The Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill amends the Australian Education Act 2013 to change the approach for determining the Commonwealth’s contribution to recurrent funding for government schools. It would increase Commonwealth contributions to government schools while also allowing the share of that contribution to vary by state or territory. 

The Bill replaces the National School Reform Agreement (NRSA), a joint agreement between the Australian and state and territory governments that set out reforms to improve student outcomes. The NSRA was due to end in 2023 but was extended to allow a Productivity Commission review, which found the NSRA had done little to improve student outcomes. 

Key points

• The Bill represents billions of dollars in funding, and attempts to fulfil the Australian Labor Party’s commitment to fully-fund Australian schools to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
• In Western Australia, the Commonwealth will increase its SRS share to 22.5%.
• In the Northern Territory, the Commonwealth will increase its share to 40%.
• Western Australia and the Northern Territory have signed on to the Bill and bilateral agreements with the government; Tasmania signed on to the Bill with a commitment to the bilateral agreement to follow. 
• New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria are yet to sign on, demanding a higher contribution from the Commonwealth.
• The government has stated that without agreement, the current funding arrangements will continue for another 12 months.