Investing in Education for the Future and Upgrading Local Schools

The Malinauskas Labor Government was elected with a clear mandate - our plan wasn’t just for the next four years, it was for the next generation.

One of our key election commitments in 2022 was to establish a Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care, recognising that the early years shape a child’s future more profoundly than any other stage of life. That commitment has now been delivered, and its findings are guiding the most significant early learning reform South Australia has ever undertaken. Our $1.9 billion plan to introduce universal 3-year-old preschool is well underway. Phased in over six years from 2026, every South Australian child will have access to a second year of quality preschool from 2032.

In early 2025, the Malinauskas Labor Government reached a landmark bilateral funding agreement with the Albanese Labor Government. Under the new agreement, South Australian public schools will receive $1.6 billion of funding over the next ten years, lifting them to the School Resource Standard - the level recommended by the Gonksi Review to ensure every child has the resources they need to succeed. The first major reform delivered under the new funding agreement is the introduction of a Numeracy Guarantee, ensuring students receive explicit, evidence-based numeracy teaching.

Since 2022, the Malinauskas Labor Government has made over 1,800 contract teachers permanent, and provided longer contracts, less admin and better pay for school Principals and Leaders. We’ve established Australia’s largest network of autism inclusion teachings and banned mobile phones in public high schools - leading to fewer distractions, less cyberbullying, and more positive student interaction.

We’re also expanding education and training opportunities after school, including creating the new Adelaide University and building five new technical colleges across South Australia. In partnership with the Albanese Labor Government, the introduction of fee-free TAFE is giving people the tools to build a better future for themselves, their families, and our state, by training in the areas we need such as health care, construction, early childhood education and aged care.