Resources

The Australian Government response to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee (the Committee) inquiry and report on Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024 [Provisions] is now available.

The response to the Committee’s report has been coordinated by the Department of Education. The Committee’s report was tabled on 18 November 2024. The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation that the Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024 be passed and agrees in principle to all recommendations contained in the Australian Green’s dissenting report. Note the Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Act 2024 was passed by Parliament on 26 November 2024 and received Royal Assent on 29 November 2024.

Further, it is noted that the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement 2025-2034 – Full and Fair Funding (the Full and Fair Funding Agreement) provides an additional 5 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) for public schools, lifting the Australian Government’s contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the SRS by no later than 2034. It also notes that the Full and Fair Funding Agreement removes the ability of states and territories to continue to claim the 4 per cent provision for indirect school expenditure, and that it includes National Enabling Initiatives, one of which is that parties have agreed to conduct a review of the SRS base and loading calculation methodology.

More information on The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (2025-2034).

On 20 June 2001, the Senate agreed to an Order requiring each Minister to table a letter advising that a list of contracts in respect of each entity administered by that Minister has been placed on the Internet with access to the list through the entity home page. The letter must be tabled no later than two calendar months after the end of the calendar and financial years.

The Australian Government is reforming the entire education system to build a better and fairer Australia. Reforms include:

• cutting the cost of early education and care for around one million families
• fixing the funding of our public schools and tying that funding to real reform, and
• cutting student debt by a further 20%.

The Corporate Plan is the Department of Education’s primary planning document. It sets out how the department will deliver on its purpose, to create a better future for all Australians through education. 

The plan details the department’s operating environment, enterprise-wide risks and our stakeholders. It also outlines how we will measure our performance, and the strategies we will employ to achieve our purpose for the 2025-29 forward years.

An administrative release of a redacted version of the department's Incoming Government Briefs provided to Ministers following the 2025 Federal Election.

An administrative release of a redacted version of the department's Incoming Government Briefs provided to Ministers following the 2025 Federal Election.

An administrative release of a redacted version of the department's Incoming Government Briefs provided to Ministers following the 2025 Federal Election.

The 2025-26 Department of Education Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) provide information on the proposed allocation of funds to achieve government outcomes. They include budget statements for the department as well as entities working under the portfolio.

The statements provide information to assist parliament to understand the purpose of each outcome. The Education Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) were tabled on 25 March 2025.

The Department of Education Employer Statement sets out our ongoing commitment to gender equality in line with the department’s Equity and Diversity Strategy 2024-25 and our progress on the Gender Equality Indicators established by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The Statement provides a high level overview of the department’s gender pay metrics as at 30 September 2024 and broader context around the data.

The Department of Education’s Evaluation Strategy 2025-2027 provides a high-level framework to support the evaluation of policies, programs, and departmental corporate initiatives. It includes three building blocks: 

• Block 1: Accountability and Governance
• Block 2: Embedding Evaluation in All Stages of the Policy Cycle
• Block 3: Evaluation Maturity and Capability Building.

Together, these building blocks support the increased and more effective use of evaluation within the department to inform our understanding of “what works”. Embedding evaluative thinking throughout the department, and at every stage of the policy cycle, enables the development of future policies and programs which integrate insights and lesson learned.