YACVic Submission: Inquiry into Public School Funding

Summary

We made a submission to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Public School Funding. Specifically, the impacts of the Victorian Government’s decision to delay raising Victoria’s school funding to 75 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) until 2031, effectively cutting $2.4 billion from what was previously committed to public schools.

“Achieving a better and fairer education system in Victoria is not a matter of aspiration, it is an imperative with significant implications for social equity, population health, and economic prosperity.” – YACVic Submission

Update: Inquiry finds government must immediately raise public school funding  

On Tuesday 12th May, the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee tabled its final report on the Inquiry into Public School Funding. The report recommends that the Victorian government must unequivocally confirm when it will fully fund schools to reach 75 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the amount state and territory governments are required to contribute in order for the federal government to contribute the final 25 per cent to reach full 100 per cent funding. The report also calls on both the Victorian and Commonwealth government to compensate schools appropriately for years of underfunding.

This inquiry looked at the impact of the Victorian government’s decision to delay increases to public school funding, confirming that this decision has meant that Victorian government schools have been underfunded since December 2018. The report makes six findings and five recommendations.

YACVic’s submission largely focused on the impact underfunding continues to have, including disproportionate harm to particular groups, and limited ability of schools to provide tailored support and early intervention to students. We appeared at a public hearing alongside our partners at Youthlaw and the Youth Support and Advocacy Group (YSAG) Great South Coast.

YACVic looks forward to seeing the government’s response to this inquiry, due by November 12th, 2026.

Our submission

We ask that the Victorian Parliament urgently fully fund public schools to meet the SRS.

The SRS is not an aspirational standard of school funding. It was designed as the minimum funding required so that schools can have at least 80% of their students achieving learning outcomes above the national minimum standards in NAPLAN reading and numeracy.¹ It is the minimum required per student to give every child, regardless of their background, the opportunity to access quality education and achieve their potential.¹

Our submission focuses on the significant impacts this cut has on current and future students, and on Victoria’s teaching and school workforce.

Key points

• Chronic underfunding of public schools disproportionately harms students from low socio-economic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, rural and regional students, disabled students, and students from non-English speaking backgrounds.² This widens achievement and wellbeing gaps.³
• Student needs have become increasingly complex,⁴ while school attendance and early child developmental readiness have declined,^4,5 making adequate resourcing critical for educational engagement and outcomes.
• School shortages of wellbeing staff and supports, large class sizes, and overwhelmed teachers limit early intervention and tailored student support.³
• Underfunding has driven unsustainable teacher workloads, workforce shortages, and attrition, undermining teacher quality and the ability to meet rising community and student expectations.³
• Fully funding public schools is essential for equity, and long-term social and economic outcomes. Investment in education would generate significant economic returns through improved education, wellbeing, and workforce participation.⁶