Figures published earlier this year show that private schools in Western Australia have a major resource advantage over public schools. Private schools have received large increases in government funding while funding for public schools has been cut since 2009. Public schools remain massively underfunded, especially given the challenges they face while Independent and Catholic schools are overfunded. The favourable funding for private schools is a key factor behind the enrolment shift to these schools.
Updated figures published by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) show that the total income per student in WA public schools in 2024 was $20,154 compared to $25,270 per student in Independent schools and $21,005 in Catholic schools [Chart 1]. The total income per student in Independent schools is 25% more than that of public schools and 4% higher in the case of Catholic schools.
Government funding accounts for 74% of the income of WA Catholic schools and 56% of the income of Independent schools. In 2024, Catholic schools received $15,501 per student from the Commonwealth and WA governments and Independent schools $14,076.
Between 2009 and 2024, Commonwealth and WA government funding for private schools, adjusted for wage and price increases to estimate the real increase in human and material resources, increased significantly but was actually cut in public schools. It increased by $1,987 per student in Catholic schools and by $2,416 per student in Independent schools while being cut by $397 per student in public schools [Chart 2]. Government funding per student for Independent schools increased by 35.6% and by 24.4% in Catholic schools compared to a cut of 3% in public schools.
Commonwealth Government funding for Catholic schools increased by $2,538 per student and by $2,654 for Independent schools compared to only $1,095 for public schools. WA Government funding for public schools was cut by $1,492 per student, by $551 per Catholic student and by $238 per student in Independent schools.
Total income per student in Catholic schools increased by $2,401 and by $2,211 in Independent schools but fell by $474 in public schools.
It is disgraceful that governments continue to give Independent schools a huge resource advantage over public schools when 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. Income per student in WA Independent schools is 25% higher than in public schools.
Government funding provides a significant proportion of this resource advantage. Yet research by Save Our Schools shows that only 14% of Independent school students in WA are from low income families compared to 30% of public school students (2023 figures). Independent schools enrol only 10% of all low income students in WA while public schools account for 80% of these students.
Moreover, only 14% of Independent schools in WA are disadvantaged schools (defined as having over 50% of students from the lowest socio-educationally advantage quartile) compared to 24% of public schools. Independent schools account for only 10% of all disadvantaged schools in WA, while public schools account for 83%.
Total income per student in Catholic schools was 4% higher than in public schools in 2024. However, only 16% of Catholic school students were from low income families compared to 30% in public schools in 2023. Catholic schools enrol only 10% of all disadvantaged students in WA compared to 80% of these students by public schools. In addition, only 10% of Catholic schools are disadvantaged (over 50% of students from the lowest socio-educationally advantage quartile) compared to 24% of public schools. Catholic schools account for only 6% of all WA disadvantaged schools compared to 89% by public schools.
The Report on Government Services 2026 shows that 79% of students from low socio-educational families in WA, 83% of Indigenous students and 85% of remote and very remote area students are enrolled in public schools.
Private schools have an additional resource advantage because they educate a much smaller proportion of socially disadvantaged students than do public schools. This means that a lower proportion of private school income is absorbed by disadvantaged students and more is available for less disadvantaged students.
Clearly, government funding in WA is not being directed at the students and schools most in need.
Historical trends
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.
Government funding
Real government (Commonwealth and WA government) funding for public schools in 2024 was $397 per student less than 15 years previously. It fell by $1,327 per student between 2009 and 2015, apart from a one-off increase in 2012 [Chart 3]. It increased by $1,130 per student between 2019 and 2024.
There was little change in Commonwealth Government funding for public schools between 2009 and 2014 but it slowly increased thereafter. It increased from $1,691per student in 2014 to $2,720 in 2024 [Chart A1 below). In 2024, Commonwealth funding was $1,095 per student higher than in 2009.
WA Government funding of public schools fell by $1,987 per student over the ten years from 2009 to 2019 and increased from then to 2024 by $495 per student. In 2024, state government funding was $1,492 per student leas than it was in 2009.
By contrast, government funding for Catholic and Independent schools increased steadily since 2009.
Government funding for Catholic schools increased from $8,144 per student in 2009 to a peak of $10,183 in 2023 and a slight decline of $52 per student in 2024 [Chart A2 below]. The increase in funding was entirely due to increased Commonwealth Government funding as WA Government funding increased by $246 per student from 2009 to 2013 but has fallen by $797 since then.
Government funding for Independent schools increased from $6,784 per student in 2009 to $9,200 in 2024 [Chart A3 below]. In 2020, 46 Independent schools received generous Commonwealth financial assistance funder the JobKeeper scheme amounted to $115 million, an average of $2.5 million per school . Many other schools received the cash flow stimulus payments. Funding increased by $1,478 per student during COVID. The overall government funding increase for Independent schools from 2009 was primarily due to Commonwealth Government increases. WA Government funding increased by $335 per student between 2009 and 2014 and then fell by $574 to 2024.
Government funding for Catholic schools as a proportion of funding for public schools increased from 62% in 2009 to 86% in 2020 and reduced to 80% in 2024. The Independent school proportion increased from 52% to 75% in 2020 and has fallen to 72% in 2024.
Fees, charges and other income
The trend in income from fees, charges, donations, investments and other sources has varied between Catholic and Independent schools. It has increased by more than wage and price increases in Catholic schools since 2009 and declined in Independent schools. Adjusting for wage and price increases, this source of income increased by $412 per student in Catholic schools and fell by $204 per student in Independent schools between 2009 and 2024 [Chart 4]. Income from these sources fell by $77 per student in public schools.
Over the period, there was a large fluctuation in income from fees and other private sources in Independent schools and a lesser one in Catholic schools, while income from private sources steadily declined in public schools.
Between 2009 and 2015, private income in Independent schools increased from $2,521 per student to $8,513 and then declined to $7,060 in 2022 before increasing to $7,317 in 2024. Private income in Catholic schools increased from $3,185 per student in 2009 to $3,609 in 2016 and then declined to $2,402 in 2021 after which it increased to $3,597 per student.
Total income
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 Catholic schools was $2,267 per student less than in public schools. By 2014, Catholic schools had an income advantage of $414 per student and increased to $608 per student in 2024 [Chart 5].
Increased government funding and private income, together with the cut in funding for public schools, has magnified the resource advantage of Independent schools. In 2009, the total income per student in Independent schools was $710 higher than in public schools. By 2024, this had increased to $3,395 and their total income per student was 126% of that of public schools. The resource advantage of Independent schools has declined slightly in recent years because of increased government funding for public schools.
Underfunding of public 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. As noted above, public schools do the heavy lifting in education but are not funded to do the job.
In 2026, public schools in WA are funded at 95.6% of their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) [Chart 6]. The total underfunding for the year is estimated at $302 million. 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 $192 million in 2034. By contrast, Catholic and Independent schools in WA are overfunded at 102% of their SRS as revealed in figures supplied to Senate Estimates and in the bilateral funding agreement.
Public schools will remain underfunded until at least 2034 because the new bilateral funding agreement between the Commonwealth and WA governments allow the WA Government to continue to claim non-SRS expenditures as part of its share of funding public schools. It can claim capital depreciation up to 4% of the SRS as part of its share of funding public schools but the percentage share allowed will be reduced annually by small amounts until it is eliminated in 2034.
The WA Government is also allowed to claim other non-SRS expenditure as part of its share of funding public schools. It can continue to claim expenditure on the WA School Curriculum and Standards Authority and the Department of Education’s regulatory functions.as part of its share of funding public schools. It can also claim up to1.5% of the SRS for what the agreement admits area “non-standard inclusions” of direct school transport for public school students.
These concessions ensure that public schools in WA will still be underfunded in 2034 even though the 4% allowance will end in 2034.
The Commonwealth and the WA governments 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.
The Commonwealth and WA 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 and the WA Government should remove the existing 4% and regulatory expenditure allowances by 2029.
Attachment Charts
