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The Australian Education Union today used skywriting above Parliament House in Canberra to deliver a message to the Prime Minister about the need to keep his promise to fully fund public schools.

The message 'Fund our Schools PM' appeared at 11.30am as a reminder of how urgent it is to address the unacceptable situation that sees only 1.3% of public schools fully funded.

More than 50 principals from public schools across the state will take their demands to see public schools fully funded direct to the Allan Labor government today at state parliament.

The principals will meet with around 30 Labor MPs, including the Deputy Premier and Treasurer, at meetings throughout the day to raise their concerns about the challenges in their schools and across the Victorian public school system.

Victorian TAFE teachers are one step closer to industrial action – including possible stop work action – after an application for a protected action ballot was approved by the Fair Work Commission.

The ballot will ask members to endorse a range of possible actions, including bans and limitations on the work performed, and stop work actions.

The Australian Education Union today welcomed news that the NT and Federal Governments are committing to full funding of public schools and said the investment was urgently needed.

AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said the current funding situation was shameful with NT public schools receiving the lowest proportion of Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding, despite having the highest levels of student need.

The schedule released for public hearings as part of the Victorian parliament’s inquiry into state education is politically biased to National party electorates and excludes the majority of public schools across Victoria, the Australian Education Union Victorian Branch says. 

A new report into school capital works and infrastructure funding highlights the federal government’s failure to adequately fund Victorian public schools, says the Australian Education Union Victorian branch.

The union movement is calling for the Albanese government to increase its funding offer to states and territories and ensure full funding of public schools is delivered by 2028.

New figures showing private school funding increasing at almost twice the rate of public school funding underline the urgent need for a fairer system where all public schools are fully funded. 

The data from the Productivity Commission shows public school funding increased by 20.3% (or 2% per year) in real terms between 2012-13 and 2021-22. Private school funding from governments increased over the same period by 37%. 

The PC’s Report on Government Services 2024 also shows private schools have fewer students per teacher than public schools. 

Victoria’s TAFE students are being short-changed by almost 20 per cent, compared to other states and territories, the latest Productivity Commission Report on Government Services (ROGS) shows.

The new data reveals that Victoria is again the lowest-funded state for vocational education and training (VET), paying just $17.19 per annual hour of VET delivery.

This is $3.67 less per annual hour of VET delivery than the national average of $20.86 and almost $3 behind the second lowest funded state of Queensland at $19.99 per annual hour of VET delivery.

The Australian Education Union welcomes the Albanese government’s introduction of legislation today to deal with unscrupulous VET providers, address deceptive conduct and restore integrity and confidence in Australia’s Vocational Education sector.

“These measures are long overdue and we commend the Minister For Skills and Training, Hon Brendan O’Connor, for acting on issues which everyone knows have plagued the VET sector for a very long time,” Correna Haythorpe, AEU Federal president said.