Public schools in Western Australia to be ‘fully-funded’ in landmark agreement

“The investment will help children catch up, keep up and finish school,” said Federal Education Minister Jason Clare.

Public schools in Western Australia are set to be fully funded after the federal and state governments signed off on a “landmark” agreement - the first of its kind in Australia.

The statement signed on Wednesday means all public schools in Western Australia will be fully funded within the next two years, with the state’s most underprivileged education centres to be the priority focus. 

Currently, public schools are 95 per cent funded by the government, but is set to become 100 per cent by 2026. 

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Public schools are set to be fully-funded in WA. Source: iStock

WA becomes first state to fully fund public schools

The WA government will be the prominent provider of the landmark agreement, contributing 77.5 per cent of the investment of $1.6 billion into schools. 

Initially, the Commonwealth will provide 20 per cent, but this figure will increase to 21.25 per cent in 2025 and 22.5 per cent by 2026, which equates to $777.4 million. 

Underprivileged schools will be the first to receive the full funding.

“The statement of intent underlines our shared commitment to put all WA schools on a pathway to full and fair funding and invest in the reforms that will help children catch up, keep up and finish school,” said Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. 

He added the move would deliver a better education for Western Australian children and later be applied to schools across the country.

“I look forward to working with all states and territories to properly fund our schools and build a better and fairer education system for all Australians.” 

Funding will be allocated to improve teacher and student wellbeing, catch-up tutoring, greater support for teachers and an increased focus on student wellbeing. 

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The landmark move aims to give all kids a fair education. Source: NCA NewsWire/ Gary Ramage

“We don’t have a level playing field that ensures every child gets every opportunity to succeed”

The major move is part of the School Resourcing Standard, an estimate of how much total public funding schools need to meet their students’ educational needs, based on recommendations from a 2011 Gonski review. 

Premier Roger Cook said the increased funding would take the state’s schooling to the “next level.” 

While the Australian Education Union has welcomed the move, they said more needs to be done to support students across the entire country. 

“The Commonwealth has underfunded public schools for decades while overfunding private schools,” said federal president Correna Haythorpe in a statement.

She added the Commonwealth’s funding levels should be increased by 25 per cent for the remaining states and 540 per cent for the Northern Territory by 2028. 

“Only 1.6 per cent of the federal budget is spent on public schools,” she said. 

“Disadvantaged secondary students are six times more likely to be low performers than those from advantaged backgrounds.

“Declining student mental health and wellbeing is a major source of concern, and there are acute teacher shortages across the country caused by unsustainable workloads.

“We don’t have a level playing field in education that ensures every child gets every opportunity to succeed,’ she continued.

“Fixing that starts with funding.”

Originally published as Public schools in Western Australia to be ‘fully-funded’ in landmark agreement