South Australian and federal governments reach long-awaited new public school funding deal

South Australian public school students are set to receive more support and attention in the classroom following a major government announcement.

South Australian students are set to benefit from an extra $1bn in funding for public schools following a long-awaited agreement between the state and federal governments.

During an address to the National Press Club in Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the federal government will stump up the extra cash to ensure public schools across the state are fully funded over the next decade.

The money will go toward initiatives such as tutoring, literacy and numeracy checks, mental health support and professional development for teachers.

In return, the SA school system will have to meet new targets to improve student attendance and academic performance, retain more teachers and ensure more teenagers finish year 12.

Mr Albanese said the funding would enable “more individual attention for every child”.

“This is about every parent knowing that their child can get the best start in life at their local school,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives for his National Press Club address in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

SA Education Minister Blair Boyer said the money would go, in part, towards hiring more school support officers “so that teachers have the time, resources and support to help students achieve the best academic outcomes”.

“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,” Mr Boyer said.

Federal education minister Jason Clare said the funding would be “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,” he said.

SA Primary Principals Association president Tobias O’Connor said the deal was “a significant win” and may help to keep teachers in the profession.

“When we’ve got teachers that are well resourced, that may mean they want to stay,” Mr O’Connor said.

“It’s been a bit of a process for that deal to be done.

“We would argue that this is money and a deal that should have been done years ago.”

The Heights School assistant principal Daniel Brzeszinski said the deal will mean more opportunities for students who need extra support.

“If we’re able to increase that level of support it’s only positive,” Mr Brzeszinski said.

SA opposition education spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo welcomed the agreement but added: “We hope the government doesn’t rest on its laurels and ensures this additional funding goes in the right direction”.

SA Education Minister Blair Boyer and Federal Education Minister Jason Clare visiting Westport Primary School, in Adelaide, in 2022. Picture: Tom Huntley

The Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania have all previously signed funding agreements and agreed to meet new performance targets.

Mr Albanese also revealed the Victorian Government had now signed an agreement.

It follows drawn-out negotiations with state education ministers who were demanding the federal government increase its funding contribution for public schools to 25 per cent, as set out by businessman David Gonski in a landmark review delivered more than a decade ago.

It created the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) which estimated how much public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs and lift outcomes.

Currently, the federal government contributes 20 per cent of the SRS for SA government schools, while the states fund 75 per cent, leaving a five per cent shortfall.

The federal government had previously offered to lift the federal contribution from 20 per cent to 22.5 per cent but SA had been pushing for it to cover the full five per cent gap.

The new agreement cements the federal contribution at 25 per cent.