$1bn partnership officially signed to fully fund NT public schools

NT teachers will soon be among the highest paid in the country thanks to a new wages agreement. On the same day, a billion-dollar boost to public schools officially makes Territory schools the ‘best funded’ in the nation. Read both stories.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare switch Moulden Park Primary School students before he signed the Better and fairer Schools Agreement for a billion-dollar funding commitment from the federal government. Picture: Sierra Haigh

A historic bilateral agreement to fully fund the Territory’s public schools will be signed with less than 24 hours to go until the government is plunged into caretaker mode.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the billion-dollar commitment would support the most underfunded schools in the nation.

Without the boost, the Territory’s funding pool reaches less than 80 per cent of the national Schooling Resource Standard, meaning one in five public school students do not have the funding for their education.

Comparatively, every other jurisdiction’s funding reaches more the 85 per cent of the SRS in 2024, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Education Union.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Picture: Sierra Haigh

Mr Clare said the five-year commitment would see “the most underfunded public schools in the country. become the best-funded schools in the country”.

“At the moment, Northern Territory public schools are on track to get to the full funding level by the middle of the century – 2050,” he said.

“This will bring that forward by more than 20 years, to 2029.”

Mr Clare said the signed agreement would not address a loophole clause where the NT government could artificially inflate its SRS share by four per cent.

With the new agreement comes additional targets and reforms.

For example, Mr Clare said the a Year 1 “phonics check” would help identify kids who are falling behind academically early.

The federal and Territory governments in March signed a statement of intent to lift their respective Schooling Resource Standard contributions to 40 per cent and 60 per cent.

The Territory government will invest about $350 million compared to the federal government’s $737.7 million from 2025-2029.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler, Federal Education Minister Jason Clare, and NT Education Minister Mark Monaghan sign the Better and fairer Schools Agreement for a billion-dollar funding commitment from the federal government. Picture: Sierra Haigh

The Territory is the first to officially sign the funding agreement, with Western Australia having also signed a statement of intent.

But New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia have yet to agree to the bilateral agreements.

The federal government on Wednesday morning issued a deadline for the remaining jurisdictions to confirm whether they would sign the agreement of continue with current funding arrangements.

Mr Clare said the hurdles the remaining jurisdictions were facing boiled down to the “contribution that states are willing to make”.

He said the SRS gap most states were facing was only about five or 10 per cent, compared to the NT’s 20 per cent.

Mr Clare said he wanted to see the state and federal government split the difference evenly.

“It’s going to really require the Commonwealth to put in extra money and the states and territories to put in extra money, he said.

“The Northern Territory is doing that, and if the Northern Territory can do that, then so can the other states and territories.”

Education Minister Mark Monaghan speaks with Moulden Park Primary School students. Picture: Sierra Haigh

NT teachers to become highest paid in the nation

With additional funding for schools comes additional funding for teachers, and a new wages agreement has secured a competitive salary for the Territory’s educators.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler on Wednesday said teachers’ salaries would increase about 13 per cent over the next three years thanks to new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.

Classroom teachers will get an 8.7 per cent pay increase on average in October.

Australian Education Union NT branch president Michelle Ayres said the wage increase meant the Territory could offer “some incredibly attractive rates” to bring new teachers to the region.

Australian Education Union NT president Michelle Ayres.

Ms Ayres said the NT’s base rate for teachers would be the “highest paid in Australia”, allowing the Territory to compete for teachers in the midst of a national workforce shortage.

“That is significantly higher paid at the graduate salary level and the top experienced teacher level,” she said.

“Where it gets a little bit more complex and murky is where we start talking about attraction-retention benefits and bonuses.

“There’s a lot of that going around, so what we have come to agreement to settle that area of our of our claim, is that we will work with the Department of Education to come up with a ‘hard to staff’ program.”

Ms Ayres said the EBA had been agreed upon in principle, and she expected it would go to ballot soon after the NT election.

She said it had been agreed upon months before the current EBA was due to expire.

Ms Lawler said the extra pay for teachers was an “investment in the education of Territory children”.

“(It is) a really good thing for our teachers,” she said.

“This deal will also support the attraction and retention of quality teachers in the Territory.”

Ms Lawler said the EBA would also implement the secondary review recommendations, including a new model to support students with disability, more Aboriginal staff in schools, expanding the bilingual education program, additional subject offerings for students, and more professional development opportunities.

She said it also gave teachers the opportunity to take on permanent instead of contracted roles should they wish to do so.