Year 1 Phonics Check: Australian Guide for Teachers

The Year 1 Phonics Check: What Australian Teachers Need to Know in 2026

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is now one of the most significant assessments in Australian primary education. Designed to identify how well Year 1 students can decode words using their phonics knowledge, the check is a short, one-on-one assessment administered by classroom teachers during Term 3.

In 2026, the phonics check is mandatory in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania — and Queensland has begun introducing it as well. With the Australian Government having invested $10.8 million in developing a free national Phonics Check via the Literacy Hub, and state governments increasingly mandating structured literacy approaches, the phonics screening check is now a central feature of early years reading instruction across Australia.

Whether you are preparing your class for the check, analysing results, or looking for targeted intervention resources, this guide covers everything you need to know — from state-by-state mandates to practical classroom strategies.

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is now mandatory or being introduced in most Australian states, though implementation timelines and specific requirements vary. Here is the current status as of 2026.

South Australia — Since 2017

South Australia was the first state to trial and adopt a phonics screening check, piloting the UK-developed assessment in 56 public schools in 2017 with over 4,400 students. Based on overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers and principals, it was rolled out statewide. SA uses a threshold of 28 out of 40 words — students who decode fewer than 28 words are identified for additional support and are re-screened in Year 2. In 2025, the median score for SA Year 1 students was 32 words correct, well above the benchmark.

Source: SA Department of Education — Phonics Screening Check

New South Wales — Since 2021

NSW made the phonics screening check mandatory for all Year 1 students in government schools from 2021, following a trial in 2020. The check is administered during Term 3, Weeks 4–6 each year. In 2024, over 62,400 Year 1 students across 1,618 schools completed the assessment, with 60% meeting or exceeding the expected achievement level (up from 59% in 2023). NSW uses the same 28-out-of-40 threshold as the national benchmark.

Source: NSW Department of Education — Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Tasmania — Since 2022

Tasmania introduced the Year 1 Phonics Check as part of a broader commitment to structured literacy. The Tasmanian Government has mandated that all government schools implement structured literacy for Kindergarten to Year 2 students by 2026, with the phonics check as a key assessment tool. Tasmania was notably the first state to commit to mandating the check across all school sectors, not just government schools.

Source: Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People — Literacy

Victoria — Mandatory from 2026

Victoria's phonics check became mandatory for all Year 1 students in government schools from 2026. The rollout was preceded by a highly successful voluntary adoption phase — by late 2025, 94% of Victorian government schools were already using the assessment ahead of the mandate. Victoria has also replaced the previous English Online Interview (EOI) with the phonics check, and requires all government primary schools to implement structured literacy with a minimum of 25 minutes daily on systematic synthetic phonics by 2027.

Source: Victorian Government — Year 1 Phonics Check

Queensland — Introduced 2025

Queensland began introducing the phonics check in 2025 as part of a "back to basics" literacy initiative, with broader rollout planned through 2026. Numeracy checks are also being phased in alongside the phonics assessment.

Other States and Territories

Western Australia, the ACT, and the Northern Territory have not yet mandated the phonics screening check for all schools, though individual schools may use the free Literacy Hub Phonics Check voluntarily.

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a brief, one-on-one assessment conducted by the classroom teacher. Here is what teachers and students can expect.

Format and Structure

• 40 words in total — a mix of real words and pseudo-words (also called non-words or made-up words)
• Words are presented in order of difficulty, starting with simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) patterns and progressing to more complex phonics patterns including digraphs, blends, and split digraphs
• The check typically takes 5–7 minutes per student
• Administered individually — the teacher sits with one student at a time
• Conducted during Term 3 (usually Weeks 4–6, depending on the state)

Why Pseudo-Words Are Included

Pseudo-words like vap, jound, or strom are a deliberate and essential feature of the check. Because these words are unfamiliar to all students, they cannot be read from memory or guessed from context. The only way to read a pseudo-word correctly is to decode it using phonics knowledge — blending each sound together to produce the word. This ensures the check is measuring genuine decoding ability, not vocabulary or word recognition from memory.

Students are told before the check that some words are "made-up" or "alien" words, so they are not confused when they encounter unfamiliar combinations.

Benchmark and Threshold

The widely used benchmark is 28 out of 40 words correct. Students who decode 28 or more words are considered to be making expected progress in phonics. Students below this threshold are identified for targeted support. This benchmark was established after expert analysis mapped the phonics patterns in the check to the expectations of the Australian Curriculum v9.

What the Check Does Not Measure

It is important to understand that the phonics screening check is a screening tool, not a comprehensive reading assessment. It does not measure:

• Reading comprehension
• Vocabulary knowledge
• Fluency or reading speed
• Engagement with or enjoyment of reading

The check specifically measures a student's ability to apply phonics knowledge to decode words — one essential component of skilled reading, but not the whole picture. For a broader understanding of reading development, see our guide to the Science of Reading.

The best preparation for the phonics screening check is high-quality, systematic phonics instruction throughout the year — not last-minute test prep. If your reading program is built on evidence-based structured literacy principles, your students are already being prepared.

That said, here are practical strategies to ensure your students are ready.

1. Follow a Systematic Synthetic Phonics Scope and Sequence

Ensure your phonics program teaches letter-sound correspondences in a clear, planned sequence — from simple to complex. By the time students sit the check in Term 3, they should have been explicitly taught:

• All single-letter grapheme-phoneme correspondences
• Common consonant digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck)
• Common vowel digraphs and split digraphs (ai, ee, oa, a-e, i-e, o-e)
• Common consonant blends (bl, cr, st, spl, str)

2. Practise Blending Daily

Blending is the core skill being assessed. Build daily blending practice into your phonics lessons:

Students who struggle with blending often need more work on phonological awareness — the foundational ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken language.

• Oral blending: Say individual sounds and have students blend them into words (/s/ /t/ /r/ /i/ /p/ → strip)
• Written blending: Students see a written word and blend through it left to right
• Continuous blending: Students hold each sound as they move through the word, rather than segmenting and then blending

3. Include Pseudo-Word Practice

Familiarise students with the concept of reading "made-up" or "alien" words. This does not mean drilling specific pseudo-words — it means giving students regular practice applying their decoding skills to unfamiliar letter combinations. Activities include:

• Alien word games: Show students invented words and have them blend through each one
• Real or nonsense? Students decode a word and then decide whether it is a real word or a made-up word
• Word-building with manipulatives: Use letter tiles to build both real and pseudo-words

4. Use Decodable Readers Matched to Your Sequence

Decodable readers give students the opportunity to apply their phonics knowledge in connected text. Ensure the decodable readers you use are aligned with the phonics patterns you have taught — students should be able to decode every word in the text using known patterns.

5. Build Confidence with One-on-One Practice

Since the check is administered individually, some students may find the one-on-one format unfamiliar or anxiety-inducing. Build in regular opportunities for students to read to you individually — even just a few words at a time — so they are comfortable with the format.

Not all students will meet the 28-word threshold — and that is exactly the point of the check. The phonics screening check is a diagnostic tool designed to identify students who need additional support, so that targeted intervention can begin early.

Analyse the Data

Before planning interventions, look closely at which words each student got wrong:

• Did they struggle with specific phonics patterns (e.g., vowel digraphs, consonant blends)?
• Did they perform differently on real words versus pseudo-words?
• Were errors at the beginning, middle, or end of words?
• Did they attempt to blend, or did they guess?

This analysis tells you exactly which phonics skills need reteaching, rather than starting from scratch. The Literacy Hub provides detailed guidance on analysing phonics check results.

Targeted Small-Group Intervention

Based on your analysis, group students with similar needs and provide explicit, targeted phonics instruction:

• Reteach specific grapheme-phoneme correspondences that students have not yet mastered
• Increase blending practice with words containing the target patterns
• Use decodable texts that focus on the specific patterns being retaught
• Keep groups small (3–5 students) for maximum teacher interaction
• Schedule daily intervention — short, frequent sessions (10–15 minutes) are more effective than longer, less frequent ones

Re-screening

In most states, students who do not meet the benchmark in Year 1 are re-screened in Year 2 to monitor their progress. In South Australia, for example, students who scored below 28 in the Year 1 check are automatically re-assessed the following year.

When to Seek Further Assessment

If a student continues to struggle despite targeted phonics intervention, consider:

• Referral for learning difficulty assessment — persistent decoding difficulties may indicate dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties
• Speech pathology referral — if the student has difficulty hearing or producing specific sounds. Our speech sounds development chart can help you identify whether a student's speech sound production is age-appropriate
• Consultation with your school's learning support team to develop an individualised plan

Remember: A low score on the phonics check does not define a student. It is a signpost that tells you where to focus your teaching to help that student become a confident reader.

For high-frequency words that students may need alongside their phonics development, see our Sight Words List page.