ACT seeks more than $10 million a year from NSW for educating border students
NSW refuses to share the $10 million yearly cost of educating its resident students in ACT schools.
Territory officials estimate it costs more than $10 million each year to educate children from NSW who attend territory public schools. In May, the ACT government asked NSW to share this cost or reimburse the territory.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said no. Ms Car said NSW schools can teach all local students in their home state. The ACT gets federal funding for each NSW child enrolled but pays part of the teaching cost itself.
An independent review of the ACT's budget this year noted this long-standing gap. ACT Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith is continuing talks with NSW on how to support border students.
- $9.98 million
- Annual cost to ACT
- May
- Request made in
- Prue Car
- NSW Education Minister
- August 2025 school census
- Data source
Why it mattersCross-border education funding disputes can set precedents for other services and affect local school budgets in border regions across Australia.
AustraliaBorder families choosing ACT schools over NSW schools now shift education costs to the territory without compensation, affecting ACT taxpayer budgets.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 5 d ago
