The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement - Full and Fair Funding 2025-2034 (the Full and Fair Funding Agreement) is a joint agreement between the Commonwealth, states and territories to help create a better and fairer education system for all students.
Under the Full and Fair Funding Agreement, the Commonwealth has increased its contribution to 25 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to put government schools on a pathway to 100 per cent of funding over the life of the agreement. This is subject to states and territories maintaining a share of at least 75 per cent of the SRS for public schools.
States and territories will also be required to remove the 4 per cent provision for indirect expenditure, such as capital depreciation, previously counted towards their funding share, and replace it with funding on eligible expenses.
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The Full and Fair Funding Agreement commenced on 1 January 2025 and replaces the National School Reform Agreement which expired on 31 December 2024, and the Interim School Funding Agreement. It will run for 10 years from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2034.
The Full and Fair Funding Agreement ties additional Australian Government funding to reforms that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school.
Through the Full and Fair Funding Agreement, parties commit to targeted reforms focused on 3 national areas:
- equity and excellence
- wellbeing for learning and engagement
- a strong and sustainable workforce.
The Full and Fair Funding contains 10 National Reform Directions which support the achievement of these 3 national priority areas.
The Full and Fair Funding Agreement has been informed by several inputs including the findings and recommendations of:
- the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System
- the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National School Reform Agreement.
The Full and Fair Funding Agreement and the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement have been developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and peak bodies. This engagement has been essential in recognising the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledge and honours the Australian Government’s commitments to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. It has also been developed in collaboration with non-government education representatives.
Better and Fairer Schools Agreement -Full and Fair Funding Agreement (Heads of Agreement)
The following states and territories have signed on to the Full and Fair Funding Agreement Heads of Agreement.
- South Australia – signed 24 January 2025
- Victoria – signed 30 January 2025
- Western Australia – signed 31 January 2025
- New South Wales – signed 4 March 2025
- Australian Capital Territory – signed 6 March 2025
- Tasmania – signed 11 March 2025
- Queensland – signed 24 March 2025
All bilateral agreements will be published when negotiations are finalised.
National Enabling Initiatives
National Enabling Initiatives are specific activities that require collaboration between all governments to be achieved. National Enabling Initiatives will enable governments to effectively implement future reform efforts and system-level improvements.
There are 5 National Enabling Initiatives in the Full and Fair Funding Agreement:
- Review of the Schooling Resource Standard base and loadings calculation methodology.
- Implementation of the Unique Student Identifier for school students.
- Undertake collective work to better understand and provide advice to Education Ministers on:
- socioeconomic diversity, its impact on schools and student learning and approaches to addressing these impacts.
- school attendance, its impact on learning and mechanisms to advance evidence-based approaches to addressing non-attendance, including school refusal.
- Review of the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia.
- Development of an early years of schooling numeracy check.
Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (2025-2034)
The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (BFSA) operates for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.
The BFSA shares the same objectives and outcomes as the Full and Fair Funding Agreement and focuses on the 3 priority areas agreed by Education Ministers in December 2023.
State and territory parties to the BFSA Heads of Agreement are below:
- Northern Territory – signed 31 July 2024
Bilateral Agreements under the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement
States and territories are also required to have a bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth, that sets out state and territory-specific actions to improve student outcomes. Bilateral agreements include activities that support priority equity cohorts such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students in regional, rural and remote areas, students with disability and students from a low SES background.
Bilateral agreements outline minimum state and territory school funding contribution shares as a condition of receiving Australian Government school funding. Reporting guidance has been developed to assist states and territories to report on their funding contributions.