About ASSIST

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Science ASSIST is Australia's national online advisory service for school science educators and technicians. It provides:

  • expert, up-to-date information on high-quality teaching and learning resources;
  • support for teachers in the implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Science;
  • consistent and authoritative advice on all aspects of school laboratory safety, management and design;
  • support for school laboratory technicians and teachers in the delivery of stimulating and practical science activities; and
  • an extensive range of educationally sound and safety-compliant practical activities for a hands-on, inquiry-based study of science in school science laboratories and classrooms.

If you have been redirected to this page by clicking on a link, it is likely that the page is available to paid-up subscribers only and you must be logged in to view the page.

Science ASSIST is maintained by the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA), in consultation with the Science Education Technicians Australia (SETA). Please visit their respective websites for their policies on matters concerning pedagogy and safety.

Science ASSIST was funded by the Federal Department of Education between 2013 and 2018, CSIRO Education and Outreach from the beginning of 2019 until the end of June 2020, and then by BAE Systems until December 2020. As long as the site remains available, all content added to the site prior to 1 July 2020 will remain publicly accessible as it was developed through funding made available by the Australian government. Science ASSIST was closed at the end of December 2021 due to financial reasons. It was reactivated in late February 2022, due to the provision of temporary funding from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

Access to new and updated resources and the ability to 'ASK A QUESTION' is via a current subscription only, having logged in using your subscriber username and password.

See below for instructions on how to subscribe.

To stay up to date with developments with Science ASSIST, subscribe to its newsletter here.

Categories of membership for subscriptions to Science ASSIST

For purposes of determining categories of membership, Science ASSIST uses the following definitions and examples:
1. Australian Schools
An Australian school is a school which is registered with the relevant school registration authority in their state or territory. They may be government or non-government; early childhood; primary; secondary schools, combined or a special school (e.g., They are listed with an individual ID number on the ACARA schools list see ‘About the schools list’, ACARA website, https://asl.acara.edu.au/).
2. Australian Membership (Non-schools and Individuals)
An Australian individual or entity that is not a registered school (e.g., This will include education sector central offices, tertiary institutions, Registered Training Organisations, Universities, science outreach organisations, architects, independent education consultants, authors and businesses).
3. Overseas Membership
An overseas individual, entity or school that is located and has an address outside Australia (e.g., Overseas International schools).

Fee Structure for 2023

Australian Schools $150 (Ex. GST)
Australian Membership (Non-schools and Individuals) $300 (Ex GST)
Overseas Membership $400 (Ex GST)

Subscribing to Science ASSIST

If your school would like to subscribe to Science ASSIST please follow the instructions on the ASTA website at https://asta.edu.au/science-safety/science-assist/
For any inquiries, or if you are unsure about whether you qualify as an Australian school, please contact Science ASSIST.

For information regarding copyright of material on this site, please see our Science ASSIST Website Terms of Use.

If this website contains links to your website and you have any objection to such a link, please contact ASTA.

If you have any questions regarding use of material available on this website, please contact ASTA.

If you would like to sign up for the free Science ASSIST e-newsletter, go to https://asta.edu.au/science-assist-newsletter/