Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 2:05:01 to 2:27:27
Examination of the 10-year bilateral funding agreement with Victoria and the projected spike in Commonwealth contributions by 2034.
Topics: Education, Government spending
Speakers: Mr. Tony Cook, Senator Matt O'Sullivan, Unknown Speaker, Mr. Chris Davern, Senator Marielle Smith, Ms. Meg Brighton
>> Okay, good segue. Uh the bilateral funding agreements. I want to I want to talk about the Victorian bilateral funding agreement. Uh so as expected uh we saw their out to 2034 announced as part of the Victorian state election campaign. Uh Secretary, what reasons did Victoria give for the delay in signing the agreement?
>> So Senator, just a few things because there's two agreements. So Victoria signed the 10-year agreement last year.
Yeah,
>> that 10-year agreement had Victoria agreeing to reach 100% of the schooling resource standard by 2034, I think, Mr. B. Is that right? >> The second agreement they signed, was it just last week? Was the bilateral agreement which showed what would be the trajectory of funding over those 10 years.
>> Okay.
>> And so they had already agreed to 10 year of funding. That hadn't been that wasn't in doubt at all. It was how they were going to reach that between now and 2020 20 sorry 2034. Um uh I I don't think I've got a reason as to Victoria. They'd have to give that reason themselves, but we have been working with Victoria since last year about finding finalizing that agreement particularly around the funding trajectory. The reforms within that agreement were worked on last year and pretty much um settled last year. It was the Victorian government themselves making decisions as to how that funding will flow over 10 years.
How many students in Victoria uh went through the government sector schools in the last two years while the Victorian government delayed finalizing
this bilateral? Senator, I don't think we would know that. We'd have to take that on notice. I can give you the number of students in Victoria in government schools. In 2025, there were 665,683 government school students in Victorian
>> Yeah. And there'd be a flow obviously with kids coming in and then leaving.
>> Yeah.
>> Um Secretary, the Commonwealth share of funding for the government sector increasing incrementally uh for years. If you graph that increase in funding over time, it kind of looks like a bit of a hockey stick style graph. Comalth contributions start at 20% this year, then climb very slowly over the forward estimates. Then suddenly at the end of 2033, we have this really big spike in contributions from 22.5 to 25%. Doesn't this just create a problem for future parliaments to have to contend with because they'll have to all of a sudden find uh the money for this sudden spike in funding?
Uh, no Senator, it would have been funded as part of the budget processes. Um, are you talking about just Victoria? Because it's different for every state and territory. So, for example, in South Australia,
>> yeah, I think I'm sure these figures here I've got are just for Victoria. So, it it goes from 22.5 to 25%. So, it's quite a substantial jump.
>> Yep. And
>> but it's in those outer years.
>> Yeah. But part of our budgetary process would f would be to consider out of years as well. That's our normal budgetary process. So, in terms of what that would be, you know, dollar value, I don't think I've got that in front of someone's telling me to turn the page. Um, again, if we talk about Victoria alone,
>> you can get Mr. Hardy.
>> but again, budgetary processes ensure that we factor that into any budget submission that we put into government.
>> Sure. And then well then have you found the uh where you're getting that money from? Has the government already made bud budgetary plans for the sudden increase?
>> So obviously we work over forward estimates but again in terms of the way finance um uh allocates any budgetary decision they don't just then that would be part of the consideration over the medium term over the 10-ear period. So the governments every government would be knowing would know what that requirement is.
>> Yeah. But I I guess my point is that it's a nice headline. you know, there's this big increase in funding. It's all the way out at the end of the the forwards u you know, there's there's there's not the pressure on the the the current budget uh to have to fund that. So is it is it not just a hollow empty promise for something further down the track where you know future treasurer uh whether it's the current one or or someone else uh has to actually find that money to fund all that and it becomes a problem for a future parliament.
that's the way government operates Senator I can't give any other reason around it. It's it's provisioned for in the budget. It's allocated in the budget but if there was a change of government any decisions obviously can be changed by any government at all. I mean it's not just schools funding. It's anything that's got a you know an additional outlay in the out years. That's how we would normally do the budgetary process.
>> According to the projections, how much will the Commonwealth pay in SRS funding in 2033 for Victorian government sector schools and how much will it pay in 2034?
>> Sure. >> We can help with that. >> So Fabian Harding, First and Secretary Funding and Data Collection Division. I can talk about the additional funding that would be provided to Victoria in 2033. The
>> I just want the total
>> total more funding to Victorian government schools. Can we have that?
>> you just give us a moment.
>> And have you got that while you're c can you give those figures as both the cost per student contribution and in terms of the total budgetary spend? Uh
we might have to take cost per student on notice. I'm not sure we'll have that level of detail. We can give total funding. I think I think um
>> Um assistant secretary Chris Davin, assistant secretary school funding. Um so total funding for Victorian government schools in 2034 um including the increased SRS contribution under the Veteran Fair Schools Agreement is um $4.9 billion in 2034.
>> Okay. Come back.
>> Okay. We'll now suspend for 15 minutes Everybody, the committee will now