‘Snap change not fair’: Federal government changes tack

The federal government has changed its tack in regard to the funding of special education schools which would have seen them face a huge funding hit come January. Read the latest.

Senator Jacqui Lambie spoke to the media at a morning press conference in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

THE federal government has changed its tack in regard to the funding of special education schools which would have seen them face a huge funding hit come January.

Burnie-based Senator Jacqui Lambie last week went into bat for the Indie school and other special education facilities after it was revealed they would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars due to a change in funding modelling.

The Indie School is growing rapidly in Tasmania with new campuses planned for Launceston and Kingston, the Burnie campus expanding and more than 40 potential students on the waiting list.

Senator Lambie said vulnerable kids at danger of falling through the cracks would be the big losers of the funding change.

Tasmania’s Indie School was due to face a funding shortfall of more than $750,000 in 2023.

On Saturday, Education Minister Jason Clare agreed the snap change was not fair.

Jason Clare, Minister for Education and Youth of Australia delivered the Cheaper Child Care Bill in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Clare said the schools impacted did incredibly important work and switching from one funding model to another in an instant was not fair.

“I’ve made the decision to transition to a new funding model that all other schools use over the next four years,” Mr Clare said.

“I’ve also informed Independent Schools Australia that the Choice and Affordability Fund is to be used to provide additional support to these schools in the future.”

The planned, but now reversed change, would have saved Canberra about $44m.

It would have impacted Special Assistance Schools, Special Schools and those with a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Until now funding was allocated according to a “deeming” process but that was set to change to a calculation based on Student Background Data (SBD).

Deeming is an assumption of the socio-economic circumstances of the student cohort while SBD means the school will have to submit data about such things as parents’ backgrounds, jobs and education.

Senator Lambie said this data was very hard to collect and incomplete student background data would lead to less funding.

The Department of Education has been working with ISA on a solution to ensure any funding shock to schools was minimised while data collection methods are bedded down.

This will involve a gradual tapering of funding to impacted schools over four years to allow them adequate time to adjust to the data collection method.

Lambie ‘ropeable’ over independent school funding crisis

VULNERABLE kids at danger of falling through the cracks will be the big losers of a federal independent education funding furore which has Jacqui Lambie “fuming.”

Tasmania’s Indie School - which is expanding rapidly - will be one of the independent schools hardest hit - facing a funding shortfall of more than $750,000 a year from January.

The federal government recently announced it was changing how some schools are funded in a move which will save it about $44m. These include Special Assistance Schools, Special Schools and those with a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Until now this funding was allocated according to a “deeming” process. Now it will be calculated on Student Background Data (SBD).

Deeming is an assumption of the socio-economic circumstances of the student cohort while SBD means the school will  have to submit data about such things as parents’ backgrounds, jobs and education.

Senator Lambie said this data was very hard to collect. Incomplete student background data would leads to less funding.

Senator Jacqui Lambie spoke to the media at a morning press conference in Parliament House, Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“The government talks about closing the gap and that education is the biggest and most powerful weapon we have against disadvantage,” the Burnie-based Senator said.

“But this government just cut money from schools that help the most disadvantaged kids we’ve got. It is a joke”

“If we don’t intervene early, vulnerable kids will end up on the streets, in detention and then in adult jail.”

The Indie school is looking to open two new campuses soon – in Launceston and Kingston – and has recently expanded its footprint in Burnie.

There are already more than 40 students on a waiting list hoping to secure a spot in the school which helps those who do not fit into the mainstream education system to finish their schooling and get jobs.

Principal Indie Schools Australia Rodney Wangman said the school could lose between $554,000 and $770,000 in Tasmania alone.

“We do not have a criteria regarding enrolments. We enrol all students where we can,” Mr Wangman said.

“The sudden and previously unknown announcement to cease deeming for SBD values that determine student funding for educational ‘at risk’ students, has immediate impacts in the numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff employed at Indie Schools.”

Senator Lambie said she had met the responsible Minister last week and asked “what the hell was going on.”

“He says they understand the issue. That they’re working on a fix. But they can’t guarantee the schools won’t be worse off.

“This needs fixing now.”