Victoria and South Australian schools to be fully funded after securing landmark federal government agreement

But Queensland and New South Wales still hold out on agreement that will see southern states get a 5% boost in commonwealth public school funding

Victoria and South Australia have secured a landmark 5% increase in commonwealth public school funding meaning they will be fully funded by 2034, leaving just Queensland and New South Wales holding out on signing up to the historic education agreement.

The move is a major win for the states and for Labor ahead of the federal election, bringing an end to more than six months of disputes over who will pay to deliver on fully funding public education for the first time.

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Private school funding increased twice as much as public schools’ in decade after Gonski, data shows

Exclusive: Government funding since landmark education review released ‘has gone to those least in need’, says national convenor of Save Our Schools

Real government funding to private schools has increased almost twice as much as funding to public schools in the decade since the landmark Gonski review recommended changes designed to fund Australian schools according to need.

From 2012 to 2021, per student funding to independent and Catholic schools rose by 34% and 31% respectively, while funding to public schools increased by just 17%, according to parliamentary library data provided exclusively to Guardian Australia. In Queensland, the growth in government funding to independent schools per student has been nine times greater than to public schools.

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Victorian public schools face $20bn funding shortfall, analysis shows

Private schools will be overfunded by almost $400m, but public schools will fall short of national standards

Victoria’s public schools face a dire funding shortfall of almost $20bn, with new analysis revealing funding growth for private schools is five times higher than for the state’s government schools.

Analysis from public schools advocacy group Save Our Schools shows that combined federal and state funding for government schools from 2019 to 2029 would be about $19.5bn below the Gonski review’s recommended funding benchmark – the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).

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