Efficient delivery of quality services – State Budget 2014-15: Major funding boosts for health and education

Education:
.550 more teachers next year
.Total education budget of $4.58billion
.Includes extra spending of $188million next year (a 4.3% increase on 2013-14)
.Plus $10million to support the transition to the student-centred funding model
.An extra $812million over four years for forecast growth
.Average spend per student $15,824 (an increase of $150 or 1% per student on 2013-14)
.$1.16billion to 2017-18 for 19 new schools and school upgrades
Health:
.Total spend of $8billion in 2014-15 – up by $446.7million
.Hospital emergency cases: Expected to reach 1,030,000 in 2014-15. Up 3.5%
.$204million extra for hospital services expenditure in 2014-15
.$1.8billion for new hospitals and related health infrastructure spending to 2017-18
.About two million expected outpatients at WA hospitals in 2014-15 – 60,000 more than 2013-14
.$30.3million in 2014-15 for Aboriginal health programs

The State Government will employ an extra 550 teachers by the end of 2015 after the Department of Education received a $188million funding boost to ensure Western Australian schools keep pace with strong student enrolments.

And health funding in WA will top $8billion for the first time in the State’s history in 2014-15 as demand for hospital services continues to climb.

Treasurer Mike Nahan announced in today’s WA State Budget that the Liberal National Government would spend $1.16billion on upgrading existing schools and building 19 new ones including three high schools through to the end of 2018.

Next year’s 4.3 per cent growth in the education budget means that since 2008, the Liberal National Government has increased education spending by $1.8billion or 60.1 per cent.

Over the Budget period, education funding will increase by a total of $812million.

Dr Nahan said the announcements would maintain WA’s enviable record in public education and health.

“WA has the best resourced schools and the highest paid teachers of any State in the country and this funding boost will maintain that ranking, while at the same time introduce a new funding model that will more effectively deliver education outcomes,” he said.

“We will be introducing a new student-centred funding model in 2015, which will allocate funding according to individual student needs, rather than by school type or programs.”

A further $10million has been allocated in 2015 to help selected secondary schools transition to the new funding model.

As for health, with the new $1.8billion Fiona Stanley Hospital and State Rehabilitation Service due to become operational in 2014-15, the Department of Health’s Budget received a $446.7million boost, lifting the total health spend to $8billion for the first time.

The Treasurer said the Government had delivered on its promise to fully fund the Department of Health’s growth pressures.

“With more than two million outpatient visits expected and more than one million emergency hospital visits, the health system is under continued pressure to deliver high quality services as efficiently as possible,” he said.

Hospital operating funding will rise by 5.7 per cent to $5.417billion in 2014-15 and by another 5.6 per cent to $5.718billion the year after.

Dr Nahan said that as well as big funding rises in education and health, the Liberal National Government would continue to fund programs aimed at improving Aboriginal health outcomes.