Mon Mar 3

Schools agreement provides NSW $4.8 billion extra for public schools over a decade

Written by: Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The Albanese government has signed up New South Wales to its new schools funding agreement ^[1], with an extra A$4.8 billion in funding for the state’s public schools over ten years.

Queensland remains the only state still to join the agreement, which ties federal funding to schools to specific measures, such as phonics checks and teacher training. The federal government is working hard to finalise a deal with that state before going into caretaker mode for the election.

The federal government has been negotiating with states and territories over a new schools funding deal for more than 12 months ^[2].

NSW has been among states asking for a 5% increase in funds, while the federal government was initially only offering 2.5%. In January 2025, Victoria and South Australia successfully negotiated for a 5% increase ^[3] from the federal government, leaving NSW and Queensland as the only two states without a deal ahead of a new school year.

The Commonwealth and NSW governments said in a statement that under the NSW deal, the federal government will provide an extra 5% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).

This would lift the federal contribution from 20% to 25% of the SRS by 2034. It follows the NSW government delivering an election commitment to reach 75% of the SRS by 2025.

The 2011 Gonski review recommended all schools receive a minimum level of funding, called the SRS, with additional funds based on need. In 2025 the estimated SRS amounts are $13,977 for primary school students and $17,565 for secondary school students.

Under the new national agreement all states would reach the full SRS funding in a decade, although at different paces. A lot of the fine print has still to be negotiated.

NSW has committed to removing the 4% provision of indirect school costs such as capital depreciation, so NSW schools would be fully funded over the life of the agreement.

This national agreement ties the funding to teaching and other reforms. These include more individualised support for students, continuing evidence-based teaching practices, and more mental health and wellbeing support for schools.

The two governments said: “This is not a blank cheque. The agreement will be accompanied by a NSW Bilateral Agreement, which ties funding to reforms that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school”.

These include

Year 1 phonics and early years of schooling numeracy checks to identify those needing more help
evidence-based teaching and targeted and intensive supports such as small-group or catch-up tutoring
wellbeing initiatives, including greater access to mental health professionals
access to high-quality and evidence-based professional learning, and
initiatives to attract and retain teachers.

The federal-state agreements incorporate national targets. These include improving NAPLAN reading and numeracy proficiency; increasing NAPLAN outcomes for priority equity cohorts; boosting student attendance; increasing the engagement rate of teacher education students, and raising the proportion of students successfully completing year 12.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “every dollar of this funding will go into helping children learn”.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said: “This will help more than 780,000 kids in more than 2,200 public schools. This is real funding tied to real reforms to help students catch up, keep up and finish school.”

Premier Chris Minns said: “We’ve seen a 40% reduction in teacher vacancies since we came to government, but we know there’s still more to do. This investment is vital as we work to lift education standards across the state by ensuring there is a qualified, dedicated teacher at the front of the classroom.”

The Coalition has been critical of the time ^[4] it has taken for the Albanese government to finalise the funding deal.

In January, opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said Clare had “failed to get the job done”. She noted students in NSW and Queensland “continue to pay the price”.