General News
14 May, 2026
Committee pushes for expedited school funding
A COMMITTEE led by a Western Victorian MP has tabled a report calling on the government to confirm when it will reach 75 per cent funding of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding.
The Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee this week tabled the report which also calls on the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to compensate schools for years of underfunding after the committee inquired into the impact of the Government’s decision to delay increases to Victoria’s public school funding.
The uncertainty surrounds the Victorian government decision to delay raising the state’s public school funding to 75 per cent of the SRS several times.
The committee found evidence suggesting an early agreement with the Commonwealth to reach full funding by 2028 had been delayed to 2031, however the current agreement states public schools will now not be fully funded until 2034.
Committee chair Joe McCracken, a Member for Western Victoria, said the lack of clarity had created uncertainty for schools and their communities.
“Public schools have been forced to delay improvements to staffing and infrastructure,” he said.
“Providing additional funding would not only help address these ongoing effects but also send a clear signal that this underfunding should not have occurred.”
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The report makes six findings and five recommendations.
These include a three-part recommendation calling on the Victorian Government to determine the amount by which it has underfunded government schools since signing the bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth in 2018, compensate the government school system in Victoria appropriately and advocate to the Commonwealth to also compensate the amount it has underfunded the government school system in Victoria since 2014.
Mr McCracken said the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments had a responsibility to correctly fund public education by addressing the years of underfunding.
“This is the committee’s second inquiry into public education this Parliament, reflecting the importance of government schools to Victorians and growing community concern about funding levels,” he said.
“Our teachers and students deserve the certainty and resources needed to deliver the high-quality education every young Victorian should receive.”