2023-2024 Federal Budget - Education

Education

Closing the Gap - further investment

The Government will provide $492.7 million over 5 years from 2022-23 for a range of measures to support critical investment in infrastructure, employment, justice, education and housing initiatives for First Nations peoples, including:

• $97.7 million over 3 years from 2022-23 to support the development of a New Jobs Program trial to replace the Community Development Program (CDP) and to meet increased demand for the CDP as a result of sustained higher levels of demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
• $38.4 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to improve access to better education and address learning gaps in First Nations primary and secondary education through culturally appropriate distance learning and expanding the on-country junior ranger program
• $21.6 million in 2023-24 to extend the Indigenous Boarding Providers grants program for rural and remote First Nations students for an additional year

The cost of this measure will be partially offset and met within the existing resourcing of the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Department of Social Services.

Budget Paper No 2 p 190
Budget Overview p 53
Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Fact Sheet
Media Release

Strengthening the Capability of the Education Portfolio to Deliver Critical Functions

The Government will provide $105.9 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (including $57.9 million in capital funding, and $4.1 million per year ongoing) to strengthen the Education portfolio's capability to deliver critical functions. Funding includes:

• $91.7 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (including $57.9 million in capital funding, and $4.1 million per year ongoing) to transform program administration for schools and higher education providers by developing a stable, secure, and streamlined information and communications-technology platform
• $14.2 million in 2023-24 to support the Department of Education's critical business and policy functions.

Budget Paper No 2 p 102
Media Release

Child Care Subsidy Reform - additional integrity

The Government will undertake additional payment integrity activities to safeguard the Child Care Subsidy program from fraud and non-compliance. This will achieve net savings of $139.4 million over 4 years from 2023-24. Funding of $13.3 million over 4 years from 2023-24 will be provided to the Department of Education to support a range of activities to further reduce fraudulent Child Care Subsidy claims. To support this work, Services Australia will receive a further $5.3 million over 4 years from 2023-24 for their digital forensics capability. The savings from this measure will offset the 2023-24 Budget measure titled Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce and other Government policy priorities in the Education portfolio.

Budget Paper No 2 p 98
Media Release

Improving the Administration of Student Loans

The Government will provide $87.8 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (including $53.1 million in capital funding, and $2.0 million per year ongoing) to improve the administration of student loans and enhance the security and privacy of data holdings. Funding includes:

• $42.2 million over 4 years from 2023-24 for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to implement a new digital solution to support the efficient and effective administration of the VET Student Loans program
• $36.9 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $2.0 million per year ongoing) for the Department of Education to optimise the Tertiary Collection of Student Information system to improve data quality, analytic support and the security of tertiary student loan records
• $8.7 million over two years from 2023-24 for the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to extend the VET FEE-HELP student redress measures by one year to 31 December 2023.

The Government will also forgo $5.4 million in receipts over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $15.5 million over two years to 2033-34) to support students affected by a delay in the transfer of some historical tertiary education loan records to the Australian Taxation Office. This will mean waiving the following debts for affected loans, as determined at the date of transfer to the Australian Taxation Office:

• historical indexation, as well as indexation that will be applied on 1 June 2023 on loans issued prior to 1 July 2022 under the Higher Education Loan Program, the VET Student Loans program, the Trade Support Loans program and on loans issued in 2017 and 2018 under the VET FEE-HELP program
• outstanding debt for VET FEE-HELP loans issued from 2009 to 2016.

Budget Paper No 2 p 87
Budget Overview p 43

Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce

The Government will provide $72.4 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to support the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector to build and retain the ECEC workforce. Funding includes:

• $34.4 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to subsidise ECEC services to backfill up to 75,000 early childhood educators, early childhood teachers and centre directors to undertake mandatory or highly recommended training, or to pay an allowance to the educator if training is undertaken outside work hours
• $33.1 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to provide financial assistance for up to 6,000 educators in the ECEC sector to undertake a paid practicum in initial teacher education courses at a bachelor or post-graduate level
• $4.8 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to support up to 2,000 ECEC workers to undertake a practicum exchange at a different service, with a living allowance for students undertaking a practicum in a rural or remote location.

The initiatives will prioritise support for First Nations educators, and educators in regional and remote areas. The cost of this measure will be met from savings identified in the 2023-24 Budget measures titled Child Care Subsidy Reform - additional integrity and Education - reprioritisation.

Budget Paper No 2 p 99
Budget Overview p 21
Media Release

Better, Safer Future for Central Australia Plan

As part of a $250 million investment, the Government will provide funding of $155.9 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to support the Better, Safer Future for Central Australia Plan. Funding includes:

• $40.4 million over two years from 2023-24 to schools in Central Australia to improve school attendance and education outcomes. This measure will prioritise community engagement and locally driven responses in partnership with local community organisations

Budget Paper No 2 p 83
Budget Overview p 52
Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Fact Sheet
Media Release

First Nations - supporting education outcomes

The Government will continue initiatives that support better educational outcomes for First Nations peoples, a key priority under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Funding includes:

• $32.8 million over two years from 2023-24 for the Clontarf Foundation to extend its existing program for the 2024 school year to support school engagement for at-risk First Nations young men
• savings of $4.2 million over 4 years from 2022-23 from the Building Boarding Schools on Country Program, bringing total investment in the program to $70.8 million to construct one new boarding school at
  Windjana Gorge, Western Australia and construct an Indigenous Education Research Centre near the school, and upgrade the existing Yiramalay Studio School in the Kimberley Region, Western Australia.

The Government will also expand the scope of the City-Country Partnerships Program, a commitment under the 2023 Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan that supports partnerships between high-performing city schools and remote schools with a high proportion of First Nations students, to allow any high-performing Independent, Catholic or Government metropolitan school to apply to participate in the program.

Budget Paper No 2 p 100
Budget Overview p 43
Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Fact Sheet
Media Release

Education - reprioritisation

The Government will achieve savings of $53.1 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $3.8 million per year ongoing) across the Education portfolio. Savings include:

• $36.9 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $2.0 million per year ongoing) from legacy grant schemes the Strategic University Reform Fund and the Regional Research Collaboration Program to optimise the Tertiary Collection of Student Information system to improve data quality, analytic support and the security of tertiary student loan records
• $11.3 million over 4 years from 2022-23 from uncommitted funding in the National School Reform Fund and the Quality Outcomes Program identified through the Government Spending Audit
• $3.0 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $0.7 million per year ongoing) by ceasing funding for the Quality Initiatives Program, which is duplicative of other expenditures in the Education portfolio
• $1.9 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $1.1 million per year ongoing) by recovering overpayments and improving funding integrity in non-government schools.

The savings from this measure will be redirected to fund other Government policy priorities in the Education portfolio.

Budget Paper No 2 p 100