Australian schools deserve software Australia controls.
CReSED is an Australian-developed operating system for schools — built here, supported here, and free from the overseas licensing cycles that decide too much about how our classrooms run. It turns the computers a school already owns into fast, secure, classroom-ready machines.
01 / The case for sovereignty
Some things we should run ourselves.
Australian schools spend heavily every year renting computing capability from overseas vendors — operating systems, productivity suites, antivirus — on terms set on the other side of the world. The upgrade cycles, licensing models and cloud dependencies are designed around business models that assume constant hardware renewal and fast, reliable internet.
Those assumptions don't hold for much of this country, and the schools least able to absorb the cost — small, rural, remote, under-resourced — feel it most. When a release decision in another country turns millions of working machines "unsupported" overnight, our classrooms wear the consequences.
When the software that runs a classroom is controlled offshore, so is the timing of its obsolescence, the destination of its data, and the direction of its development. CReSED is built on the opposite premise.
The question isn't whether overseas software works. It's whether we should hand the basic infrastructure of our classrooms to vendors with no stake in them.
Data stays onshore
Student and staff data lives on the school's own server or drives — not shipped offshore. No telemetry, no advertising, no third-party data collection.
Off the licensing treadmill
No forced obsolescence dictated by an overseas release schedule. The platform extends the life of hardware schools already own.
Open and auditable
Built on a hardened, open foundation. Its security and privacy claims can be independently verified — it isn't a black box.
Value stays closer to home
Australian-developed, Australian-supported, with the roadmap set alongside Australian schools rather than a distant head office.
02 / What it is
A complete classroom environment, in a single install.
CReSED (CloudReady Secure Education Distribution) is a full operating system, not an app or a browser add-on. It replaces the previous system entirely, lifting the performance overhead that slows ageing machines. A 2014-era PC that takes minutes to become usable under Windows typically reaches the desktop in under thirty seconds on CReSED.
It is designed for the realities of Australian schools: built so a classroom teacher with no specialist IT background can run it, and engineered to keep working with or without an internet connection — essential beyond the major centres.
03 / What's inside
Everything a classroom runs on, from day one.
A full office suite
Word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, fully compatible with Microsoft file formats. Works happily alongside Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace in the browser.
University-grade STEM tools
The same open-source tools students meet at university — Python, R, CAD, robotics and more — replacing tens of thousands of dollars in commercial licences. A light core on every machine, with the rest a click away.
Creative & multimedia tools
Professional-grade image, video and audio editing for art, design and media classes — included, not extra.
Offline directory & local cloud
Logins, file storage and shared drives run locally. When the internet drops, the school keeps working — no lockouts, no cancelled lessons.
Teacher-facing admin panel
Reset passwords, add students, organise class folders — no command line, designed for the teacher who is also the IT person.
Security by design
A hardened foundation naturally resistant to the viruses and ransomware that target Windows. Traditional antivirus isn't required.
A light core on every machine. A deep repository when you need it.
Rather than load every computer with software it will never run, CReSED preinstalls the small set of tools every student uses — then lets teachers add the rest in a click from a curated repository. The core fits comfortably on a modest SSD, so older machines stay fast and full of room.
Preinstalled on every device · the everyday core
Add in a click · grouped by subject
…with a deeper catalogue of specialist tools behind that — and schools can add their own.
04 / Sustainability
A platform that outlives its hardware.
By restoring performance on older devices, CReSED keeps computers in active service for another three to five years — often longer. The manufacturing of a new laptop carries the emissions of several years of its use, so every machine kept in service avoids real embodied carbon and reduces demand for new materials.
It is a self-reliant, circular approach to school computing that aligns with national sustainability objectives — reuse, revive, restore — rather than a cycle of premature replacement set elsewhere.
05 / Pricing
One price. One small yearly top-up.
CReSED is $97 per device to set up, then $20 per device each year for ongoing security and updates — with the per-device price reducing as the number of computers rises. That single, predictable cost consolidates what schools usually pay across several budget lines: antivirus, productivity suites, and a slice of the hardware-refresh reserve. The operating system, all bundled software, the STEM core, automatic updates and standard support are all included, and licences can be activated entirely offline for rural and remote schools.
Founding Schools Program
40% off year one · 20% off year two for the first ten to fifteen schools to adopt CReSED across Australia — primary, secondary, metropolitan, regional and remote. In return we ask for honest feedback and permission to reference your experience. EduTech is a good place to start that conversation.
CReSED also welcomes home educators — if you teach at home and want the same self-contained, university-ready environment, get in touch and we'll point you to the right option.
06 / In conversation
Visiting us at EduTech this week?
Come and say hello. We'd welcome a conversation with principals, business managers, IT coordinators, teachers or departmental staff — no commitment, no expectation of a pilot. Just a chat about whether running our own classroom software makes sense for your school.