As schools would be aware, Commonwealth funding for schools is needs-based and is calculated with reference to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). The SRS is made up of a base amount for all primary and secondary students and up to 6 needs-based loadings for student priority cohorts and disadvantaged schools.
The base amount and all the loadings are indexed each year to reflect changes in prices and therefore costs faced by schools. The base amount, and all the loadings except for the school size loading, are worked out by reference to an amount per primary and secondary student called the SRS funding amount.
From 2019, these SRS funding amounts, indexed annually by either:
- a rate calculated as the higher of:
– 3 per cent, or
– a percentage derived from 75 per cent of the change of the Wage Price Index (WPI) and 25 per cent of the change of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or
- a rate prescribed by the Minister for Education.
Indexation is weighted towards changes in wage costs reflecting that teachers’ and staff salaries are a significant driver of schools' costs – but the WPI does not directly measure the salaries in schools. The WPI is derived from salaries across the whole economy.
Funding paid in the initial instalments each year are based on the SRS funding amounts indexed by the estimated indexation rates. For 2024 these estimated amounts where:
- SRS funding amount for a primary student - $13,557
- SRS funding amount for a secondary student - $17,036
- Indexation rate - 3.9%
The final 2024 rates have now been released, and these will form the basis of the final October funding instalment:
- SRS funding amount for a primary student - $13,570
- SRS funding amount for a secondary student - $17,053
- Indexation rate – 4.0%
The estimated rates for 2025 remain unchanged:
- SRS funding amount for a primary student - $13,991
- SRS funding amount for a secondary student - $17,582
- Indexation rate - 3.1%
These estimated 2025 rates will be updated in December 2024.