Funding

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Funding is critical to the success of education institutions Australia-wide. As a result, students attending both private and public schools (and their teachers) should be afforded equal access to educational resources – and funding is the key.

Federal funding focus

The 2026-27 Federal Budget allocates approximately $33.3 billion to schools, with additional investment in higher education, research, First Nations education, and STEM. Integrity measures will safeguard funding, while a new Teaching and Learning Commission is being explored to improve national coordination across curriculum, teaching and assessment.

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Funding Distribution

The 2026–27 Budget continues significant Commonwealth investment across schools, vocational education, and higher education. Total recurrent school funding is estimated at approximately $33.3 billion in 2026, supporting government, Catholic, and independent schools nationwide. Delivered through national agreements with states and territories, this investment ensures a coordinated approach to education funding and delivery. A significant proportion also supports science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) across schools and tertiary pathways, reflecting the Government's commitment to building a future skilled workforce.

 

 

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Teaching and Learning Commission

The Australian Government is exploring consolidating four national education bodies, ACARA, AITSL, AERO, and ESA, into a single Teaching and Learning Commission. The 2026–27 Budget commits $5.6 million over two years for further consultation and design work. Further work will be undertaken with states, territories, and key stakeholders on the Commission's potential establishment. This initiative aims to improve coordination across curriculum, teaching, assessment, research, and reporting, supporting more consistent national implementation of education reforms.

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School Funding Integrity and Equity

The Australian Government will strengthen compliance measures to safeguard $33.3 billion in annual school funding, including enhanced oversight of the $5.1 billion Students with Disability loading. Improved compliance activities, strengthened NCCD data collection, and clearer guidance will support consistent application across schools. A total of $40.4 million over four years from 2026–27 has been allocated to these integrity measures, expected to prevent approximately $463 million in inappropriate allocations, improving transparency and ensuring funding targets student outcomes.

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Priorities

The Australian Government is investing $113 million in First Nations education, supporting engagement, retention, literacy, scholarships, boarding access and language education, contributing to Closing the Gap targets. A further $5.9 million will extend five national STEM initiatives across schools. In higher education, sustained investment in universities, research infrastructure and innovation supports national capability, with research and development investment estimated at approximately $15.1 billion in 2025–26.

EduAccess

If your school is looking to reach its full potential, we recommend subscribing to our online portal, EduAccess, which provides the latest up-to-date funding information, grants, and giveaways for the sector.

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Grants

The 2026–27 Budget continues strong Commonwealth investment in school funding, with total recurrent school funding estimated at approximately $33.3 billion in 2026. Across the forward estimates, total recurrent funding is projected to reach around $136–$138 billion over 2026–27 to 2029–30, reflecting continued indexation and enrolment growth.

In 2026, this funding is estimated to include $12.7–$12.9 billion for government schools, $10.9–$11.1 billion for Catholic schools and $9.4–$9.6 billion for independent schools. This funding is provided by the Australian Government to states and territories, then distributed to approved authorities and administered directly to schools. State and territory governments continue to provide the majority of public recurrent  funding for government schools, while the Australian Government provides the majority of public recurrent funding for non-government schools, consistent with existing Schooling Resource Standard arrangements.

EduAccess_Categories

Our team conducted an in-depth review of budget reports, websites, and databases to carefully curate this information for your school. The content is organised by topic to align with the categories featured in our bi-annual Funding and Resource guide.