Commonwealth will pay for a quarter of public school funding, up from a fifth, replicating an agreement reached with South Australia and Victoria last monthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales has secured a deal with the commonwealth to fully fund public schools by 2034, leaving Queensland as the country’s only outlier ahead of the federal election.The agreement is expected to inject $4.8bn into NSW public schools over the next decade and follows more than seven months of stalled negotiations.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…Commonwealth will pay for a quarter of public school funding, up from a fifth, replicating an agreement reached with South Australia and Victoria last monthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales has secured a deal with the commonwealth to fully fund public schools by 2034, leaving Queensland as the country’s only outlier ahead of the federal election.The agreement is expected to inject $4.8bn into NSW public schools over the next decade and follows more than seven months of stalled negotiations.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…
New South Wales has secured a deal with the commonwealth to fully fund public schools by 2034, leaving Queensland as the country’s only outlier ahead of the federal election.
The agreement is expected to inject $4.8bn into NSW public schools over the next decade and follows more than seven months of stalled negotiations.
It will replicate a historic 5% increase in commonwealth school funding secured by Victoria and South Australia last month, a major win for the states and the education union over who would pay for fully funded public education.
Under current funding arrangements enacted by the Coalition, states and territories contribute 75% of public school funding and the commonwealth delivers 20%, leaving a 5% gap.
Labor’s initial deal, introduced last July, proposed to increase the commonwealth’s funding share by 2.5% to 22.5% – and up to 40% for the Northern Territory due to additional need. State jurisdictions would cover the remaining funding gap.
The deal reached with NSW will lift the commonwealth contribution to 25% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2034, as it has lobbied for, after the state government’s commitment to reach 75% of the SRS in 2025.
It also removes “accounting tricks” introduced by the former Coalition government that have allowed states and territories to claim about 4% of their total funding share on non-school related expenses, like capital depreciation.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said the funding wasn’t a “blank cheque” but would be tied directly to reforms including individualised support for students, evidence-based teaching practices, phonics and numeracy checks and mental health and wellbeing support.
“This is big,” he said. “The biggest state in the country has now signed up.”
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was “proud” to work with federal Labor to ensure the state’s schools were fully funded, calling public education “the best investment any government can make”.
The NSW minister for education and early learning, Prue Car, described the deal as an “incredible outcome”.
“The Minns Labor government inherited a teacher shortage crisis and falling outcomes after a decade of underfunding by federal and state Liberal and National governments,” she said.
Tuesday’s agreement with NSW follows deals secured with Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, the ACT, South Australia and Victoria.
Negotiations are continuing with Queensland.