The Australian Government recognises that by working collaboratively with the Northern Territory Government and community more can be done to improve the educational outcomes of Northern Territory students.
The 2013 Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory found that by Year 3, Indigenous students in very remote schools in the Northern Territory are already 2 years of schooling behind Indigenous students in very remote schools in the rest of Australia in their writing results and that by Year 9, the gap is about 5 years of schooling.
To support the implementation of evidence-based reforms in schools to improve student outcomes, the Australian Government is providing Northern Territory government schools $214.7 million of recurrent funding in 2023 and funding per student is growing year on year including 2.5 per cent over the last year, from $7,164 per student in 2022 to $7,345 in 2023.
In addition to the Northern Territory’s recurrent funding, between 2018 and 2027,the Australian Government is providing an additional $78.5 million in transition support for Northern Territory government schools from 2018 to 2027 to support school education. The additional funding is intended to support students in the Northern Territory to achieve their best, in recognition of the greater challenges they face in comparison to other states and territories. Additional funding is provided to the Northern Territory Government for distribution to individual government schools.
Reporting and transparency
All funding must be acquitted by the Northern Territory Government confirming that funds have been spent, or committed to be spent, in line with requirements of the Australian Education Act 2013 and the Australian Education Regulations 2023.