Government School Funding in the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Government provides funding directly to schools through the School Resourcing Model. It also provides funding indirectly for the strategic focus areas of quality teaching, school leadership, community engagement, data and accountability and differentiated support for schools.

Schools may also generate funds through fundraising, facility hire, educational supply sales, educational items, optional extras, voluntary contributions and grants.

School Resourcing Model

Under the School Resourcing Model schools have flexibility and autonomy to decide how to use their resources. The model has four funding components:

• Funding based on student need
• Fixed (facility) funding
• Targeted funding
• Central funding for school costs

Schools utilise resources to match student need, improve outcomes and use the funding provided for the current year’s cohort of students.

Information on school funding.

Funding based on student need

Student needs based funding formula

Most school funding is directly allocated through an equitable student needs based funding formula. The formula provides a base amount for every government student (from preschool to secondary) with weightings for additional funding for students and schools with specific needs including:

• year level
• students with socio-economic disadvantage
• Aboriginal status
• concentration of Aboriginal students at the school
• remoteness of school
• students with low English language skills
• school size
• distance education

Student information is collected in August of each year and validated by principals, as part of the National August Census. The census information is used to create a student needs profile for the school from which the school’s average per student rate is calculated and communicated to schools in October. This informs the preliminary (indicative) funding available for the School Resourcing Model for the following year.

In March, funding under the School Resourcing Model is adjusted based on the number of students at the school for the current year. Total funding is published in April.

Students with additional needs funding

Schools receive funding for students with additional needs through the School Resourcing Model in a number of different ways.

All mainstream schools receive funding based on the number of students requiring substantial ($2 436 per student) or extensive ($3 654 per student) levels of adjustment under the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for Students with Disability (NCCD) as captured in the Age Grade Census in August of the previous year.

Mainstream schools also receive a flat rate of $1 100 for every full-time equivalent student to build the school’s capability in inclusive practices and meet the needs of all students, including those requiring Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice (QDTP) and supplementary adjustments under the NCCD.

Special education schools and centres are funded on a different model. They receive an annual targeted funding which is adjusted each semester for movement in students.

Fixed (facility) funding

Fixed (facility) funding is provided for school operational costs such as electricity, water, telephone, cleaning and ground maintenance and non-urgent minor repairs.

Targeted Funding

Targeted funding responds to individual students on top of the student needs based funding formula.

Targeted funding programs include special education schools and centres (enrolling students with disability), intensive English units, centres for excellence, child and family centres and targeted programs driven by other educational needs.

Central funding for schools costs

Central funding for schools costs includes items such as teacher remoteness allowance, principals’ salaries, teacher relocation costs, remote study leave and teacher long service leave.

School funding

Schools receive their final funding based on the School Resourcing Model each year. To find your school’s funding enter your school name in the search below.

The per student rate is determined by the student needs specific to each school and based on validated student information at August of the previous year. Fixed (facility) and targeted school funding is not included in the per student rate.

Please contact your school for further information.

School generated funds

Schools also generate funds from fundraising, facility hire, educational supply sales, educational items, optional extras, voluntary contributions and grants.

Other components of the School Resourcing Package

Schools may also receive funding, services and support through:

• school support services to drive school improvement and the teaching and learning agenda through the development and maintenance of strategies, support and advice to all schools
• governance and development services, such as finance, human resources, information technology and other corporate costs.

Northern Territory Government and Australian Government components of school funding

The NT Government is the main funder of government schools in the Territory. Australian Government funding for schools is determined using the Schooling Resource Standard. The Schooling Resource Standard is only used to determine the distribution of Australian Government school funding to each state or territory.

Northern Territory Government and Australian Government funding is distributed through the School Resourcing Package and the School Resourcing Model informed by the Education NT Strategy. It includes both direct costs (e.g. teacher salary), and indirect costs (e.g. quality teaching, school leadership, community engagement, data and accountability and differentiated support for schools).

Other published information

Information on the total resources (direct and indirect) provided to schools can be found on the MySchool website.

The MySchool website gives information about each of Australia’s schools. It includes a school’s student profile, NAPLAN performance, funding levels and sources based on expenditure, and other financial information as well as enrolment numbers and attendance rates.

The financial information is published for a completed calendar year.

Please contact your school for further information.