The federal and Victorian state governments have announced all Victorian public schools will receive full funding in what the Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) is calling a “big win” for Victorian students.
On the 24th of January, the federal and state governments announced that Victorian government schools will receive the full funding amount initially set out in the Gonski Review Report, which was released in December 2011. This follows many rounds of negotiations between the federal and state governments since the report's release. The most recent negations began in June 2024.
As part of the agreement, the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian government will work together to both provide an additional five per cent each to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). The SRS is an estimate of how much funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs.
VicSRC is very happy that both governments worked together to put this “historic agreement” in place. Victorian students across sectors have long called for full funding within their schools, including in our most recent Congress Report.
Students made their voices heard on this, and we're very pleased that the Deputy Premier, and the Federal Minister for Education, have worked together to find a solution
“This new deal on school funding is a huge win for Victorian students who have waited more than 10 years for the state and federal governments to deliver on proper support for Victorian schools” shares VicSRC’s Chief Executive Officer, Julia Baron (she/her).
“Students made their voices heard on this, and we're very pleased that the Deputy Premier, and the Federal Minister for Education, have worked together to find a solution”.
Year 9 student and VicSRC Executive Committee member Oskar (he/him) says this is a “massive step” for students, "giving students access to the quality education, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential”.
VicSRC is further happy that the new deal included the closing of accounting loopholes* which means that more money will flow into supporting students’ education. Full funding for schools and the closing the accounting loopholes are both major priorities in VicSRC’s Policy Platform.
However, Oskar continues that “only students who are enrolled in Prep, grade 1 and grade 2 in 2025 will experience its full impact by the time the funding is implemented” as the full funding amount will not be in place until 2034.
VicSRC notes that this funding will come into effect a full 23 years after the initial Gonski Review. This will see another generation of students unable to benefit from a fully funded education during a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
This extra funding will be essential in supporting schools to deliver proper supports for their students,
This agreement is a critical step towards achieving many more important education reforms to make sure that every Victorian student has safe and inclusive access to education which supports all students’ aspirations. It is crucial that both governments continue to listen directly to students following this agreement.
"This extra funding will be essential in supporting schools to deliver proper supports for their students, and we're looking forward to working closely with the Victorian Government and schools across the state to ensure that student voice is and remains a central feature of ongoing reforms” Baron continues.
You can read our 2024 Congress report and our current Policy Platform which lists further recommendations and student’s priorities for education reform here.
*Before the agreement, as things like school buildings and equipment lose value each year, then money each year was ‘lost’. This loophole meant that since money was lost, then money by the governments was already ‘spent’.
This technicality meant that a lot less money was going directly to schools and students. You can read more on these loopholes and what they mean here.