Victorian schools to reach full Gonski funding in 2034 as state lifts share to 75 per cent

By Jiali Hong- “Student journalists at the University of Melbourne”

Victoria will raise its contribution to public school funding from 70 to 75 per cent of the national standard, but schools will not be fully funded until 2034.

The state and the Commonwealth have agreed to fully fund Victorian state schools against the School Resource Standard, the benchmark recommended by the 2012 Gonski review. The federal government contributes 20 per cent. State cabinet signed off on the increase. Premier Ben Carroll called it the “biggest investment in schools ever” and said the state would reach 75 per cent earlier if it could.

Eight years away

Pembroke Primary School in Melbourne’s outer east has a basketball court full of potholes that has not been used for two years. Half the playground is fenced off. School council treasurer James Dunn said the school could not afford the repairs, and that students were missing out on camps and extracurricular activities.

Mr Dunn said the timing of the announcement, a month before the state election, was disappointing, and that children had become “a political football”.

Australian Principals Federation Victorian branch president Andrew Cock welcomed the deal but said the timeline left full funding years away. He wants the increases delivered progressively rather than in later years. Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said the agreement provided more certainty, but the delayed timeline would shortchange schools by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Parent contributions

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gabrielle Williams defended the Education Department’s guidance on school contributions, saying it had been updated to make clear that parent contributions are voluntary. Australian Catholic University researcher Sarah Langman said she expected the new guidance to tighten school budgets and make funding gaps more widespread. Parents Victoria chief executive Gail McHardy said school leaders and councils should not pass government funding shortfalls on to parents. Victorians go to the polls on 28 November.

Sources

• ABC News, 22 October 2026
• Review of Funding for Schooling (Gonski review), 2012