During the first few weeks of Term Two we have seen two significant political developments which will impact on Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA).

Most recently, Prime Minister, Malcom Turnbull and federal Education Minister, Simon Birmingham announced a proposed plan for federal education funding.

Senator Birmingham has said the changes will provide increased commonwealth funding for schools nationwide over the next decade.  However, initial analysis by the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) has indicated that Catholic schools nationally will not receive the same increase in funding support as state schools under the proposed arrangement.

For Catholic schools in Western Australia, the impact appears less significant than other states, however there is a need for more detail on the plan before we can establish exactly what this means for CEWA schools. CEWA expects to have greater clarity on the funding in the coming weeks.

NCEC and CEWA are in continued consultation with Federal and State government and further information will be shared with school and communities as more information becomes available.

At a state level, the new WA Labor government recently announced a trimming-down and restructure of the public sector, including the absorption of the Department of Education Services and School Curriculum and Standards Authority into the Department of Education.

Again, CEWA is in communication with the Minister for Education, the Director General of Department of Education (DoE), the Director General of Department of Education Services (DES), the Director General of School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) and the Executive Director of the Association of Independent Schools in WA.

We will keep you updated as we gain a greater understanding of how these two developments will affect our schools and system.

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