Federal schools funding - the facts

• There are 9,500 primary and secondary schools in Australia; 6,800 (78 per cent) are state schools, and 2,700 (22 per cent) private. 2.3 million (66 per cent) students attend state schools and 1.2 million (34 per cent) attend private schools (ABS Schools Australia 2009).
• The federal government's "general recurrent grants" (funding for the ongoing operation of schools) are linked to a measure known as the Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC), which is a formula that determines a per capita amount of funding for primary and secondary students. This formula does not take into account the different resources needed by different students. The average cost of educating students in state schools is higher than in private schools, because state schools educate the overwhelming majority of students with special needs, Indigenous students, new arrivals and those from a non-English speaking background, as well as most students in rural, remote and isolated settings.
• State schools receive only 10 per cent of the AGSRC per student per year (around $1,000 per student).
• For private schools, federal recurrent funding is spread over 46 subsidy levels, ranging from 13.7 per cent to 70 per cent of the AGSRC (between $1,300 and $7,000 per year per student). The subsidy levels are supposed to be determined by the socio-economic status of the areas each school's students are drawn from. The resources of the school are not taken into consideration. In reality, only 40 per cent of Catholic schools and 75 per cent of independent schools are funded on their actual SES scores. That is because when the SES funding system for private schools was introduced in 2001, special arrangements were put into place so that it only applied to schools which would receive an increase in funding under the system; others had their funding maintained at historical levels.
• In 2008, federal recurrent funding for private schools was just over $5.5 billion, almost three times more than funding for state schools at $1.9 billion.
• When all funding sources are taken into account, including state/territory and federal funding, fees, fundraising and sponsorships, the average total expenditure for students in state schools is several thousand dollars per year less than for students in private schools (MCEETYA, National Report on Schooling in Australia, 2008).

About the review

• This is the first comprehensive federal schools funding review since 1973, and so is a rare opportunity to convince a federal government to give a fair deal to state schools – and to the millions of students and families who depend on them.The funding review will examine:
  • how Australia's schools are currently funded
  • what needs to be done to improve the distribution of resources to provide high-quality education for all students, regardless of their personal and social circumstances
  • which investments in schooling work well, and which can be improved
  • options to improve the distribution of funding
  • the principles against which schools funding should be measured.
• The review is being undertaken by an expert panel and is expected to conclude in 2011, with the new funding arrangements to be in place for the next schools' funding agreement (more information about the review is available on the government's website).

Page updated 9 November 2010