
There are no Christmas presents for public schools in new interim funding agreements between the Albanese Government and the major states.
Government funding shares for public schools in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia in 2025 will be largely stuck at their previous levels because of continued squabbling between government levels. Public schools in these states will remain massively under-funded in 2025.
The interminable squabbling between governments over their respective shares of funding public schools is both disgraceful and scandalous. It hinders the learning progress of disadvantaged students and perpetuating large achievement gaps between rich and poor.
After a year of negotiations, the Labor Government has failed to secure increased funding for the vast majority of public schools and students. The government refused to increase the Commonwealth share of funding the Schooling Resource Standard to 25% and NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia refused to increase their share. It is a disaster for public schools because these states account for 81% of all public schools and 83% of all public school students.
The SRS funding shares of the vast majority of public schools in 2025 will be largely stuck at their 2023 levels because it is the second time the Labor Government has rolled over the Morrison era agreements with little or no increase in the SRS shares. In fact, NSW will reduce its official funding share from 78.47% in 2022 to 75% in 2025.
As a result of this failure, public schools in the hold-out states will be under-funded by approximately $5.9 billion in 2025 while private schools in these states will be over-funded by about $0.7 billion.
Another arrangement contributing to the under-funding is that the interim agreements allow the hold-out states to continue accounting tricks that defraud public schools. This swindle is also a feature of the five-year agreements signed by Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
The swindle allows all states and the Northern Territory to claim expenditures as part of their share of funding the SRS of public schools that are specifically excluded from how the SRS is measured. These expenditures include capital depreciation, school transport and funding of or regulatory agencies. It will cost public schools about $2.6 billion in 2025.
Under the interim and longer-term agreements, negotiation between the Albanese Government and the states and territories, public schools will be under-funded by approximately $6.6 billion in 2025 while private schools are over-funded by nearly $1 billion. On average, public schools will be funded at only 88.6% of their SRS in 2025 while private schools will be funded at 104.1% of their SRS.
There is no prospect for public schools to be fully funded by 2029. That is, 18 years after the Gonski report recommended a system to fully fund public schools they will still be under-funded. This is a catastrophe for public school students and their families and for the future prosperity of the nation.
The Albanese Government has betrayed public schools and disadvantaged students across the country. In Opposition, Labor promised on several occasions to end the accounting tricks. In government, it denies they exist. Indeed, it joined with the Coalition in the Senate last month to vote against an amendment to the Education Act proposed by the Greens to prohibit accounting tricks in funding agreements.
While public schools beg for recurrent and capital funding, private schools will remain over-funded until at last 2029. By stark contrast with public schools, the states are not permitted to use accounting tricks to defraud private schools. Private school funding is sacrosanct for Labor and the Coalition.
The Albanese Government gifted private schools $223 million in capital grants in 2024. The Prime Minister’s old school, St. Mary’s Cathedral College, got an early Christmas present. It received a $9.2 million capita grant, the fourth biggest in the program. By contrast, the Albanese Government cut capital funding for public schools after one year.
The new funding agreements are an unconscionable betrayal of public school students and their parents, particularly those most in need of learning support. It will be felt by students, parents, teachers and principals across Australia. Hundreds of thousands of low SES, Indigenous, disability, regional and remote area students as well as those with limited English language will have their learning restricted by the lack of full funding. Public schools will face ongoing teacher shortages, teachers teaching out-of-field and daunting workloads.
Public school parents and teachers will remember this betrayal right up to the next election.
Note: Funding of private schools includes funding through the Direct Measure of Income funding and the Choice and Affordability Fund.