Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank senators who have spoken in relation to the Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020. This bill introduces a new, more accurate methodology to calculate a non-government school community's capacity to financially contribute to the costs of schooling. The methodology encompassed in this bill resulted from recommendations made by the National School Resourcing Board in its review of the socioeconomic status score methodology. The final report was published in June 2018. I, as education minister at the time, was pleased to receive, release, and provide in-principle support for the adoption of the recommendations. I'm pleased to see that, with this legislation coming forward, those recommendations are now being adopted. The new methodology uses a more robust and reliable set of data to estimate the capacity of parents and guardians to contribute to the cost of schooling, which will ensure more funding flows to those schools that need it most and that funding for non-government schools is directed and shared in a way that better reflects the capacity of those families to contribute to the education of their children.

The bill also introduces changes to non-government schools' rate of transition to the nationally consistent Commonwealth share of the Schooling Resource Standard for non-government schools. This change will allow schools time to plan and adjust to the new measure. The bill also includes measures to support financial certainty by allowing schools time to plan as new arrangements are implemented.

The Australian government is committed to providing every child with a quality education, regardless of where they live or what school they attend. Contrary to some of the implications in contributions in the debate thus far, I remind the Senate that government schools will continue to receive record levels of total Australian government funding, with an estimated $127.8 billion of recurrent funding expected to flow to government schools from 2018 to 2029, providing very strong rates of growth in funding for those sectors. I can also say that, contrary to suggestions that somehow this legislation is being rushed through under cover of the crisis that we face, this bill was introduced into the House of Representatives way back on 26 February. At no time on 26 February did anybody foresee that we would be facing the circumstances that we face in this chamber at this time. Nonetheless, failure to pass this bill would create circumstances where the current forward methodologies in relation to capacity to contribute would continue for longer. So, in terms of equity, it is important that this bill does pass.

I note the recommendation from the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee that the Senate pass the bill, and their recognition that the measures in this bill will enable Commonwealth school funding to be distributed more accurately. I thank those who contributed to that inquiry.

As a result of the changes proposed in the bill, as have been referenced in debate, there are also amendments to the Australian Education Regulation. The government has provided a summary of the proposed changes to the regulation to state and territory governments and the non-government school sector as part of our consultation on the implementation of the new measure. The amendments to the regulation cover how the direct measure of income capacity-to-contribute scores are calculated and include how non-government schools will transition to the nationally consistent Australian government's share of the schooling resource standard. We acknowledge the constructive engagement with the opposition on maintaining transparency of decision-making under the regulation. I therefore table, for the Senate, two letters from the Minister for Education to his shadow ministerial counterpart in the opposition, where it has been agreed that, at the earliest practical opportunity following the passage of this bill, the government will include a clause in the regulation that requires the publication of minister-determined capacity-to-contribute scores.

The Australian government will continue to consult with schools on the new direct income measure and how it affects them. We'll continue to provide information as soon as possible to help schools plan financially for the future. It's with pleasure that I commend this bill to the Senate.