Better and Fairer Schools Agreement - School Funding

Question

Senator KOVACIC: Could we table documents 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. My questions relate to the schools funding under the BFSA, if that assists. The Minister for Education issued a media release which you'll have shortly. I'll read while it comes around: The Albanese Government has put $16 billion of additional investment for public schools on the table... The Albanese Government will continue to work with the remaining states and territories to fully fund government schools across Australia. On 25 March 2026, the Minister for Education told the House of Representatives he had secured 'an extra $16.5 billion over 10 years'. On the same day, his media release said there was 'an additional $16.5 billion in public schools across the country over the next decade and an extra $50 billion in the decade after that'. Then, eight weeks later on 28 May, the minister told the House of Representatives that there was '$20 billion of extra funding to fix the funding of our public schools'. So I'm just a little bit confused. We've gone from $16 billion to $161/2 billion and then $20 billion, and that's in the space of some eight weeks. Could you talk me through those differences, where the extra billions come from, and what those discrepancies are in the minister's statements? Mr Cook: Ms Brighton will be able to do this in great detail. The simple answer is—new budget. So an additional financial year is added to it. And, as you know, in the first couple of years of the better and fairer schools agreement the money escalates over later years. So, effectively, it's adding an additional financial year at the end of the decade, which is the full funding. And that's why it's gone from 16.5 to 20. But Ms Brighton will be able to give a bit more detail on that. Senator KOVACIC: So it's not an increase; it's just a change in the timing. Mr Cook: It's a new decade, effectively. The first year of the decade has disappeared with the new budget, and another year has been added to that decade. Ms Brighton? Ms Brighton: I have nothing further to add. That's exactly right. Senator KOVACIC: So it was basically just the change in the timing and the phasing of those payments. One year had come out, or another year had come in. Mr Cook: Also there'd be some updates in terms of things like student enrolments and things like that—Mr Davern can help around that as well—which is the normal budget process every year. Mr Davern: As Secretary Cook mentioned, the difference in the figures that you've quoted comes down to the time period. Just to provide some precision, the $16.5 billion that you referenced covers 10 financial years from 2025-26 to 2034-35. The $20.2 billion figure that you referenced covers 2026-27 to 2035-36. So the primary driver of that different figure is exactly as Secretary Cook mentioned; it's a different time period. But, in addition, as Secretary Cook touched on, there are also updates to enrolment projections and student characteristics that we work through as a matter of business. Senator KOVACIC: That impact those. Mr Davern: Precisely. Senator KOVACIC: On notice, can the department please table the Commonwealth funding amounts for each jurisdiction—except Victoria, obviously, which isn't yet available—by government and non-government schools across each year of the funding agreement through to 2034 for both financial and calendar or school years? Mr Davern: Yes. Senator KOVACIC: Can this also include the underpinning assumptions that you've made, on how many students there will actually be by jurisdiction and by government and non-government schools as well? Mr Cook: The enrolment projections? Senator KOVACIC: Yes. Mr Davern: Yes

Answer

Please see the attached PDF.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000676.pdf (opens in a new tab)