Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 2:55:50 to 3:01:41
Senators question the department on the continuation of the Choice and Affordability Fund (CAF) beyond 2029 and its impact on school fees for non-government sectors.
Topics: Education, Government spending
Speakers: Senator Matt O'Sullivan, Ms. Meg Brighton, Mr. Tony Cook, Senator Jess Walsh, Mr. Chris Davern
>> Yeah, we got fair bit to canvas. Um and we're going to run out of time. Um, can I go to the uh choice and affordability fund? Um, what consultations or discussions have you had with the non-government sector about the continuation of the choice and a affordability or calf as we know it beyond 2029?
>> Uh, Senator, the choice and field affordability fund runs until the end of 2029 school year. Um I meet very regularly with both Independent Schools Australia and the National Catholic Education Commission. Um we haven't started formal consultation on the CAF and engagement yet because that's got another few years to run, but certainly it is a feature that is regularly raised by my colleagues when they're meeting with me about the importance of that fund to them. Um that fund was worth about $1.2 billion over the nine years that it's been established. um and um split between the Catholic sector and the independent sector. I
>> mean 29's not that far away though. I mean time flies.
>> Still quite a few budgets away,
>> right? Okay. Okay. So um but you'd be you must be getting closer to sort of commencing that negotiation. Just
>> well again they they've raised the point with us and then it'll be a matter of directions.
>> So as you've pointed out it ends in 2029. Uh has the department at all modeled the uh impact of ending the calf funding particularly in terms of the impact on school fees and potential school closures?
>> No Senator I don't believe
>> no we we haven't done any modeling uh Senator um the CAF was always set up as a timebound initiative for um five very specific purposes. So there's five criteria that funding can be distributed by um the entities in states and territories to independent and Catholic schools. Uh and uh no we haven't done any modeling um and the future of the cap will be a matter for government's consideration.
>> The uh how much has the choice in a affordability fund saved parents in school fees? Does the department model or measure those savings to families at
all? No, Senator, we don't even collect well at a high level we collect school fees but it's not verified data but
>> no we don't yes we secretary Cooks are correct we don't collect school fees um I mean we have visibility of school fees but we don't um expressly collect it but we do have one of the priorities of the calf is the choice and affordability um priority area um and about 50 51% of the calf is spent on that priority area and that is around um fees I believe but I'll get Mr. Davin to jump in a bit more
>> Thanks Miss Brown. Um yeah, Miss Brighton's correct in saying in 2025 choice and affordability um priority which is the first priority um accounted for 51.1% of total expenditure which was 74.76 million and that priority is geared around fees and lowering fees.
>> Can I ask the inverse question? What's the the savings to the Commonwealth for each student that uh attends a non-government school? I mean, you'd be paying X amount for every student in a government school and then the student funding
government more for a student that goes to a non-government school than a
>> But but your funding agreement with the you're paying it directly. I get that.
>> Yeah, we pay 80% of non-government. So
I'm just saying >> you're indirectly going through the states on the with the non with the government schools
>> Sorry just I might have confused your question. Do you mind just asking the question again? I thought you said what's our save every non-government school as opposed to a government
school.
>> It's not a commonwealth save. It's probably a state save because we are the major the more students that go to non-government schools the bigger outlay the commonwealth government puts out.
>> Yeah. No fair fair fair point. So but but is is that tracked at all? like so the cost of a per cost of a student uh in a government school versus the cost of a student in a non-government school from a government funding be it state or
>> we do have that data um we also would show through estimates variation the increasing cost to the commonwealth
>> for the commonwealth
>> with the number of non-government schools that are going non-government school students going to non-government schools but I think we haven't and it would be on is it on my school for >> Yes, we we have a >> so for each school there's a there's a breakdown about what it is a per student rate, Commonwealth funding and state funding. >> Yeah. >> Do we have an overall rate at all? >> No, not with us, but we can probably take it on not.
>> Yeah, that that's okay. Um when in relation to the negotiations that have not yet commenced on the choice and build affordability fund, when do you expect that they will start?
>> Well, that would be a matter >> formally. That's a matter for government about the future of the choice and affordability fund center as as Men said when it was announced it was announced as a 10-year time limited program.
>> Minister, if I get a short response from you, if there any any decision from government when that negotiation will
>> The program is funded through to 2029. Uh so um any further funding beyond uh 2029 would be um a future decision for
>> What uh what work has the department done to identify small regional schools that would face financial viability risk without cath funding?