The federal government is one step closer to fully funding all public schools after reaching an agreement with the Northern Territory to double the commonwealth’s funding contribution.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, chief minister of the NT, Eva Lawler, and education minister Jason Clare and his counterpart Mark Monaghan will sign the statement of intent on Wednesday morning.
It outlines a $1bn investment that will see all public schools in the NT reach 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2029 – more than two decades earlier than would have been the case under current settings. The SRS is the benchmark for required funding based on student needs.
Under the proposed agreement, the federal government would double its SRS contribution to 40%, investing at least $748m in additional funding from 2025 to 2029. The territory government would contribute the remaining 60%, estimated to be $350m over the same period.
The most disadvantaged schools would receive additional funding first and reach the SRS before 2029, with the schools to come first to be decided in the final agreement.
Albanese said his government was “committed to making sure that no Australian child is left behind”, pointing to specific challenges facing the territory, including concentrations of disadvantage.
It follows a $40.4m funding boost outlined in last year’s budget for disadvantaged Central Australian schools to reach 100% of the SRS by the end of 2024.
The funding needed for a public school student in the NT to bridge the gap is almost double the national average, which is why the commonwealth is paying a higher percentage of the SRS in the Territory.
In the NT, public schools have reached just over 80% of their SRS, while private schools are at more than 97%, according to a Department of Education internal briefing.
“Education and equality go hand in hand, however access to quality education has been out of reach for many in the Northern Territory,” Albanese said.
“This historic agreement is yet another example of how my government is working constructively with state and territory governments across the country.”
It’s the second statement of intent secured by the commonwealth, as Clare continues to negotiate the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) with education ministers.
The Turnbull government’s Gonski 2.0 education reforms required states to fund public schools at 75% of the SRS on top of the federal contribution of 20%, leaving a funding gap of at least 5%.
No public school in Australia, except for schools in the Australian Capital Territory, is funded at the SRS level.
Western Australia was the first state or territory to ink a deal with the commonwealth in January that would see the federal government lift its funding contribution to 22.5% – equating to an extra $777m.
Under the statement of intent, WA’s public schools would get to the full SRS by 2026 in return for the state implementing teacher quality and student wellbeing reforms.
The deal was criticised by education experts and the Australian Education Union (AEU) for locking in underfunding by continuing to allow about 4% of the SRS to be claimed by states on non-school expenditures such as depreciation, school transport and early childhood education.
The Morrison-era clause will remain in the NT agreement, the education minister confirmed, equating to about $40m of the territory’s annual school funding.
The clause will be considered in negotiations for the next NSRA, the education minister said.
State governments also poured cold water on the WA deal, with New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia banding together to demand a 5% commonwealth funding increase. The NT response was muted.
Clare has until the end of the year to reach a deal with the remaining states and territories.
He said it was an “historic day” for public education in the NT and a “great example” of governments working together for aligned outcomes.
“At the moment, Northern Territory public schools only get less than 80% of the funding that David Gonski said they should,” he said.
“In other words, one in five kids are not receiving funding. This agreement fixes that … the most underfunded schools in Australia will now be fully funded.”
The NT government has consistently lobbied the federal government to increase its funding share to 40%, while failing for two years to meet its own bilateral funding targets.
The NT and WA are the only jurisdictions where state and territory funding to public schools declined in real terms between 2012 and 2021.
The AEU has similarly called for the Albanese government to lift its share of public school funding from 20% to 25% of the SRS, and 40% in the NT due to the additional need.
Monaghan said the deal was a “landmark investment” that would make an “immediate difference” in schools.
He said the funding would contribute to better salaries, smaller class sizes and improved technology.
