Victorian state schools to get $2.5 billion boost as ‘tortuous’ wrangling ends

Victorian state schools will get an extra $2.5 billion over 10 years after the federal government announced a new funding deal with the state.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the deal on Friday, ending the 18-month stand-off between his government and the governments of Victoria and South Australia over school funding. Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll later confirmed the amount of the agreement.

Anthony Albanese has pledged $2.5 billion to improving education outcomes in Victoria.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Carroll said Canberra had agreed to fund Victorian schools to 25 per cent of the benchmark schools resourcing standard (SRS) – paying about $2.5 billion between 2026 and 2036, and the state paying the rest.

It was the biggest increase to funding the Commonwealth had ever done, he said.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare had previously offered to fund state schools to 22.5 per cent of the SRS, the funding standard identified in the landmark 2011 Gonski report, requiring the states to pay the rest. But Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland had been holding out for 25 per cent.

The agreement leaves NSW and Queensland as the only jurisdictions yet to strike a deal with Canberra for school funding for the coming decade.

Carroll said on Friday: “I’m very pleased, after much advocacy, that the Commonwealth today, through the prime minister, have reached an agreement with the Victorian government that they will increase their education spend by 5 per cent to our public school kids.

“There has been a lot of talk about Gonski over the past 10 years, and I’ve always said that the Commonwealth government, to be very frank, with their GST revenues and their goods and services and their taxation, did need to put more into public education.”

The money will go to resources for students in the public school system, including lesson plans on phonics and making sure teachers have the supports they need.

The process to reach the deal had been difficult, Carroll said on Friday.

“It’s been tortuous, it’s been tough, it’s been hard going, but here we are today, and it’s all been worth it … to get that 5 per cent,” he said.

The funding will roll out from 2026, according to the state government.

Albanese said earlier that the announcement was about making sure every child in government schools received the support they needed.

“Today is about a principle that has driven me my whole life: no one held back, and no one left behind. Making sure that every child in government schools gets the support they need to thrive,” Albanese said.

“This agreement is not about dividing up the same amount of dollars in a different way. Instead, both levels of government are stepping up our commitment to schools over the decade.

“Importantly, this new agreement means accounting practices – like capital depreciation – can no longer be counted as education investment. Instead, every dollar of funding will go into helping children learn.

“This will mean more money than ever for public schools, but it’s not a blank cheque. Our new funding is for real reform, and it will deliver real results.”

The new funding is tied to a series of initiatives in Victorian state schools, such as a phonics checks for year 1 students. Victorian students will also undergo early numeracy checks. The package will also cover initiatives to improve the attraction and retention of teachers.

The additional funding comes with new targets, including increasing the proportion of students leaving school with a year 12 certificate by 2030, and boosting the proportion of students in the “strong” and “exceeding” proficiency for reading and numeracy by 10 per cent.

Victoria’s opposition education spokeswoman, Jess Wilson, said the agreement was a “de facto bailout” of the Allan Labor government.

“If Premier Allan and Minister Carroll had simply funded their share of our public schools, this funding issue never would have occurred, and Victorian students would not have been left short-changed for so long, resulting in declining learning outcomes,” she said.

She said it was no surprise the Labor government had to rely on the Commonwealth to fully fund Victorian schools.

“It remains to be seen how the Education Minister intends to keep to the funding agreement, which requires Victorian schools to adopt evidence-based instruction and phonics when his own Labor-aligned union has instructed teachers to ignore efforts to teach best practice in Victorian schools,” she said.

The Australian Education Union’s Victorian branch welcomed the funding deal.

“The commitment to increase funding means it will be easier to attract and retain school staff and better address teacher shortages, as well as help tackle excessive school staff workloads,” it said.

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