ALISON BYRNES MP
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CUNNINGHAM

The Albanese Labor Government and Minns Labor Government have come to an historic agreement that will put all public schools in New South Wales on a path to full and fair funding.

As part of the Heads of Agreements signed today, the Commonwealth will provide an additional 5 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to NSW.

This will lift the Commonwealth’s contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the SRS by 2034.

This will see an estimated $4.8 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to NSW public schools over the next 10 years.

This represents the biggest new investment in NSW public schools by the Australian Government – ever.

This is a landmark day in the history of public education in Cunningham.

As part of the Agreements, NSW will remove the provision allowing them to claim 4 per cent of public sc hool funding for indirect school costs such as capital depreciation and replace it with 4 per cent of recurrent funding on eligible expenses.

Commonwealth funding will be tied to the reforms needed to lift education standards across the country, including more individualised support for students, mandating evidenced-based teaching practices, and more mental health support in schools.

This is not a blank cheque. The Agreement signed today will be followed by a NSW Bilateral Agreement, which will tie funding to reforms that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school, such as: 

• Year 1 phonics and early years of schooling numeracy checks to identify students in the early years of school who need additional help.
• evidence-based teaching and targeted and intensive supports such as small-group or catch-up tutoring to help students who fall behind.
• initiatives that support wellbeing for learning – including greater access to mental health professionals.
• access to high-quality and evidence-based professional learning, and
• initiatives that improve the attraction and retention of teachers.

In addition to these reforms, the Agreements have targets, including that by 2030 the proportion of students finishing high school will be the highest it has ever been. Other targets include:

• Reducing the proportion of students in the NAPLAN ‘Needs Additional Support’ proficiency level for reading and numeracy 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.
• 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.
• Increasing the proportion of students leaving school with a Year 12 certificate by 7.5 percentage points (nationally) by 2030.

This means more help for students and more support for teachers.

Today’s agreement with NSW follows agreements with Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, the ACT, South Australia and Victoria. The Commonwealth is continuing to work with Queensland.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education, Jason Clare:
 
“This is big. The biggest state in the country has now signed up. This will help more than 770,000 kids in more than 2,000 public schools.

“This is real funding tied to real reforms to help students catch up, keep up and finish school.

“It’s not a blank cheque. I want this money to get results. That’s why funding will be directly tied to reforms that we know work.

“It will help make sure every child gets a great start in life. What every parent wants. And what every Australian child deserves.” 

Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes MP:

“Every Cunningham school student deserves access to a quality education.

"This historic agreement is about ensuring that every child, regardless of their background or postcode, has access to the resources and support they need to thrive at school. It’s a game-changer for our community’s future."

"By investing in our public schools, we’re investing in the future of the Illawarra. This funding boost means more teachers, better resources, and stronger support for students who need it most."

“This landmark funding agreement delivered by Labor that will help improve our local schools across the Illawarra and boost outcomes for local students.