The extent of inequity in Australia’s school funding has been revealed in new research, showing that more than half of private schools in Victoria now receive more combined government funding (Commonwealth and state) per student than public schools of very similar size, location and with similar student needs.
The Australian Education Union report is being released as Commonwealth, state and territory leaders gather today for the National Cabinet.
Using school finance data, the AEU report ‘A Decade of Inequity’ reveals:
- In 2013, there were 504 private schools in Victoria that received more combined Government funding (Commonwealth and state) than comparable public schools. By 2022, this had increased to 521 private schools.
- In 2013 there were 200 private schools in the ICSEA 1050+ group (which includes the top quartile of Socio-Educational Advantage) funded higher than comparable public schools and by 2022 this had increased to 263 schools – an increase of 31.5%.
- In the top 15% of SEA (in the 1100+ ICSEA range) private schools receiving greater government funding than comparable public schools has increased from 59 to 83 over the last decade – an increase of 40.6%.
- In 2022 the largest gap between a private and public school in the same ICSEA range and same school size group is $7,282 per student.
The report compares the combined Commonwealth and State/Territory Government recurrent funding as reported by ACARA for comparable public and private schools. Its key findings reveal entrenched and increasing inequities in the funding of Victorian private and public schools.
The report uses a strict methodology based on the level of socio-educational advantage, school location, and school size to determine comparable public and private schools.
Five conditions must be met for schools to be considered comparable to ensure that only schools of the same type, with very similar student parental and household characteristics, of similar size and in the same jurisdiction are compared.
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said the shock findings underlined the urgent need for public schools to be fully funded by all governments.
“Some private schools in Victoria are receiving up to $7,282 per student more in government funding than similar public schools with very similar student profiles, in some cases those schools are just around the corner from each other.”
“This unfair private school funding advantage translates into a school resourcing and staffing advantage and has fuelled a private school capital works boom, while at the same time denying public schools the recurrent funding needed to attract and retain teachers and to address the high level of student needs in the classroom.”
President of AEU Victoria, Meredith Peace said, “Right now, school funding for the next decade is being negotiated between the Commonwealth and the Victorian Government. The urgency is clear and we call on Premier Jacinta Allan to fight hard for Victoria’s public school students in these negotiations.
“Public schools in Victoria educate proportionally 2.2 times the number of students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools, and 3.3 times the number of First Nations students. Currently our schools are not getting the funding they need to meet students’ needs.
“The challenges are too great and the cost of inaction too high for governments to continue to fail on funding.
“Full funding is the only way to ensure every child gets the support they need to succeed, and we can recruit and retain sufficient numbers of teachers. We need the Albanese Government and the Allan government to deliver a funding agreement that provides a full 100% of the SRS for all public schools. Anything less will fail Victoria’s public schools and their students”
MEDIA CONTACT: Bayley Mitchell – 0448 751 556 Coordinator, SOCIETY Marketing Communications
Jason Kemp – 0423 165 324 Manager, SOCIETY Marketing Communications
6 September 2024