Western Australian public schools are set to become the first in the country to reach full funding under the national Schooling Resource Standard, after the state and federal governments signed an updated agreement lifting the Commonwealth’s contribution and bringing total additional investment in WA public schools to approximately $1.6 billion. The landmark deal represents the largest ever Australian Government investment in WA’s public education system.
Under the agreement, the Commonwealth will lift its share of the Schooling Resource Standard from 20 per cent to 22.5 per cent by 2026, while the WA Government commits to contributing at least an equivalent additional amount, increasing its own funding share to at least 77.5 per cent of the standard by the same year.
What Full Funding Actually Means
The Schooling Resource Standard represents the minimum funding level governments agreed, more than a decade ago, was required to properly meet the needs of students in Australian public schools. Nationally, the Australian Education Union has noted that only a small fraction of public schools across the country have historically been funded to this benchmark, making WA’s move toward full funding a significant milestone relative to the position of public schools in most other states and territories.
The agreement also removes a previous funding provision, introduced under the Morrison Government, that had allowed WA to count up to 4 per cent of public school funding toward indirect costs such as capital depreciation rather than direct recurrent classroom spending, replacing it with a requirement to direct funding toward eligible recurrent expenses that more directly benefit students and teaching staff.
Reforms Tied to the New Funding
Funding under the agreement is explicitly tied to a package of evidence-based reforms rather than being provided unconditionally. These include Year 1 phonics and early years numeracy checks designed to identify students needing additional support early in their schooling, targeted and intensive interventions such as small-group or catch-up tutoring for students who fall behind, and expanded wellbeing support including additional counsellors, school psychologists and health nurses to help students arrive at school ready to learn.
The agreement also commits to trialling a full-service school model in at least four WA public schools from 2026, integrating community, health and social services support directly within the school environment, alongside a commitment to recruiting more coordinators specifically to support students with the most complex learning and wellbeing needs.
A Response to Persistent Workforce Pressures
Notably, the agreement includes specific commitments around reducing teacher and school leader workloads and expanding professional learning support, a direct response to the persistent teacher shortage and rising resignation rates that have plagued WA’s public education system in recent years. The deal also commits to providing more support and pathways for people transitioning into teaching careers in WA public schools, with a particular focus on increasing representation among First Nations people, people with disability, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Reaction From the Education Sector
The Australian Education Union has broadly welcomed the agreement as a significant step forward, while continuing to advocate for the fastest possible pathway to full funding nationally, noting that WA’s position as the first state to reach this benchmark highlights the funding gaps still facing public school students in states yet to reach similar agreements with the Commonwealth.
What It Means for WA Students and Families
For WA families, the practical impact of the funding boost is expected to become visible gradually over coming years as the tied reforms, from early literacy screening to expanded wellbeing staffing, are progressively rolled out across the public school system. With the state’s existing teacher shortage and rising classroom complexity already well documented, the funding agreement offers a significant, if not immediately transformative, resourcing boost aimed at addressing some of the most persistent challenges facing WA’s public education system.
How WA Got There First
WA’s comparatively swift progress toward full Schooling Resource Standard funding reflects, in part, the state’s strong overall fiscal position, which has given the government more budget flexibility to match the increased Commonwealth contribution than some other states facing tighter fiscal constraints have been able to manage. Education policy analysts note that WA’s ability to comfortably fund its 77.5 per cent contribution share, backed by sustained resources royalty revenue, stands in contrast to some eastern states where matching funding commitments have proven more politically and fiscally difficult to secure.
Education Minister’s office has framed the achievement as evidence that WA’s broader economic strength is translating into tangible benefits for public school students, a message likely to feature prominently in the government’s ongoing case for its economic management credentials heading toward future election cycles.
Principals and school leaders have generally welcomed the funding milestone while emphasising that translating additional resourcing into measurable improvements in student outcomes will take sustained implementation effort over several years, rather than delivering immediate, visible change in classrooms from the moment the agreement was signed.
