Availability of Commonwealth School Education Programs

Question

Senator KOVACIC: ...The recent Victorian teacher pay agreement will, as has been the case in other states and territories, significantly increase operating costs, as school staff costs can be 80 per cent of the total running expenses. We are talking about potential cost increases of some 10 to 15 per cent in one year, and there's been no provision to non-government schools to assist in meeting those costs. Has the department undertaken any planning or advised the minister on how the Australian government supports non-government schools so they can avoid major fee increases, particularly in a cost-of-living crisis, and remain affordable for the families that choose them? Ms Brighton: The funding to all schools, non-government and government, that is provided by the Australian government has an indexation component. That indexation is a composite indexation which has regard to wages CPI. That means there is year-on-year growth in the funding that is going both to states and territories and to the non-government sector. Senator KOVACIC: What work is the department doing to ensure that Commonwealth funding settings reflect real increases in the cost of delivering schooling, including salary costs driven by teacher workforce shortages? Ms Brighton: As I've just said, we do have an indexation that applies to the current funding. There was a review of the indexation-I want to say in 2023, but I'll correct myself if I've got the year wrong. That review found that the indexation settings were reasonable and the composite index was the right index to be using. Senator KOVACIC: So that's the mechanism by which you do that? Ms Brighton: Yes. Senator KOVACIC: What current Commonwealth school education programs are available to all sectors, and which ones are restricted by sector? Ms Brighton: I could name a couple of things off the top of my head, but perhaps we could be more comprehensive if I take that on notice. Senator KOVACIC: Of course.

Answer

Please see the attached PDF.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000679.pdf (opens in a new tab)