Independent Schools and Gonski 2.0

From 2018 the Commonwealth funding arrangements for all schools will change.

Under the current arrangements, all schools are moving towards their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding entitlement over time. Originally envisaged as a total public funding model, the share of public funding being provided by the Commonwealth was based on historical funding patterns. This means that schools serving the same type of students receive different funding from the Commonwealth depending on where they are located.

The new funding model aims to transition all schools to the same amount of Commonwealth funding for the same students.

For government schools, the Commonwealth share has been set at 20% of SRS and for non-government schools the Commonwealth share has been set at 80% of SRS.

Independent schools currently funded below 80% Commonwealth share will transition up to 80% of SRS over six years. Each year they will receive 16.7% of the ‘gap’ between the current Commonwealth share of their SRS entitlement and 80% of their SRS entitlement.

Independent schools which are currently above 80% Commonwealth share will transition down to 80% over ten years. Unlike the current funding model which has no school losing funding in real terms, under this model a small number of Independent schools currently receiving more than of 80% of their public funding from the Commonwealth will lose funding in real terms over the course of their transition.

The Government has announced the creation of a Transition Adjustment Fund to assist these schools maintain their financial viability over the course of the transition.

The calculation of each schools’ SRS funding entitlement will remain very similar to the current calculation with some changes which are outlined in the following document.

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