This core thesaurus of terms suitable for indexing Australian educational literature was developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research by means of a systematic and thorough revision of the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors." Based on the actual terminology of education in Australia, this thesaurus includes: key words and phrases used by indexers as subject headings, or "descriptors," in information retrieval systems; an alphabetical display of all subject index terms (headings); extensive scope notes to clarify meaning and usage of terms; and a full introduction and comprehensive explanatory chapters. Introductory materials include sections on thesaurus development, vocabulary maintenance, the Australian Education Index database, information retrieval search aids, guidelines for indexing, structure and format of the thesaurus, and descriptor groups. (THC)