Debunking Common Myths about Independent Schools (new draft)

For decades Commonwealth Government funding for non-government schools has been based on need. Different funding models over that time have changed the way need is assessed. When governments change the way need is assessed, the effect is that the funding entitlement of schools changes. For some schools this means that their Commonwealth funding entitlement goes down and, due to the level of funding they have been receiving, they are suddenly deemed to be “over-funded”. This was the case for some schools with the introduction of the SRS, or “Gonski” funding model which came into effect in 2014.

These schools are in the process of transitioning down to their new public funding entitlement, and currently 8% of these schools have already completed that transition.

Calculated individually, there are also many schools in the government and Catholic systems that would be sitting above their new funding entitlement level. However, as those schools are part of large systems that receive an overall funding entitlement to cover all their schools, it is not possible to tell if individual schools in those systems are below, on, or above their new funding entitlement. If the Independent school sector was a system, it would also sit below its new funding level – so there would be no ‘over-funded’ Independent schools.

For more information on the SRS funding model see ISCA’s Independent Update 3.