NEEF Australia has its genesis in the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Council of the World Education Fellowship (WEF) in January 2000. Some of its members had perceived that education had a role to play in bridging the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in the Australian community. NEEF consisted of Forums in five States in 2000-2001 followed by a National Forum in Brisbane in August 2001.

The report from the National Forum, Bridging the Gap between the 'Haves' and the 'Have Nots' (2002) called for five major strategies to be pursued:

• More intervention in early childhood care and education to assist both children and their parents, and an accompanying re-structure of the tax system to enable families with young children to give them the care and development they need...
• The provision of much more flexible pathways through the secondary schooling years, so that the varying needs of youths... are more effectively met.
• Concentrated attention to the provision of relevant and appropriate education for Indigenous Australians.
• Recognition of the fundamental importance of the role of teachers in our society and the re-valuing of the teaching profession.
• Provision of access to information and communication technologies in all education facilities at the most advanced level of technology possible... The second element of this strategy is to use the functionality of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) to change the pedagogy in our learning areas.

Another outcome was the establishment of the National Education & Employment Foundation, as a result of an urgent call from the community to continue the work of the forums.