This paper gives a brief overview of the changing relationship between school and family in Australia. Discussion first concerns major changes that have occurred in Australian families, particularly in the period since World War II. Next explored are the many forms of school and family relationships. These range from informal get-togethers to the formal requirement that parents should have a part in the decision-making processes of schools. A distinction is made between parent participation (in which parents have the right to make decisions regarding the education of their children in partnership with professionals) and parent involvement (in which parents' and teachers' mutual interests in children are interwoven, but there is less concern with power and rights). In subsequent commentary, attention is given to the situation in Victoria, Australia--a state in the process of legislating for closer working relationships between parents and schools through local school councils. Objections to parent participation in the decision-making process and beneficial results of such participation are both specifically discussed. Concluding remarks concern the new role of teachers and schools in communities with active parent participation; in particular, these new roles are discussed in terms of teacher training and liaison with social services and in terms of relationships with children whose parents prefer old patterns of involvement. (CB)