New figures show that Catholic and Independent schools have increased their resource advantage over public schools. This advantage is the result of generous Commonwealth government funding increases supplemented by fee increases higher than the rate of inflation. Public schools remain massively underfunded in each state except the ACT while private schools are overfunded in each state except the Northern Territory. The favourable funding for private schools is a key factor behind the enrolment shift to these schools.
The new figures published by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) show that the total income per student in public schools in 2024 was $20,368 compared to $22,067 in Catholic schools and $28,642 in Independent schools [Chart 1].
Generous government funding (Commonwealth and state/territory) underpins the resource advantage held by private schools. Government funding accounts for 75% of the income of Catholic schools and 48% of the income of Independent schools. In 2024, Catholic schools received $16,590 per student from governments and Independent schools $13,826.
It is incongruous that, despite increasing concerns about social cohesion and stagnant productivity, governments continue to ensure a significant resource advantage for private schools while it is public schools that do the heavy lifting in overcoming socio-economic disadvantage to improve equity in education, increase work force skills and strengthen social cohesion. The Report on Government Services 2026 shows that 80% of students from low socio-educational families, 81% of Indigenous students and 81% of remote and very remote area students are enrolled in public schools. I In addition, the proportion of students with extensive disabilities in public schools is three times that in Catholic and Independent schools. Research by Save Our Schools shows that 90% of all disadvantaged schools are public schools.
Despite the challenges facing public schools, government funding increases have favoured private schools over a long period of and time leading to Australia having one of the most segregated schooling systems in the OECD.
Commonwealth and state funding, adjusted for wage and price increases to estimate the real increase in human and material resources, increased by $3,118 per student for Catholic schools and by $2,729 per student in Independent schools between 2009 and 2024 [Chart 2]. The funding increase for public schools was much smaller at $2,154 per student. The percentage increase for Catholic and Independent schools was double that for public schools – 40%, 43% and 20% respectively.
Commonwealth Government funding for Catholic schools increased by $2,943per student and by $2,629 for Independent schools compared to only $1,182 for public schools. The increase in Commonwealth Government funding for public schools exceeded the state/territory government increase, the latter was $972 per student. State/territory government funding for Catholic schools increased by $176 per student and by $100 per Independent school student.
The increase in total income per student in Catholic schools was nearly double that in public schools – $3,783 in Catholic schools compared to $2,031 in public schools. The increase in total income per student in Independent schools at $3,237 per student also far exceeded that for public schools.
The pattern of government funding, fees and other income and total income per student have varied between school sectors over the period of 2009 to 2024.
Real government (Commonwealth and state/territory) funding for public schools fell in both the pre- and post-Gonski periods, declining from $10,583 per student in 2009 to $10,240 in 2015 [Chart 3]. This was due to a significant reduction in state/territory government funding which extended to 2017 and was only offset by Commonwealth funding from2015 [see Chart A1 below]. State/territory government funding fell from $8,979 in 2009 to $8,379 per student in2 017. Since then, government funding has increased significantly due to increased Commonwealth and state/territory funding.
By contrast, government funding for Catholic and Independent schools has increased steadily since 2009 including a funding spike in 2020 during COVID. Both sectors received generous Commonwealth financial assistance during COVID under the JobKeeper scheme amounting to $769 million as well as additional cash flow stimulus payments. Commonwealth funding for Catholic schools increased by $547 per student and by $977 in Independent schools.
Government funding for Catholic schools as a proportion of funding for public schools increased from 73% in 2009 to 90% in 2020 and reduced to 85% in 2024. The Independent school proportion increased from 60% to 80% in 2020 and has fallen to 71% in 2024.
Income from fees, charges, donations, investments and other sources in Catholic and Independent schools has increased by more than wage and price increases since 2009. Adjusting for wage and price increases, this source of income increased by $667 per student in Catholic schools and by $696 in Independent schools between 2009 and 2024 [Chart 4]. Income from these sources fell by $124 per student in public schools.
Prior to COVID, income from fees and other sources increased by $496 per student (adjusted for inflation) in Catholic schools and by $1,042 in Independent schools. In 2020, this income fell by $225 per student in Catholic schools and by $919 in Independent schools.
JobKeeper and the cash flow stimulus payments allowed Catholic and Independent schools to reduce their fees in 2020. Nominal fees in Catholic schools fell by $191 per student and by $759 in Independent schools. Income from donations and other private sources also fell in 2020 in both sectors. Since 2020, income from fees and other sources have increased faster than inflation in Catholic and Independent schools.
Public schools also experienced a drop in income from fees and donations in 2020 from $564 to $375 per student. Income from these sources is still below the pre-COVID level.
The combination of increasing government funding and income from fees and other private sources has enabled private schools to build a substantial resource advantage over public schools since 2009. In 2009, total income per student, adjusted for inflation, in public schools was $591 higher than in Catholic schools [Chart 5]. This advantage was eliminated by 2011 and since then Catholic schools have built a significant advantage over public schools of $1,162 per student in inflation adjusted terms (or $1,699 in 2024 prices as shown in Chart 1). The total income per student in Catholic schools in 2024 was 109% of that in public schools.
Increased government funding and private income has magnified the resource advantage of Independent schools. In 2009, the total income per student in Independent schools was $4,066 higher than in public schools. By 2024, this had increased to $5,460 and their total income per student was 141% of that of public schools.
The resource advantage of Catholic and Independent schools fell slightly since 2020 as government funding for public schools has increased by slightly more than for private schools.
Despite the very small reduction in the resource advantage held by Catholic and Independent schools, public schools remain vastly underfunded for the task they face in educating the large majority of low socio-economic status (SES), Indigenous, remote, very remote and high disability students. Public schools do the heavy lifting in education but are not funded to do the job.
In 2026, public schools in all states except the ACT are funded at less than 100% of their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) [Chart 6]. Public schools in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory are funded at less than 90%. The total underfunding for the year is estimated at $6.5 billion. Under the terms of the new bilateral funding agreements, public schools will remain under-funded to 2034 and beyond, although the extent of the underfunding will gradually decline to about $1.7 billion in 2034 and the loss is highly likely to be over $2 billion once Victoria finally signs an agreement to apply after this year.
Public schools will remain underfunded until at least 2034 because the new bilateral funding agreements signed last year (2024 in the case of the Northern Territory) allow the state and Northern Territory governments to continue to claim non-SRS expenditures as part of their share of funding public schools. They can claim capital depreciation up to 4% of the SRS while it is phased by 2034. An allowance to claim expenditure on school regulatory bodies will remain in place in 2034. These expenditures are specifically excluded from how the SRS is estimated.
The Commonwealth and the states stand condemned for their refusal to fully fund public schools by 2034. It means that children starting school this year will not be fully funded by Year 8 and, possibly, will spend their whole school career underfunded if they remain in the public system. The failure to fully fund public schools maintains inequity in education, increases social segregation and restricts national prosperity and social cohesion.
Governments should accelerate the transition to genuine full funding of all public schools. The funding agreements must be revised to give public schools better and fairer funding. The Commonwealth should accelerate the increase in its funding share of the SRS public schools to achieve 25% by 2029. State governments should remove the existing 4% allowance for non-SRS expenditure by 2029 and immediately remove new non-SRS expenditure claims as part of public school funding.
Attachment Charts
