State Budget 2023
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 , 21 July 2023, page no.9
A significant increase in revenue from royalties from coal and gas allowed the state government to provide several “big ticket” items in this year’s State Budget, including capital works and a package of measures designed to alleviate “cost-of-living” pressures.
The two major education initiatives are a $968 million (over 10 years) fund to secure land for new school sites and $645 million (over four years) to provide free kindergarten for all four-year-olds. Both are laudable and will deliver long-term benefits, but neither will have an immediate impact on schools.
In terms of the funding priorities set out in the 2023-24 QTU Budget Submission, the Budget is disappointing. There are few significant initiatives in the areas of behaviour management, teacher attraction and retention, or support for students with additional needs. It is particularly disappointing that the capital works program makes no mention of additional positive learning centres.
Education spending
The “education budget” (school and early childhood education) amounts to $17.8 billion, which is an 8.3 per cent increase on last year. The introduction of free kindergarten for all four-year-olds is the main contributor to this increase. School education expenditure is $17.3 billion, which is a 5.6 per cent increase from last year. As a proportion of total government spending, education funding has seen a significant decrease from 2022-23 to 2023-24, dropping from 24.3 per cent in 2022-23 to 23.5 per cent, the lowest proportion since 2014-15.
Unlike the public schooling sector, where the overwhelming majority of income is from state government sources, TAFE relies heavily on user charges and fees. The Service Delivery Statement identifies four sources of income for TAFE Queensland: user charges and fees, grants and other contributions, interest and distributions from managed funds, and other revenue.
TAFE income is expected to increase by 1.7 per cent to $770.8m and expenses are expected to increase by 5.8 per cent to $832.8. This will result in an anticipated operating deficit of $62m.
Capital works and infrastructure
The Budget papers state that $1.181 billion will be expended over four years (totalling $1.654 billion over 10 years), with a further $72.2 million over five years held centrally, to deliver critical educational infrastructure to accommodate enrolment growth in state schools, including school halls and performing arts facilities, strategic land acquisition, and new school construction.
In 2023-24, TAFE Queensland’s capital program includes $4.5 million for the acquisition, replacement, and modernisation of training and operational equipment, $5.1 million for the ICT program of work, and $5.6 million on the development of training products and materials to support delivery.
The Capital Statement provides a list of capital works projects, including new schools, additional classrooms, and facilities, by school location. This can be accessed at https://budget.qld.gov.au/files/Budget_2023-24_Capital_Statement.pdf.
Staffing
The Budget papers do not provide specific information on teacher numbers, but the government continues to claim that it is on track to deliver on its election commitment of delivering 6,100 (originally 6,190) additional teachers and 1,100 (originally 1,139) teacher-aides over four years. It sustains this claim by including those who have been hired to replace people who have retired or resigned in the “additional” teacher and teacher-aide numbers – so these are not additional teacher or teacher-aide positions. It also includes increases due to enrolment growth.
TAFE educational staffing is also not reported on in the Budget papers. Overall TAFE staffing will increase from 4,296 FTEs in 2022-23 to 4,349 in 2023-24.
Non-government schools
State recurrent funding to non-government schools will increase by 2.3 per cent to $867 million; Commonwealth recurrent funding will increase by 4.5 per cent to $4.1 billion. State capital grants to non-government schools will total $127m in 2023-24. Commonwealth capital funding for non-government schools is not reported.
Teacher housing
The State Budget contained significant and much-needed investment in teacher housing.
Union members have persistently raised the lack of responsiveness when critical housing needs arise in isolated rural and remote areas. This $48.3 million is specifically for just such circumstances, particularly when Government Employee Housing (GEH) cannot supply housing solutions. The money will be used to buy new housing or identify and deliver high quality modular relocatables. It will go into a specific DoE Infrastructure Services teacher housing budget line item, and does not sit in Public Works' GEH budget.
The money is in addition to the money GEH already spends on employee housing, including teacher housing.
Presently, GEH, through the Public Works Department, owns and manages the Queensland Government’s employee housing portfolio. Housing for teachers providing essential education services in eligible locations is generally supplied through GEH or some DoE owned housing stock, and where a private rental market exists, private rentals are leased for teachers. The Queensland Government’s preferred model is for GEH to do the providing.
QTU members are in every community around this state. Years of advocacy and key work from activists around the state and from the State Accommodation Committee have secured this.
We welcome wholeheartedly the announcement of $48.3 million in the state budget. It is a big win to support better housing for our members.