School Policy and Funding Advisory Council
Provides advice to the Minister for Education on regulatory, policy and funding issues that affect government and non-government schools.
On this page
- Members
- Official statements
- Ministerial orders
- Non-government schools
- Statutory review
- Terms of reference
Members
The Council has 5 members:
- Tony Bates, Secretary, Department of Education (Chair)
- Professor Elizabeth Labone, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Catholic Education Authority
- Rachel Holthouse, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Schools Victoria
- Dr. David Howes, Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services
- Chris Wardlaw, Independent Member, represents the views of students in all Victorian schools.
The Council meets at least 3 times each year. We provide secretarial support to the Council.
Official statements
Open all
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2025
- November 2025 (PDF, 166KB)
- November 2025 (DOCX, 75KB)
- July 2025 (PDF, 149KB)
- July 2025 (DOCX, 76KB)
- April 2025 (PDF, 148KB)
- April 2025 (DOCX, 74.7KB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2024
- November 2024 (PDF, 141KB)
- November 2024 (DOCX, 113KB)
- July 2024 (PDF, 60KB)
- July 2024 (DOCX, 112KB)
- March 2024 (PDF, 116KB)
- March 2024 (DOCX, 105KB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2023
- December 2023 (PDF, 121KB)
- December 2023 (DOCX, 107KB)
- July 2023 (PDF, 133KB)
- July 2023 (DOCX, 107KB)
- March 2023 (PDF, 184KB)
- March 2023 (DOCX, 2.27MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2022
- November 2022 (PDF, 2.3MB)
- November 2022 (DOCX,637KB)
- July 2022 (PDF, 2.6MB)
- July 2022 (DOCX, 657KB)
- March 2022 (PDF, 723KB)
- March 2022 (DOCX, 3MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2021
- November 2021 (PDF, 937KB)
- November 2021 (DOCX, 2MB)
- July 2021 (PDF, 962KB)
- July 2021 (DOCX, 2MB)
- March 2021 (PDF, 600KB)
- March 2021 (DOCX, 2MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2020
- November 2020 (PDF, 581KB)
- November 2020 (DOCX, 2MB)
- July 2020 (PDF, 581KB)
- July 2020 (DOCX, 2MB)
- April 2020 (PDF, 558KB)
- April 2020 (DOCX, 2MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2019
- November 2019 (PDF, 227KB)
- November 2019 (DOCX, 2MB)
- July 2019 (PDF, 322KB)
- July 2019 (DOCX, 2MB)
- April 2019 (PDF, 338KB)
- April 2019 (DOCX, 2MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2018
- October 2018 (PDF, 109KB)
- October 2018 (DOCX, 3MB)
- September 2018 (PDF, 223KB)
- September 2018 (DOCX, 3MB)
- June 2018 (PDF, 104KB)
- June 2018 (DOCX, 2MB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council 2017
Ministerial orders
- Ministerial order 1002: Further provisions about the school policy and funding advisory council (amendment) order 2017 (PDF, 530KB)
- Ministerial order 858: Further provisions about the school policy and funding advisory council (PDF, 65KB)
Non-government schools
The majority of Victorian students attend their local public school, including several schools that offer a choice between public and alternative curriculum models.
The non-government school sector provides education to 388,562 Victorian schoolchildren, representing approximately 37% of Victorian students (Source: DE, School Information and Enrolments, Statistics on Victorian schools and teaching).
These schools are diverse, serving a range of different communities. They may provide religious or values-based education, or be based on educational philosophies or different interpretations of mainstream education.
For information about:
- Catholic Schools, refer to the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA)
- independent schools refer to as Independent Schools Victoria (ISV).
The non-government school sector is represented by these stakeholders on the School Policy and Funding Advisory Council.
Statutory review
A review of the operation of Part 2.7 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 has been undertaken by the legislative requirement (Section 2.7.13) which included consultation with the School Policy and Funding Advisory Council.
A full report is available via:
Terms of reference
The Council operates under the following Terms of Reference, which are reviewed on an annual basis.
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council Terms of Reference 15 March 2024 (PDF, 173KB)
- School Policy and Funding Advisory Council Terms of Reference 15 March 2024 (DOCX, 129KB)
Updated 26 March 2026
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