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Revealed: the private schools set to have their funding cut by the Turnbull government

Matthew Knott
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High-fee private schools in Sydney's wealthy northern suburbs dominate the list of schools set to have have their federal funding cut next year under the Turnbull government's new funding model, Fairfax Media can reveal.

Many of Canberra's private schools are currently overfunded according to the Gonski formula and are also set to have their funding cut next year.

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The Gonski sell

Malcolm Turnbull and his education minister are on a schools funding publicity campaign, trying to sell their new plan, but not everyone is buying it.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham announced on Tuesday that 24 independent schools will have their federal funding cut next year as part of the new federal funding model. Some 350 schools will also receive less federal funding by the end of the decade than they would have under the current formula. 

Burnt by the experience of Mark Latham's private school "hit list", the Gillard government made it a condition of its Gonski school funding policies that no school would lose a dollar. 

The Turnbull government has argued it is fundamentally fair to reduce funding for some wealthy schools as the vast majority of schools - around 9000 in total - will be better off than they are now. Most private schools will see their funding rise under the new model.

The government has declined to publicly confirm the schools that will have their funding cut, but Fairfax Media has identified the schools set to lose federal money under the new formula. A full list, based on the latest Department of Education data, is published below. 

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Schools with the highest proportion of overfunding are the most likely to have their funding cut. It is understood the number of schools could reduce further following negotiations between the private school sector and the government. 

Most of the private schools in Sydney to have their funding cut are in blue-ribbon Liberal electorates, showing the government is willing to hit its own base to deliver a more equitable distribution of funding.

Those schools include Loreto Kirribilli, an elite Catholic girls school charging almost $19,000 a year in fees for senior students, and Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College in North Sydney - the two most overfunded schools in the country. 

The government's goal under the new model is to provide 80 per cent of the appropriate funding level - known as the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) - for private and Catholic schools by the end of the decade.

Schools currently receiving over 80 per cent of their SRS from the federal government will have their funding brought down. 

Schools that are significantly overfunded - those receiving over 100 per cent of their SRS - are expected to have their funding cut from next year.

Fairfax Media has identified 26 schools in this category, excluding special needs schools.

The list is dominated by elite private schools, many of which are independent Catholic schools, in Sydney and Canberra.

Only one school in Victoria, Melbourne Grammar School, and two private schools in Queensland are significantly overfunded by the federal government and likely to have their funding cut.

Senator Birmingham said on Wednesday the 24 schools would face only "small reductions" to their federal funding next year of around 2 per cent. 

The willingness to cut funding for some wealthy schools shows the government is committed to implementing a true needs-based funding model, he said.

"We are taking the difficult decision of cleaning up a system riddled with inconsistencies and ancient sweet heart deals," Senator Birmingham said. 

"That means taking difficult decisions but by investing $18.6 billion extra over the next 10 years, we have managed to make sure we can fix the system while delivering strong growth in funding for more than 9,000 schools."

The government will release an online calculator in coming days so parents can check how much funding their school will receive, he said. 

Greens education spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said: "We will support a model that makes sure there is significant investment in the education system, to make sure all kids, regardless of their post code, get a decent start in life.

"If that means making sure that a tennis court doesn't get built or an extra swimming pool doesn't get built or another set of rowing sheds doesn't get built in a wealthy private school so the public schools get the facilities and infrastructure they need to give kids the best start in life, well, we will do that."

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said the opposition would support the cuts to private schools but said the issue was a distraction from the fact the government is offering schools $22 billion less over a decade than Labor.

Schools set to have their funding cut in 2018*:

1. Loreto Kirribilli, NSW - Funded at 196% of SRS

2. Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College, NSW - Funded at 186% of SRS

3. St Aloysius' College, NSW - Funded at 183% of SRS

4. Mount St Benedict College, NSW - Funded at 156% of SRS

5. Radford College, ACT - Funded at 151% of SRS

6. Daramalan College, ACT - Funded at 147% of SRS

7. Hillbrook Anglican School, QLD - Funded at 139% of SRS

8. Marist College Canberra, ACT - Funded at 136% of SRS 

9. Northern Beaches Christian School, NSW - Funded at 134% of SRS

10. Stella Maris College, NSW - Funded at 134% of SRS

11. Brigidine College St Ives, NSW - Funded at 132% of SRS

12. Oakhill College, NSW - Funded at 129% of SRS

13. Burgmann Anglican School, ACT - Funded at 126% of SRS

14. Brindabella Christian College, ACT- Funded at 122% of SRS

15. St Augustine's College Brookvale, NSW - Funded at 120% of SRS

16. William Clarke College, NSW - Funded at 119% of SRS

17. Covenant Christian School, NSW - Funded at 118% of SRS 

18. Eastern Suburbs Montessori School, NSW - Funded at 117% of SRS 

19. Melbourne Grammar School, VIC - Funded at 117% of SRS

20. Queenwood School for Girls, NSW - Funded at 115% of SRS

21. Cannon Hill Anglican School, QLD - Funded at 113% of SRS

22. Canberra Girls Grammar, ACT - Funded at 110% of SRS

23. Canberra Rudolf Steiner School, ACT - Funded at 110% of SRS

24. Canberra Grammar School, ACT - Funded at 107% of SRS

* List based on Department of Education, Commonwealth school funding as a proportion of SRS, excluding special needs schools

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