Funding for non-government school students

School education is compulsory in Australia and Governments are legally obliged to provide schooling for all children. This includes the 35% of school students who attend a non-government school nationally.

However, non-government school children receive only a fraction of what it costs to educate government school children. This means that Catholic and independent school students DO NOT receive more government money for their education than their counterparts in government schools. The shortfall is made up by parents who choose to spend their after tax dollars on their children's education through fees.

This fact is often misconstrued in the public arena. The reason is to do with the way State and Federal Governments fund education.

The Federal Government provides most of the funding to students in non-government schools and the State Government provides most of the funding to students in government schools. The State contributions are often left off the figures when school sectors are compared showing an imbalance of funding to non-government schools by the Federal Government.

The reality is that parents, who choose independent and Catholic schools for their children's education, save Governments almost $5 billion dollars per year, as these parents supplement the majority of their children?s education through private fees. If all non-government school children went to a state government school tomorrow, the Government would need to spend almost $5 billion dollars more, to educate these children. (Source AISV - Children at ngs save tax payers money)

Another myth is that independent schools and some Catholic schools are the bastion of the wealthy.

State Funding

Under Australia's constitution, State and Territory Governments have primary responsibility for funding school education. The State Minister for Education has legislative responsibility for all students in Victoria regardless of where they attend school. The State Government changed its funding model in 2006 to the Financial Assistance Model (FAM) to establish levels of recurrent funding for the non-government school sector. The FAM comprises a mix of 50% per capita funding and 50% needs-based funding. Per capita funding is based around two issues. The first is that the relative costs to provide education at different levels varies and secondly the total private income of a school including fees and fundraising is taken into account. The needs based funding includes student family background, students with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, Rurality and Isolation. 2005-06 figures show that the Victorian Government spent on average:

$1,149 per student in a non-government school (national average $1948)

Federal Funding

Historically the Australian Government has been the primary source of public funding to non-government schools. Funding is based on students receiving a percentage of the recurrent cost of educating a child in a government school. This figure is referred to as the Australian Government School Recurrent Cost (AGSRC). In 2008 the AGSRC was:

Primary $8,044
Secondary $10,061

The SES (socio-economic status) funding model was introduced in 2001 to replace the discredited ERI model. Funding is calculated on a per student basis over a four year period. Under the SES (socio-economic status) funding model schools are funded according to the capacity of its parent community to afford fees. The model measures the household income, occupation and education of the school community by linking the residential addresses of the parents with data from Australian Bureau of Statistics census districts (about 200 households). Students attending schools serving the wealthiest communities receive the lowest levels of funding. A score is derived for every school which places it on a sliding scale of funding entitlement. SES scores range from 52 to 135.

Schools with scores of less than 85 receive 70% of the AGSRC.
Schools with scores of 130 and over receive 13.7% of the AGSRC.

In 2008 this means that the basic entitlement for each student is:

Primary $1,102 - $5,630
Secondary $1,378 - $7,042

The Australian Government guaranteed that no schools would receive less funding under the SES model so these schools have had their funding maintained. Recurrent funding may only be spent on a school's running costs of which teacher salaries make up the greatest part. The physical resources of a school are the result of the generosity of parents and past students.

Catholic Schools

Catholic systemic schools are funded according to the SES model. Therefore these schools will attract funding on a school by school basis according to the SES of the communities served by the schools.

It is the NCEC's policy to seek an increase over time to 60% of the AGSRC. Funding is delivered to the central education authority and distributed to systemic schools based on an internal funding model.

For exact details on the how much each child is funded and the total amount of government spend on education, click here to visit AISV Funding Facts.