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NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey delivering the 2023 / 24 NSW State Budget in the Legislative Assembly at NSW State Parliament in Sydney . Picture : NCA NewsWire
NSW Budget
What ’ s in it for teachers ? We break down the nuts and bolts
By Erin Morley
The Minns government ’ s first NSW state budget released in late September put essential workers at its forefront , allocating $ 9.8 billion to the public education system to focus on upgrading schools and getting rid of the wages cap to tackle the understaffed industry .
For the first time in NSW , more teachers are resigning than retiring . There was friction with the government over a promised pay rise , which led to protests across the state asking the government to # HonourtheDeal , before they came to an agreement with the NSW Teachers Federation ( NSWTF ) to increase wages last month .
This deal will see graduate teacher salaries rise from $ 75,791 to $ 85,000 , while the highest paid teachers will receive an increase from $ 113,042 to $ 122,100 , along with a $ 27,000 per year pay rise for school counsellors ; delivered alongside this budget ’ s abolition of the wages cap for the public sector .
INVESTMENT INTO INFRASTRUCTURE School infrastructure is a priority in this budget , with plans to build 24 new and 51 upgraded primary and high schools at a cost of $ 3.5 billion over four years in western Sydney , and 19 new and 35 upgraded schools in regional NSW at a $ 1.4 billion cost over four years .
To attract and retain rural and regional teachers , and provide equal opportunities for rural and remote students , the Grow Your Own training program and Rural
Access Gap programs will be funded in regional schools .
The government will also conduct an enrolment growth audit to decide which rapidly growing areas they will invest into for new schools and classrooms .
THE EDUCATION FUTURE FUND The Education Future Fund aims to address NSW ’ s declining education outcomes , neglected schools and teacher shortages through investment into learning programs .
It includes , $ 278.4 million for permanent literacy and numeracy tutoring programs in both primary and secondary schools ; doubling the School Breakfast 4 Health program from 500 to 1,000 schools for $ 8 million ; and further investment in the the Community Languages Schools Program , at a cost of $ 17.8 million .
8 | educationreview . com . au