Federal Budget 2017: Two elite Brisbane schools to lose funding

TWO of Brisbane’s elite schools are set to lose more than $2.2 million under the Government’s education budget.

Hillbrook Anglican College at Enoggera.

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TWO of Queensland’s elite schools are set to lose more than $2.2 million under the Government’s education budget, it will be revealed today.

But a school for autistic children will cash in with a $9 million funding boost over a decade.

Parents from all schools will be able to learn how much their school will gain or lose as the government launches its “online estimator” for education funding today.

More than 9000 schools across Australia are expected to gain funding under the needs-based funding plan, announced by Education Minister Simon Birmingham last week, while 24 schools are expected to lose cash.

Of those 24 schools, 15 are in NSW while just two are in Queensland.

Hillbrook Anglican College at Enoggera

Hillbrook Anglican College at Enoggera will see its government funding cut by $1.6 million over a decade, from $5.7 million a year to $4.1 million a year by 2027.

Cannon Hill Anglican College will lose $600,000 over the same period, down from $8.18 million a year to $7.58 million.

But one of the winners will be Autism Queensland Education and Therapy Centre, which will get an extra $9.8 million in funds over 10 years. It is the equivalent of the school receiving $2617 per student in 2018 and rising to $33,793 per student by 2027.

Senator Birmingham said the $18.6 billion in needs-based funding factored in background, family life, levels of disability and socio-economic status of each student and school.

Cannon Hill Anglican College

“My department has been in contact with the schools set for a funding reduction under our plan to ensure those communities have the information and support to work through those changes,” he said.

The Opposition has argued the Government’s funding is a $22 billion cut compared with what was ­proposed under the Gillard government, but the Coalition says that cash was never funded.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten yesterday said it was wrong to say there was misleading to say there was a funding increase for schools.

“Malcolm Turnbull wants some sort of gold medal because he is not cutting schools as much as Tony Abbott,” he said.

The online estimator will be available at www.education.gov.au.

Originally published as Federal Budget 2017: Two elite Brisbane schools to lose funding