In a major win for public education, Victoria and South Australia have secured landmark agreements with the federal government to fully fund their public schools. The deals will see a 5% increase in commonwealth funding, bringing an end to months of tense negotiations between the states and Canberra.
Under the current funding model put in place by the previous Coalition government, the federal government contributes just 20% of the total funding required to meet the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), with states and territories covering the remaining 80%. This has left a 5% shortfall in meeting the minimum funding levels required to deliver a quality education.
Doubling Down on Gonski Reforms
The new bilateral agreements secured by Victoria and South Australia go further than the initial funding offer put forward by the Albanese government last July. Rather than lifting the commonwealth contribution to 22.5%, these deals will see federal funding rise to 25% of the SRS over the next decade, fully covering the current shortfall.
This aligns with the vision of the landmark Gonski reforms, which established the SRS as the minimum funding level required to provide students with the resources they need to succeed. To date, only the ACT has met this ambitious target.
Today, we take a big step forward to making it happen … to meet the standards in education that Australian children deserve.
– Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Closing the Funding Gaps
The additional funding will be tied to “real reforms” aimed at lifting student outcomes, such as mental health support and explicit teaching instruction. States that had already signed up to the initial deal will be offered the higher 5% contribution with no disadvantage.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare emphasized that the funding boost was “not a blank cheque,” with clear expectations that the money will deliver tangible results for students. The bilateral agreements also close loopholes that have allowed states to claim up to 4% of their funding share for non-school expenses like capital depreciation.
States Holding Out
While the breakthrough deals have been hailed as a “very big win” by the education union, New South Wales and Queensland are yet to come to the table. Negotiations remain ongoing, with NSW Education Minister Prue Car emphasizing the need to get the details right on the 10-year funding agreements.
The holdout states are under pressure to secure similar outcomes for their public schools, with the education union calling on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to match the government’s commitments ahead of a federal election.
Australia’s students can not afford further delays in negotiations.
– Correna Haythorpe, Australian Education Union President
The Road Ahead
For Victoria and South Australia, the focus now shifts to implementing reforms and ensuring the additional funding delivers meaningful improvements in educational outcomes. The deals are expected to deliver $2.5 billion in extra funding for Victoria’s public schools over the next decade, with South Australia anticipating a $248 million annual boost.
Attention will also remain on the ongoing negotiations with Queensland and New South Wales. As states with the largest populations of school-age children, their participation will be critical in delivering a truly national approach to excellence and equity in Australia’s public education system.
While there remains work to be done, the landmark deals struck by Victoria and South Australia represent a significant step forward in the long fight for fair and full funding of Australia’s public schools. With the next federal election on the horizon, education is set to remain at the forefront of the national political debate.
