School Education

The Australian Government provides most of its funding for schools on a four-yearly basis. The legislation for the next quadrennium of federal schools funding (2009–12) will be introduced into the Parliament in 2008. Under the legislation, state and territory government and non‑government education authorities will enter into new funding agreements with the Australian Government. These agreements stipulate the Australian Government’s conditions for funding.

While there have always been conditions placed on Commonwealth funding for schools, since 2005 there has been a significant expansion in their number and scope. The conditions reflect the government’s school education priorities and findings of various reports relating to student and school educational outcomes, school management and student physical and social welfare.

The Commonwealth has also become more directly involved in school education through programs such as the Investing in Our Schools Programme, Australian Technical Colleges and tuition vouchers. Critics argue that the latter two duplicate and undermine state and territory education systems.

During the election campaign, the focus of the Australian Labor Party (ALP)—like that of the Howard Government—was on educational standards, rather than funding for schools. The Rudd Government’s immediate priority is to ensure students in Years 9 to 12 have access to their own school computer. It will provide $1 billion over four years for secondary schools to acquire or upgrade their information technology.

However, reports have continued to highlight deficiencies in school education funding. An oft-cited Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2005 report concluded that government schools required an additional $2.4 billion to achieve a minimum National School Resourcing Standard. A government-commissioned report found deficiencies in primary school resourcing and the Australian Primary Principals Association has called for government primary schools to be funded at the same rate as government secondary schools.

It remains to be seen whether these recommendations, and those of a 2006 internal departmental review of the non-government schools funding system (the findings of which have not been released), will be incorporated into the arrangements for schools funding. The ALP has committed to maintaining current levels of funding and the existing system of non-government schools funding until 2012. From 2009 to 2012, the Commonwealth will provide an estimated $42 billion to schools.

Documentation
Marilyn Harrington, ‘Australian Government General Recurrent Grants for Schools—A Brief Explanation’, Electorate Atlas, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2007.