Public schools have long been under-funded for the learning challenges they face. In 2024, they were only funded at an average of 88% of their Schooling Resource Standard across Australia. By contrast, private schools were over-funded on average at 104% of their SRS.
The prime minister and education minister promised that the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement will fully fund public schools by 2034. This has already proved to be a false promise. New bilateral funding agreements with the New South Wales, Queensland, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian Governments reveal that public schools will not be funded at 100% of their SRS by 2034 despite a significant planned boost in funding over the decade.
To an extent, this is true. It is certainly possible for a kid with drive and intelligence to excel at any school. The issues more arise from the other variables - if your kid is attending a school in a low socioeconomic area, there is a decent chance that the cohort do not prioritise doing well in class. Suddenly kids not only find themselves among peers where studying is not a priority, they find themselves disincentivised to do well so they don’t stand out.
If instead your child attends a school where it is socially acceptable to study and do well in class among their peers, they do.