Frequently asked questions

1. Why is the Government giving an additional $10 million to the Independent School sector?
   Over four percent of school-age students – 30,000 children – currently attend an independent school, saving the State around $200 million annually and relieving some of the pressure on state schools. This additional funding will help make independent schools more affordable for more parents. It honours the Government’s commitment to increase families’ education choices so they have more freedom to select schooling options that best meet their children’s needs.
2. How will this funding be distributed to independent schools?
   In 2010, $7.4 million will be added to the private school subsidy. The remaining $2.6 million will fund a scholarship programme that will give 250 students from low-income families the opportunity to attend an independent secondary school.
3. What funding do independent schools currently receive?
   Independent schools currently receive $35.39 million (GST exclusive) annually in the form of a Government subsidy. This funding has been capped at this level since 2000 and this additional funding will increase the subsidy to $45.2 million per annum. The level of funding that each school receives depends on the number of pupils they have and what year level those students are in.
4. When will independent schools receive this additional funding?
   Independent schools will receive the additional $7.4 million in funding from January 2010 as part of their subsidy payments, and 150 scholarships will be allocated to begin in 2010.
5. How much will each school get?
   As the funding will form part of the existing subsidy, the amount of funding each school will get vary from school to school and depend upon the number of pupils at the school and their year level. The additional $7.4 million will be allocated in the same way it currently is.
6. Shouldn’t independent schools receive more, given that they’ve had their subsidy capped since 2000?
   Despite being confronted with a deteriorating economic position this Government is making a significant increase to independent school funding.
7. Why are you giving this money to independent schools, rather than the State sector?
   The State school sector is continuing to see a large investment and increases to its funding. This includes $523 million for a 21st Century Building Programme, an increase in the operational funding grant to take account of inflation and wages costs for support staff, and additional funding to improve numeracy and literacy and help address challenging students’ behaviour.
8. Why are you looking to introduce a scholarship programme at this time?
   The Government wants to widen choice by providing young people with an opportunity for to attend an independent school that their parents would not normally be able to afford.
9. How many people will be able to access the scholarship programme, and when does it start?
   There will be 150 places available in 2010 to students from low-income families. This will increase to 250 by 2012.
10. Haven’t we run a programme like this before?
    Yes, the Government ran a similar type of scholarship programme called the Targeted Individual Entitlement (TIE) scheme between 1996 and 2006. This scheme proved successful in improving the outcomes of its participants.