The Commonwealth Department of Education have released today the updated details of SRS funding indexation, confirming that the final indexation rate for 2023 will be 4.2%. The indexation rates and funding amounts over recent years are shown below.
This will, however, mean that October grant payments may be lower than expected, as an estimated indexation rate of 4.3% was built into the January and July payment amounts.
It is understand that the Department are predicting the 2024 indexation rate to be 3.8%, but, once again, the final 2024 SRS indexation figure will not be confirmed until around this time in 2024.
As a reminder, SRS indexation is determined at a rate calculated as the higher of:
1. 3 per cent, or
2. a factor derived from 75 per cent of the Wage Price Index (WPI) and 25 per cent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The Federal Government's Department of Education has recently released an explanatory document on how school funding is indexed.
'Commonwealth funding for schools is needs-based and is calculated with reference to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). The SRS is an estimate of how much total public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs.
The SRS is made up of a base amount for all primary and secondary students and up to 6 needs-based loadings for student priority cohorts and disadvantaged schools.
The base amount and all the loadings are indexed each year to reflect changes in prices and therefore costs faced by schools.'
A download of the full document can be made HERE.
The information sheet provides a brief overview of historical indexation rates, as well as an broad insight into the indexation process.
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