Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

What I am able to point to, Senator Macdonald, is clause 70, on page 61 of the bill. It is entitled ‘Indigenous funding guarantee—funding determination’. It actually makes it very clear what that funding guarantee involves. You asked me about the situation of a number of specific schools. In general terms, following changes to support for Indigenous education, I can assure Senator Macdonald that through the Schools Assistance Bill non-government schools and independent schools will be better off or will attract equivalent recurrent funding entitlements to those that they receive in 2008.

School systems can still choose to allocate funding in particular ways. Therefore, systemic schools always need to seek assurances from their systems about the level of funding that they receive, in the knowledge that the Commonwealth recurrent contribution to the system is either better than or no different from that received under the previous government. This assurance applies to systemic and non-systemic boarding schools, as they also receive significant funding through Abstudy. In particular, the removal of the cap for Indigenous education enrolments under this bill—that is, the minimum floor of 20—has seen a situation where some 19,000 Aboriginal students will receive funding that they otherwise would not have received. That is the effect of the removal of the cap. I trust, Senator, that that assists you with regard to your inquiry.