Governments sign new school funding and reform agreement

Claire Halliday

The Albanese Labor Government and Cook Labor Government signed an updated school funding and reform agreement on Sunday, 2 February.

This new agreement will see the Commonwealth provide an additional five per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to public schools across the state, lifting the Commonwealth’s contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the SRS by 2034.

The move is the biggest new investment in WA public schools by the Australian Government in history and will be tied to reforms aimed at helping more public school students finish high school.

The funding will include more individually tailored support for students, mandating evidenced-based teaching practices and making it easier for WA public school students to access mental health support.

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As part of the agreement, WA will remove the provision put in by the Morrison Government, allowing the State to claim four per cent of public school funding for indirect school costs, such as capital depreciation. In its place will be recurrent funding on eligible expenses, while also maintaining a share of at least 75 per cent of the SRS for public schools.

Sunday’s signed agreement will be followed by an updated WA Bilateral Agreement, which will tie funding to reforms already being delivered in WA schools that will help students catch up, keep up, and finish school, such as: 

  • Year 1 phonics and early years numeracy checks to identify students who need help in the early years of school
  • evidence-based teaching and targeted and intensive supports for students who fall behind, such as small-group or catch-up tutoring
  • support for students to come to school ready to learn, such as greater wellbeing support for learning and engagement, including health nurses, counsellors and school psychologists
  • a trial on place-based approaches to delivering a full-service school model in at least four WA public schools from 2026, which includes community, health and social services support
  • recruiting more co-ordinators to offer greater support for students with the most complex needs
  • identifying opportunities to reduce workloads and better support teachers and school leaders through professional learning
  • providing more support and pathways for people to transition to a teaching career in Western Australian public schools, with a focus on First Nations people, people with disability and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The following national targets will also be included: 

  • increasing the proportion of students leaving school with a Year 12 certificate by 7.5 percentage points (nationally) by 2030
  • reducing the proportion of students in the NAPLAN ‘Needs Additional Support’ proficiency level for reading and numeracy nationally by 10 per cent
  • increasing the proportion of students in the ‘Strong’ and ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels for reading and numeracy by 10 per cent by 2030 and trend upwards for priority equity cohorts in the ‘Strong’ and ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels nationally
  • increasing the Student Attendance Rate, nationally, to 91.4 per cent (2019 level) by 2030
  • increasing the engagement rate (completed or still enrolled) of initial teacher education students by 10 percentage points to 69.7 per cent by 2035.

This agreement means more support for teachers and more help for students and builds on the previous agreement with Western Australia signed in September 2024.

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“This investment is tied to real, practical reforms to help students catch up, keep up and finish school,” says Federal Education Minister Jason Clare.

WA Education Minister Tony Buti says the agreement is “good news” for the state.

“Teachers, students and families across the state will benefit as a result of increased funding and increased support for mental health and preparing students for school.”

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Claire Halliday has an extensive career as a full-time writer - across book publishing, copywriting, podcasting and feature journalism - for more than 25 years. She lives in Melbourne with children, two border collies and a grumpy Burmese cat. Contact: claire.halliday[at]educationdaily.au