The Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) came into existence in May 1985 as a result of a growing recognition among educators of the need for the establishment of a national body as a focus for the endeavours of Australian teachers and parents in the field of gifted education. The founders of AAEGT were driven by the need for a national forum that provided accurate information, as well as support, advocacy and networks across the nation.

AAEGT became an affiliated organisation in 1995 when all Australian state and territory associations for the gifted and talented affiliated with AAEGT. It was agreed that through affiliation the national body could truly represent all states and territories and duplication of effort between what the AAEGT was trying to achieve and what the state and territory associations were providing could be minimised. The work of the AAEGT Council during 1994 and 1995 created this affiliated organisation in support of the gifted and talented in all their diversity.

Objectives of AAEGT are:

• To ensure equitable and socially just educational provisions for the gifted and talented.
• To focus attention on the gifted and talented and their valuable potential contributions to the welfare of Australia.
• To stimulate and encourage further research into the nature of giftedness, talents, creativity and the education and development of the gifted and talented; and to disseminate the results of such research.
• To assemble, for an exchange of ideas and experiences, people from throughout Australia and beyond, interested in the gifted and talented.
• To persuade government to recognise the gifted and talented as individuals requiring special attention in formal educational programs.
• To establish means for a continuing Australia-wide exchange of ideas, experiences, teaching and teacher-training techniques in respect of the gifted and talented.
• To create a climate of acceptance of the gifted and talented as a valuable asset within Australia. Such individuals come from a variety of economic, social, racial and religious backgrounds and may show giftedness and or talent in intellectual, social, spiritual, aesthetic, physical or emotional spheres of human activity. They may have sensory, physical, emotional, behavioural and learning disabilities.
• To initiate, conduct and foster activities designed to bring together the gifted and talented of Australia.