Labor's Your Child. Our Future represents the most significant improvement in schools education in Australia for two generations.
Improving education is the key to opportunity, to innovation and to the future economic and social prosperity of our nation.
No matter what their background, no matter where they live - city, suburb or in the regions - no matter what type of school they go to - Government, Catholic or Independent, Labor wants every child to have the same chance of succeeding at school, and in life, as any other child in the country.
As part of Your Child. Our Future, the Gonski funding and reforms will be delivered on-time and in-full - and the Turnbull Government's cuts will be reversed.
This $37.3 billion investment will see every child in every school funded on the basis of need.
Your Child. Our Future will drive reforms that improve teaching and learning - securing Australia's long-term economic future and giving students the basic skills they need for the jobs of the future.
This funding is not a blank cheque - it comes with strict obligations and benchmarks on systems, schools and teachers, so that parents can track improvements in their children's learning.
Labor is putting education at the centre of our positive program for government.
Labor's plan will see every student get a better education, in every school around Australia. By funding students on the basis of need, this investment will flow to Government schools, Catholic schools and Independent schools.
This historic investment will allow every school to provide every child with:
Funding arrangements will be transparent and accountable. States will be required to uphold their obligations under existing agreements and ensure that federal investment delivers evidence-based programs in classrooms, and is not used to prop up state budgets.
Australian schooling has fallen behind internationally. According to OECD data, in the year 2000 only one country outperformed Australia in reading and maths. Today, 16 countries outperform Australia in maths; 9 in reading and 7 in science. These reforms bring Australia back to the front of the pack, and provide a platform for schooling to tackle all the challenges of the future economy.
The quality of schooling in a country is a powerful predictor of the wealth that countries will produce in the long run.OECD, Universal basic skills: what countries stand to gain, 2015
Your Child. Our Future will put needs-based funding permanently at the heart of our school system - so every student in every school will get the support they need to achieve their best.
To deliver an education system that provides students with the skills they need for the jobs of the future, Labor will:
Labor's positive plan will make sure every child gets more attention, more tailored support, and more one-on-one time - with needs-based loadings for students from a low socio-economic background, Indigenous students, students with disability, students with limited English, small schools and rural, regional and remote schools.
More one-on-one support, early intervention in every school, remedial literacy and numeracy support, extension classes for students excelling, access to specialist allied health support, and a focus on evidence-based teaching and learning so our schools do more of what works.
Enhancing entry requirements for teaching degrees, improving initial teacher education and ongoing professional development, lifting the qualifications of STEM teachers, and giving every teacher access to specialist and lead teachers regardless of school size or location.
$320 million from 2017 in additional funding - more than reversing the Turnbull Government's cuts to the More Support for Students with Disabilities program - and a national strategy to improve the education of students with disability.
More resources flow into all classrooms - in-classroom technology, music, sport and drama programs, specialist allied health support, more subject choices and extra-curricular activities - with real engagement with parents at every stage.
Federal investment in schools should reach our classrooms. This funding is for students, not to prop up state budgets. School systems will be transparent and accountable for how they distribute additional funding to improve student outcomes.
Malcolm Turnbull's cuts to schools
The Liberals promised a "unity ticket" on school funding. Instead, they ripped billions out of Australia's schools and dumped the Gonski reforms. The 2015-16 MYEFO - the first budget update under Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison - confirmed billions of dollars in cuts to Government, Catholic and Independent schools.
Malcolm Turnbull's cuts mean:
Fees will increase, schools could close and the quality of education will be compromised.National Catholic Education Commission, 6 February 2015
The Liberals' education cuts will leave every student in every classroom worse off, lock our schools into a cycle of inequality and put Australia's future prosperity at risk.
In Government, Labor recognised the urgent national importance of excellent and equitable schools and commissioned the biggest review of our school funding system in 40 years - the independent Review of Funding for Schooling. The review involved more than 70 education groups, 39 school visits in every state and territory, and more than 7,000 submissions.
The reviewers found that "Australia lacks a logical, consistent and publicly transparent approach to funding schools" and recommended the implementation of a needs-based, sector-blind system. Labor adopted these reforms and put in place a six-year transition to a national school funding model.
Australia will only slip further behind unless, as a nation, we act and act now.Final Report: Review of Funding for Schooling, 2011 (p.212)
Where needs-based reforms are properly delivered, results are already improving. The data from Australian classrooms is worth looking at closely.
More than one in five Australian children arrive at school already behind on key milestones. What happens next decides a great deal.
The skills that run the modern online economy - data, security, real-time systems - are the same skills our schools should be building. A look at what the classroom can learn from industry.
Want to know more about our policies and initiatives, or to join the campaign for a better future for every Australian child? Get in touch.
Contact the campaign