Public Schools in Australia’s Largest State on Track to Receive Full Government Funding

Bob Hawke College, a public co-educational senior high school, in Perth, Australia, on Jan. 31, 2020. AAP Image/Supplied by the WA Department of Education

Public schools in Western Australia (WA) will likely be among the first in the country to be fully funded following a $1.6 billion (US$1.05 billion) deal between the federal and local governments.

On Jan. 31, the federal Labor government signed a statement of intent with the WA government, raising funding for all public schools in the state from the current 95 percent of the School Resourcing Standard (SRS) to 100 percent by 2026.

According to the agreement, the total additional funding that WA public schools will receive between 2025 and 2029 is $1.6 billion, with the federal government contributing $777 million.

The most disadvantaged schools in the state will be the first to be fully funded, followed by schools with better funding conditions.

The federal government will also lift its contribution ratio for WA public schools from the current 20 percent to 21.25 percent in 2025 and 22.5 percent in 2026, while the remaining 77.5 percent will be covered by the state government.

In addition, the deal serves as the foundation for the negotiation of the next National School Reform Agreement and an associated bilateral arrangement between the WA and federal governments, which will link funding to reforms that help improve student performance.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare touted the deal as a “landmark” agreement, saying it would bring about a better and fairer education system for WA.

“The statement of intent underlines our shared commitment to put all WA schools on a pathway to full and fair funding and invest in the reforms that will help children catch up, keep up, and finish school,” he said.

WA Premier Roger Cook believed support for schools would reach the “next level” and that no child in the public system would be left behind under the new agreement.

“Every Western Australian school student deserves access to a quality education,” he said.

Currently, only public schools in the Australian Capital Territory are fully funded, while the degree of funding varies from state to state.

According to a recent analysis, the funding gap is close to 15 percent in most jurisdictions, with the Northern Territory reaching nearly 25 percent.

Opposition Says New Agreement Is More ‘Smoke and Mirrors’

Following the announcement, Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson was not convinced that the Labor government could keep its promise to provide more funding for public schools.

“The Albanese Government’s promise to increase its share of public school funding is more smoke and mirrors from a government failing to take the urgent action required to fix our education system,” she said in a statement.

Pointing to Labor’s performance in the past two years, the shadow minister questioned the government’s ability to deliver real reforms in the public school sector.

“For close to two years, Education Minister Jason Clare has talked a big game on the National School Reform Agreement but so far has delivered no national agreement and no school reforms,” she said.

“The Albanese Government has wheeled out a promise to deliver $3 billion extra a year for public schools, but after all the lies they have told, how can you trust a word they say?”

“This promise is contingent on the states and territories delivering billions more in school funding, and on that score, all we have heard is deafening silence.”

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson makes her first speech in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 16, 2019. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Concerns About Insufficient Funding

Meanwhile, Greens education spokesperson Senator Penny Allman-Payne called the deal a “stitch-up,” saying it would disadvantage millions of students.

“If this is the model the federal education minister is looking to roll out to the rest of the country, then Labor is leaving 2.5 million public school kids short-changed,” she said.

While the Australian Education Union welcomed the agreement, it said the deal would not provide full funding for WA public schools as the federal government stated.

“Today’s agreement will only see WA public schools reach 96% of the SRS,” union president Correna Haythorpe said.

“WA’s SRS funding share is artificially inflated by 4% through the inclusion of costs not directly related to the education of students in schools, such as capital depreciation, transport, and regulatory costs.”

The union president also drew a bleak picture of public school funding in Australia and urged governments to take further steps to ensure schools were fully funded.

“Only 1.3 percent of public schools are funded to the Schooling Resource Standard, which is the minimum level governments agreed over a decade ago was required to meet the needs of their students,” she said.