Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government's funding model is as recommended by David Gonski; it is the Gonski model. The model is that government schools are funded based on the Schooling Resource Standard and non-government schools are funded on the Schooling Resource Standard adjusted by the community's capacity to pay, as estimated through the SES data, which has been used, as honourable members know, for the best part of 20 years for that purpose. The model sets out, as the government has described and laid out, that 20 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard will be met for government schools, with the addition, obviously, of loadings for various categories: disabled children, children from very low socioeconomic groups, children from non-English-speaking backgrounds and so forth. There are five categories; I think the honourable members are aware of that. That Schooling Resource Standard is the benchmark as recommended by Gonski and the Commonwealth will fund 20 per cent for the government system—with the balance, obviously, being covered by the states and territories—and 80 per cent for the non-government system. Reaching that level will be achieved at the end of the 10-year period. That is the commitment. It is thoroughly consistent across non-government schools and across government schools.

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