Private schools raking in extra funding while public schools go without

Elite private schools are being funded above their recommended entitlement by millions of dollars, while public schools are being underfunded nationally by up to $6.5bn a year.

Elite private schools are being “over-funded” by the federal government above their recommended entitlement by millions of dollars each, with the top 10 to receive an extra $130m over the next five years.

As public schools go wanting, new figures show private schools will receive almost $3bn above the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2029, with some schools pocketing more than $10m extra, according to figures released to Senate Estimates.

In NSW, St Augustine’s College in Sydney will pocket an additional $19.4m over the next six years, while Newington College, Loreto Kirribilli and the Presbyterian Church Property Trust, which looks after schools such as Scots College, will each receive more than $10m extra.

Schools over-funded by more than $5m include Loreto Normanhurst, St Aloysius’ College, Oakhill College, Brigidine College, Pittwater House and St Vincent’s College.

Introduced in 2013 after the Gonski school funding review, the SRS estimates how much total public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs.

Newington College has been ‘over-funded’ by more than $10m. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The former Coalition government determined the Commonwealth would contribute 80 per cent of the funding for private schools, with states and territories making up the rest, while the reverse would apply for public schools.

But despite many private schools being found to have lower student need under the funding model, the Coalition agreed they would have until 2029 to transition down to the 80 per cent, a move that has resulted in many being granted funds well above the recommended level.

At the same time, an Australian Education Union-commission report by respected school resourcing economist Adam Rorris — obtained by The Sunday Telegraph — has found public schools are being underfunded nationally by up to $6.5bn each year.

Given the extent of private school over-funding, the union is demanding the federal and state governments commit to funding public schools their full SRS entitlement by 2028.

Union president Correna Haythorpe said the Rorris report showed there were few countries with such an inequitable distribution of education funding as Australia, where just 1.3 per cent of public schools nationally were funded their full SRS entitlement.

The union is demanding the Albanese government honour its commitment to full funding and signing of bilateral agreements with state and territory governments next year that put an end to the underfunding of public schools by 2028.

Ms Haythorpe said only public schools in the ACT were resourced at 100 per cent while only the NSW government had pledged to fully fund public schools within the next five year bilateral agreement with the Albanese government.

“If governments can afford to over-fund private schools by hundreds of millions each year, they can afford to fund every public school to their own minimum standard,” Ms Haythorpe said. “Full funding of public schools is the only way to ensure every child gets every ­opportunity to succeed.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year promised to get all public schools to 100 per cent of the SRS, but has not said when they would reach that point.

The Rorris report also found bilateral agreements with the former Coalition government allow states to include non-school spending as part of their SRS share as part of “accounting trickery”.

The loopholes over-inflated the state’s SRS shares of public school funding by $2bn a year, robbing them of investment in much needed additional teachers, specialists, counsellors and support staff and intervention programs, he said.

“The decline in actual funding of public schools — measured against the minimum SRS benchmark exposes the shocking reality of neglect experienced by public schools,” he said.

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