier |
| K-12 schools | Learning management, student information, wellbeing and curriculum tools | Accounts for 36% of that cohort |
| Higher education and VET | Online delivery platforms, credentialing, learning analytics | Globally, H1 2026 investors showed sustained interest in alternative credentials and work-integrated learning |
| Workforce training | Upskilling, coaching and career support platforms | Drew the majority of global edtech venture funding in H1 2026 |
How Big Is the Education Technology Market in ANZ?
Published estimates put Australia's education technology market at about USD 4 billion to USD 4.5 billion a year, growing near 7% annually. New Zealand is far smaller and is measured in a different way.
Education technology market ANZ market size
| Source | Scope | Figure |
| IMARC | Australia, hardware, software and content | USD 4.2 billion (2025), USD 4.5 billion (2026), USD 7.7 billion by 2034, 6.73% CAGR |
| IT News | Australia, 2024, two publishers | USD 3.9 billion (IMARC) and USD 4.1 billion (GlobalData) |
| MarketsandMarkets | ANZ edtech and smart classrooms | USD 2.14 billion (2025), USD 3.75 billion by 2030, 11.8% CAGR |
| EdTechNZ via OpenGov Asia | New Zealand education software spend | NZ173.6million(2020),projectedNZ319.6 million by 2025 |
Five points explain why the numbers do not line up:
- Scope differs. MarketsandMarkets reports a lower ANZ figure than IMARC reports for Australia alone. A narrower, solution-led scope is the plausible reason, so confirm what each report counts before comparing.
- Publishers disagree even on the same year. For 2024, IMARC and GlobalData sit about 5% apart.
- Some figures are projections. The New Zealand number is an earlier forecast for 2025, not a measured result, and it is in New Zealand dollars.
- Global figures vary more. Recent publisher estimates for the global market range from about USD 165 billion to USD 280 billion, depending on definitions.
- Currency moves. AUD and NZD shift against USD, so convert at one consistent rate and state it.
Treat any single number as a planning range. Before it goes into a business case, check the scope, the base year and the currency.
The IMARC forecast also shows scale. Moving from USD 4.5 billion in 2026 to USD 7.7 billion in 2034 adds roughly USD 3.2 billion of annual spend (calculated from IMARC's figures). For buyers, that signals a growing supplier field and more choice. For vendors, it signals tougher competition on privacy and outcomes, the two areas covered below.
Five Trends Reshaping the Education Technology Market in 2026
Education technology market ANZ five trends 2026
- AI use is ahead of AI training. In New Zealand, secondary teachers in Years 9 and 10 reported a higher level of need for AI professional learning than primary teachers (63% versus 53%). Vendors that pair AI features with teacher training are better placed. SotaTek's overview of machine learning in online education shows where adaptive learning fits.
- Policy is setting product expectations. Australia's Framework for Generative AI in Schools states that schools should not use generative AI products that sell student data. It is reviewed at least every 12 months, and $1 million went to Education Services Australia to define product expectations. Procurement teams can reuse that wording in tender questions.
- Consumer models are catching up. In HolonIQ's 2026 ANZ list, B2C startups make up 50% of the cohort, matching B2B for the first time. New Zealand companies hold 32% of the list, about double their usual count. For institutions, that likely means more tools reach classrooms through teachers and parents directly, which raises the need for approved-tool lists and clear data rules.
- Investors want proof of outcomes. Global edtech venture funding reached USD 1 billion in H1 2026, down 26% from USD 1.35 billion a year earlier, while deal volume held steady. HolonIQ expects investors to favour companies that show measurable results, so buyers should expect more outcome-based pilots.
- Cloud and hybrid delivery are routine. In Australia, 24% of teachers work in schools where at least one lesson was taught online or in hybrid format in the past month, against a 16% OECD average. IMARC also lists cloud technology and remote access as core demand drivers. Hybrid delivery raises the bar on uptime, identity management and support hours.
Taken together, these trends point one way: the education technology market now rewards vendors that can show privacy compliance, local curriculum fit and measurable results, not just feature lists.
Where the Education Technology Market Faces Pressure
Growth does not remove friction. Four pressure points deserve attention before the next procurement round.
Education technology market ANZ market pressures
| Pressure | What the evidence shows | What it means for buyers |
| Children's privacy | The OAIC states that the final Children's Online Privacy Code must be registered by 10 December 2026. Independent Schools Australia and the National Catholic Education Commission warned that providers may pass obligations to schools by contract | Ask each vendor who counts as the provider under the Code and who holds consent records |
| Teacher readiness | In New Zealand, 76% of Year 1 to 10 teachers said initial teacher education had not prepared them well for digital tools, or had done so only to some extent | Budget for training and prefer tools that need little setup |
| Schools run like small businesses | IT News reports that schools now use technology much like small to mid-sized businesses | Plan identity management, patching, backups and support, not only learning tools |
| Regional access | IMARC points to the digital divide in remote communities, including in the Northern Territory and South Australia, as a demand driver | Test offline and low-bandwidth modes before signing |
AI adds a second policy track. In April 2026, the Australian Government tabled its response to a House inquiry into generative AI in education, restating that all Education Ministers treat responding to generative AI as a national priority. Vendors should expect further guidance as the framework is reviewed each year.
Privacy is the most time-sensitive item. The Code sits under the Privacy Act 1988, and a vendor's answer on data handling is likely to become a contract term rather than a talking point. SotaTek's article on digital transformation in education covers how institutions can sequence this work alongside teaching priorities.
How to Evaluate Vendors in the Education Technology Market
Education technology market ANZ vendor evaluation
A buyer's checklist works best when every question has evidence attached. Use these five questions to compare vendors on equal terms, and weight them to match your risk. A primary school handling young children's data may weight privacy highest, while a training provider may weight integration:
| Question | Evidence to request | Red flag |
| Privacy and data | Data flow diagram, hosting location, deletion process, statement on whether student data trains AI models | Cannot say whether student data is shared or sold |
| Curriculum fit | Mapping to the Australian Curriculum or New Zealand Curriculum | Generic content with no local alignment |
| Integration | Single sign-on, student information and LMS connectors, API documentation | Manual file uploads for core data |
| Outcomes evidence | Pilot success measures agreed before purchase, such as teacher hours saved or completion rates | Reports only logins and usage |
| Run model | Named owner for patching, monitoring, support and exit terms | No clear owner after go-live |
Local fit matters more than many buyers expect. HolonIQ notes that New Zealand's TeacherGPT builds AI lesson planning tools tuned to the New Zealand curriculum, a sign that localisation is becoming a product feature.
Once a vendor passes the check, decide whether to buy, integrate or build:
- Buy when the need is common, such as learning management or student information, and the vendor already meets local privacy requirements.
- Integrate when two or more good tools do not share data. A thin integration layer often costs less than replacing either one.
- Build when the workflow is unique to your institution, or when an AI feature depends on curriculum data you own.
Whichever route you choose, tie every tool to a learning or training goal. SotaTek's guide to maximizing the benefits of education technology covers this alignment step.
A simple 90-day pilot keeps the evaluation honest:
- Days 1 to 15: agree two or three success measures and the data the vendor may access.
- Days 16 to 75: run the pilot with a small group of classes or courses, and log support tickets alongside learning results.
- Days 76 to 90: review results against the agreed measures, then decide to scale, adjust or stop.
How SotaTek ANZ Supports the Education Technology Market
Education technology market ANZ vendor evaluation
SotaTek ANZ is a Sydney-based, EdTech-focused Managed Services and IT Consulting Partner that works with organisations across Australia and New Zealand, and it exhibited at EDUtech 2026 in Sydney. Its support for education providers spans three areas, which line up with the integration and run-model questions in the checklist above:
- Cloud planning and migration: Cloud Consulting to build, optimise and secure your cloud environment.
- Day-to-day operations: Cloud Managed Service and Infra Managed Services for cloud management, optimisation and ongoing support.
- AI features: AI Development for features such as learning analytics and teacher-support tools.
In its Smart Learn AI case study, SotaTek worked with a global network of international schools facing manual workflows, scattered data and disconnected tools. The team digitised workflows, added real-time dashboards and used a modular architecture delivered in bi-weekly sprints.
Education Technology Market: What to Do Next
The education technology market in ANZ is growing at a steady pace, but the buying rules are changing faster than the budgets. Four actions make sense now:
- Set a planning range for spend and note the scope behind it.
- Audit data handling against the Children's Online Privacy Code before 10 December 2026.
- Fund teacher training alongside licences.
- Require outcome-based pilots before scaling any tool.
Revisit your numbers after the Code is registered and again when the next annual framework review is published.
Talk to SotaTek ANZ about cloud, AI and managed IT support for your education technology roadmap
