The Albanese Labor Government and the South Australian Labor Government have come to an historic agreement that will put all public schools in South Australia on a path to full and fair funding.
As part of the Heads of Agreement signed today, the Commonwealth will provide an additional 5 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to South Australian public schools.
This will lift the Commonwealth’s contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the SRS by 2034.
This will see an estimated $1 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to South Australian public schools over the next 10 years.
This represents the biggest investment in South Australian public schools by the Australian Government – ever. This funding will be tied to the reforms needed to lift education standards across the country.
This includes more individualised support for students, mandating evidenced-based teaching practices and more mental health support in schools.
South Australia will remove the provision put in by the former Liberal Government allowing the state to claim 4 per cent of public school funding for indirect school costs such as capital depreciation and replace it with 4 per cent of recurrent funding on eligible expenses, while also maintaining a share of 75 per cent of the SRS for public schools.
South Australia is the first jurisdiction to agree to this new offer.
This is not a blank cheque. The Agreement signed today will be followed by a South Australian Bilateral Agreement, which will tie funding to reforms that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school, such as:
- Building on South Australia leading the nation by introducing a Year 1 phonics check under the former Labor Government, the Malinauskas Labor Government last year announced a year 1 numeracy check from 2026 to identify students in the early years of school who need additional help
- Initiatives that support wellbeing for learning – including greater access to mental health professionals
- Access to high-quality and evidence-based professional learning
- Initiatives that improve the attraction and retention of teachers.
In addition, the following targets will be included:
- Increasing the proportion of students leaving school with a Year 12 certificate by 7.5 percentage points (nationally) by 2030
- Reducing the proportion of students in the NAPLAN ‘Needs Additional Support’ proficiency level for reading and numeracy by 10 per cent.
- Increasing the proportion of students in the ‘Strong’ and ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels for reading and numeracy by 10 per cent by 2030 and trend upwards for priority equity cohorts in the ‘Strong’ and ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels.
- Increasing the Student Attendance Rate, nationally, to 91.4 per cent (2019 level) by 2030.
- Increasing the engagement rate (completed or still enrolled) of initial teacher education students by 10 percentage points to 69.7 per cent by 2035.
This means more help for students and more support for teachers.
The states and territories that have signed the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (BFSA) – Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – will also be offered additional funding from the Commonwealth, as per the no disadvantage clause included in their respective bilateral agreements. This will include similar requirements to no longer account for indirect expenditure on schools.
The Albanese Government is continuing to work with remaining states to get all public schools on a path to full and fair funding.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
“Building Australia’s Future means investing in the next generation.
“We know that education opens the doors of opportunity, and we’re committed to widening them.
“This is about investing in real reform with real funding – so Australian children get the best possible education.
"It’s what parents want, it’s what teachers want, and it’s what we’re delivering.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
“This is real funding tied to real reforms to help students catch up, keep up and finish school.
“It’s not a blank cheque. I want this money to get results.
“That’s why funding will be directly tied to reforms that we know work.
“It will help make sure every child gets a great start in life. What every parent wants. And what every Australian child deserves.”
Quotes attributable to Premier Peter Malinauskas:
“There is no more critical mission for government than investing in our children’s future.
“We have so much economic opportunity ahead of us as a state.
“But to seize it, we must have an education system which gives every child every chance to learn the skills they will need to lead fulfilling lives in an increasingly complex economy.
“This agreement delivers all public schools the funding they deserve to improve outcomes for kids who need support.
“I thank the Prime Minister and the Federal Labor Government for working in partnership to deliver this historic outcome.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer:
“This agreement finally ensures that South Australian public schools will be at 100 per cent of the SRS, the amount David Gonski said schools need as a minimum all those years ago.
“We are talking about funding for students with a disability, for students with learning difficulties, and students regularly not attending school for a whole raft of reasons totally out of the control of the education system.
“It’s money for more SSO support for those students so that teachers have the time, resources and support to help students achieve the best academic outcomes.
“In South Australia, when fully implemented the five per cent is worth as much as $248 million of extra funding for public schools every single year.”