Cool Australia
Cool.org (formerly Cool Australia) is an Australian education technology company operating a web-based platform of curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional learning content, serving 220,000 K-12 educators across Australia via a freemium and subscription model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersWindsor, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Cool Australia does
Cool.org (formerly Cool Australia) is an Australian education technology company that provides curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional development content for K-12 educators. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Melbourne/Naarm, the company operates a web-based platform serving early learning, primary, and secondary educators across metro, regional, and rural Australia. The platform reports 220,000 Australian educator members, supports approximately 2.5 million children taught per year, and has facilitated over 2.31 million lesson downloads cumulatively.
The platform is built around a content library organized by year level (Foundation through Year 10), 12 subject areas spanning STEM, humanities, and the arts, and thematic topics covering environmental, social, and economic issues. Core product offerings include free units, lesson plans, and activities alongside a premium Cool+ subscription that unlocks the full catalogue and on-demand professional learning. The company has developed proprietary pedagogical frameworks—the Hope Framework (grounded in positive psychology and Hope Theory) and the Act Framework (incorporating Design Thinking)—used to help educators teach challenging topics with psychological safety. The platform also offers 50+ themed educational projects (e.g., NAIDOC Week, 2040 Film, The War on Waste) and structured STEM Professional Learning Plans.
Revenue is generated primarily through the Cool+ subscription, priced at under $3 per week on an annual plan (approximately $150/year), with a freemium tier serving as the acquisition funnel. The go-to-market is product-led and community-led, relying on SEO-driven content marketing, organic social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), and educator networks rather than a traditional sales force. The company also operates a public donation pathway, suggesting a hybrid nonprofit or social-enterprise funding posture. There are no disclosed external investors, no enterprise contracts, no anchor institutional customers, and no international expansion in the available data.
Cool Australia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cool Australia
- Legal name
- Cool Australia Limited
- Website
- https://coolaustralia.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cool.org (formerly Cool Australia) is an Australian education technology company operating a web-based platform of curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional learning content, serving 220,000 K-12 educators across Australia via a freemium and subscription model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cool Australia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Educational Content Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Curriculum, Lesson Planning & Instructional Content Platforms (EDAJAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Teacher-Led Digital Lesson Packages & Instructional Resources (EDAFACAL), Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA), Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12) (EDAGAJAI)
Keywords
Where Cool Australia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Windsor
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cool Australia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Cool+ Subscription: Premium subscription providing unlimited access to full catalogue of curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional learning courses. Priced at under $3 per week on annual plan.
- Free Resources: Base tier offering free units, lesson plans and activities to all educators, serving as acquisition funnel for premium subscriptions
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free account with limited resources |
| Subscription | Annual | Cool+ Annual Plan |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Cool Australia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cool Australia, operating as Cool.org, provides a digital educational resource platform offering free and subscription-based curriculum-aligned teaching resources, lesson plans, units, and professional learning courses for Australian K-12 educators from Foundation to Year 10. The platform features proprietary Hope and Act Frameworks for teaching challenging topics, organizes content by subject (12 subjects) and topic (Environmental, Social, Economic themes), and supports educators with over 50 educational projects and themed units.
Product overview
Cool.org (formerly Cool Australia) operates as a single unified educational resource platform offering both free and premium (Cool+) subscription-based content. The platform provides curriculum-aligned teaching resources organized by year level (Foundation through Year 10), subject area, and topic. Core offerings include free teaching resources and professional learning courses, with the premium Cool+ subscription unlocking unlimited access to the full catalogue. The platform also features the Hope and Act Frameworks for teaching challenging topics, subject-specific resources across 12 subject areas, topic-based resources covering Environmental, Social, Economic, and Human Rights themes, and over 50 educational projects and themed units.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cool.org Platform
Companies that use Cool Australia
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cool Australia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cool Australia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Various Australian OrganizationsunclearWebsite indicates 'Partnered with and trusted by' section with multiple organization logos displayed. Specific partner names are not labeled in the visible content. Partners appear to include Australian educational and environmental organizations based on logo imagery.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cool Australia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ClickView: Australian-headquartered video-led educational content platform with curriculum-aligned resources and a school subscription model. Comparable in geographic focus, curriculum alignment, and subscription-based monetisation of educational content for Australian K-12.
- Twinkl: Twinkl is a global digital publisher of curriculum-aligned teaching resources with a freemium subscription model (Twinkl Plus). It is the most direct analogue to Cool.org's value proposition and monetisation approach, though operating at significantly larger international scale.
- Tes Resources: Tes operates a global marketplace and subscription library of teacher-created resources with curriculum alignment. Overlaps directly with Cool.org's lesson-plan and unit offering and competes for the same freelance-resource economics and teacher mindshare.
- Lesson Planet: Subscription-based library of lesson plans, worksheets, and curriculum-aligned teaching resources. Closely matches Cool.org's subscription monetisation and resource-librarian model, primarily serving US curriculum standards.
- Education Services Australia (Scootle): Government-backed provider of Scootle, a national digital learning resource repository aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Directly competes for the same Australian educator audience, with the structural advantage of being subsidised by government funding.
- ABC Education: ABC Education provides free, curriculum-aligned digital resources for Australian teachers and students, often tied to documentary content. Directly competes with Cool.org's free-tier offering and is a familiar Australian brand among the same target audience.
Broad incumbents
- Khan Academy: Large-scale global free educational platform with freemium teacher tools (Khan Academy for Educators). Operates a similar freemium content model at vastly greater scale, but its broader portfolio and international focus make it an incumbent rather than a direct niche competitor.
Emerging players
- OER Commons: Open Educational Resources (OER) hub offering free, open-license teaching materials searchable by curriculum standards. Comparable to Cool.org's free-tier catalogue and lesson-plan model, though less curated and without Cool.org's subscription monetisation.
Regional players
- Compass Education: Australian-headquartered school management and learning platform used widely by Australian K-12 schools. Comparable regional context and overlapping customer base of Australian schools, though its primary function is school administration rather than curriculum content delivery.
Others
- Edutopia: George Lucas Educational Foundation publication providing teaching strategies, lesson ideas, and professional development content. Comparable in serving educator professional learning and pedagogy content, but operates as a free media publisher rather than a subscription resource platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cool Australia social profiles
Digital presenceCool Australia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cool Australia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cool Australia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cool Australia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cool Australia
What does Cool Australia do?
Cool Australia, operating as Cool.org, provides a digital educational resource platform offering free and subscription-based curriculum-aligned teaching resources, lesson plans, units, and professional learning courses for Australian K-12 educators from Foundation to Year 10. The platform features proprietary Hope and Act Frameworks for teaching challenging topics, organizes content by subject (12 subjects) and topic (Environmental, Social, Economic themes), and supports educators with over 50 educational projects and themed units.
Is Cool Australia a public or private company?
Cool Australia is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Cool Australia founded?
Cool Australia was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cool Australia based?
Cool Australia is headquartered in Windsor, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Cool Australia make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Cool+ Subscription is the primary driver. The others are free Resources.
Who are Cool Australia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ClickView, Twinkl, Tes Resources, Lesson Planet, Education Services Australia (Scootle) and ABC Education. Khan Academy is listed as a broad incumbent. OER Commons is listed as an emerging player. Compass Education is listed as a regional player. Edutopia is listed as an others.
Does Cool Australia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cool Australia.
What industry is Cool Australia in?
Cool Australia's product category is K-12 Educational Content Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAMAD, Curriculum, Lesson Planning & Instructional Content Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFACAL, Teacher-Led Digital Lesson Packages & Instructional Resources. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.