For students in ageing public schools across Australia, the infrastructure gap is not an abstract policy problem. It is the demountable classroom that leaks when it rains. It is the classroom where air quality exceeds recommended levels. It is the school missing dedicated spaces for music, art, and modern learning.
On 3 March 2026, the Australian Education Union launched Australia's first national inquiry into public school infrastructure, chaired by former union and ACTU president Sharan Burrow. The inquiry will examine the current state of school facilities across every state and territory, assess future needs, and recommend long-term funding and policy reforms.
The timing is urgent. A new AEU report reveals the scale of the divide: over the past decade, private schools have outspent public schools on capital works by $38 billion. In 2023 alone, the gap was $5.4 billion. When you divide that by student numbers, the figures become stark. Private schools invested $2,746 per student annually between 2014 and 2023, while public schools invested just $1,237 per student.
The consequences accumulate. With no Commonwealth capital funding for public schools since 2017, schools have relied on state budgets and makeshift solutions. Over 20,000 demountable buildings now sit in public school grounds across Australia, many housing permanent learning spaces. Principals estimate that 14,000 additional permanent classrooms will be needed by 2030 simply to accommodate growing enrolments.
The inquiry is not purely a union campaign. It reflects a genuine structural problem in how Australia funds education. While some states, notably NSW, have invested heavily in new and upgraded schools, the federal government's role in capital funding has been intermittent. The recent announcement of $16.5 billion in additional federal funding from 2025-26 to 2034-35 is substantial, but stretches across a decade and across all schools.
The research is clear on this point: infrastructure affects educational outcomes. Students in modern, well-maintained facilities perform better than those in ageing buildings. Teachers report higher satisfaction and retention in well-resourced schools. Yet public school students continue to learn in facilities that fall short of what private school counterparts take for granted.
The Burrow inquiry will consult widely with principals, teachers, families, and government. What it will recommend matters greatly. Education is not a partisan issue, though it has become a political football. Reasonable people across the political spectrum agree that every Australian child deserves to learn in a safe, modern, properly resourced school. The question is whether governments will commit to the sustained, long-term funding that actually delivers it.