- McGowan Government secures a fairer share from the Commonwealth
- WA remains the best funded State for education in Australia under today's $30 billion agreement
The McGowan Government has secured an historic multibillion dollar funding deal with the Federal Government which will see a range of education reforms delivered, with Western Australia continuing to be the best funded State education system in the country.
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery today finalised the new agreement with the Morrison Government, where Western Australian schools will see a record total of $30 billion flow into the State's education system over the next six years.
As part of the deal, WA has committed to delivering a number of reforms as flagged in Gonski 2.0, including enhanced measures to individually assess student progress.
Reforms will also include the implementation of a leadership strategy and a new public school review process, increasing the capacity of teachers to embed the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework and continuing to improve STEM education.
Support will continue for programs such as Brightpath, which gives teachers the ability to more accurately assess student progress and develop their teaching programs to focus on the needs of individual students.
The leadership strategy will see potential leaders identified early, support principals to continually improve and build opportunities for high performing leaders to lead system improvement.
The new public school review process will assess student achievement and school operations to provide assurance that schools are operating effectively and delivering high quality education to its students.
Professional learning and evidence-informed resources will also be provided to increase the capacity of teachers to embed Aboriginal histories, cultures and languages into their classroom practice.
Today's deal will see the Federal Government contribute a record $5.6 billion in education spending for 2018-23. The State Government's contribution for that period is $24.36 billion.
The Commonwealth's contribution has increased from 15.37 per cent this year, to 20 per cent in 2023.
The agreement positions Western Australia to retain its status as the best funded State education system.
The agreement ensures about $200 million of additional funding flows into the public education system over the life of the agreement.
As stated by Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:
"The State Government has secured a record-breaking education funding package from the Commonwealth Government.
"On behalf of Western Australians, we have successfully lobbied Canberra to increase their share of the funding deal.
"The new agreement will allow Western Australia to continue as the best funded State for education in the country.
"The State Government is committed to working with the Federal Government to implement the Gonski reforms, and this positive result reinforces our support for the new model.
"While we welcome this historic agreement, we also know that WA can still do better and with the Federal Election due next year, we would welcome the additional funding that would flow to our public schools as part of Federal Labor's policy."
