Joint media release
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
A Dutton Coalition Government will establish a $100 million boarding school infrastructure fund to support remote Indigenous students, ensuring more young Indigenous Australians have access to quality education, regardless of where they live.
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator Sarah Henderson said that a Coalition Government will back practical measures which deliver real outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
“Boarding schools provide vital access to education for Indigenous students living in remote communities,” Senator Henderson said.
“Our $100 million Remote Indigenous Student Success Boarding Fund will help build and upgrade boarding facilities which predominantly serve Indigenous students, creating up to 660 new places across Australia.
“Just over half of Indigenous students complete Year 12, and attendance in very remote areas is as low as 46 per cent.
“The challenges facing Indigenous children and teenagers in remote communities are immense, and this fund is all about driving successful student outcomes.”
The fund will run across two competitive grant rounds, building a pipeline of infrastructure projects which prioritise regional boarding schools which serve communities.
The fund will complement the existing Indigenous Boarding Providers Grants Program, which currently supports around 2,500 Indigenous students across more than 40 boarding schools.
A further $15.9 million over four years to 2028-29 will ensure providers of these additional boarding school places can access support from the Indigenous Boarding Providers Grants Program.
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, said these investments are a vital step in lifting Indigenous school attendance and retention rates.
“For Indigenous children living in remote communities, education is crucial to combating the tyranny of distance and breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage which has led to such poor learning outcomes.” Senator Nampijinpa Price said.
“This is unacceptable. A Dutton Coalition Government will take real action to close the gap, not just talk about it.
“This fund empowers Indigenous families to access better opportunities for their children, especially when local schooling options are limited.”
The Coalition’s announcement comes in response to growing concerns about the Albanese Labor Government’s failure to properly support Indigenous education, including delays in releasing the findings of the Indigenous Boarding Design Review and short-term funding extensions that create uncertainty for providers.
The new fund forms part of the Coalition’s broader back to basics plan for education, which is focused on explicit instruction and other evidence-based teaching methods to boost literacy and numeracy, improving school outcomes for every Australian child.