A majority of school students are considered disadvantaged for funding purposes, which has led to the benchmark level of money being set too high, a new analysis finds.
The report from libertarian think tank Centre for Independent Studies says changes made to the original per-student funding formula recommended by the Gonski panel in 2012 has set the benchmark schooling resource standard (SRS) unreasonably high.
"Government school systems in almost every state and territory are receiving thousands of dollars per student above the base amount in 2017, but are still mostly below their SRS funding levels," education policy analyst Blaise Joseph says.
"This is due to the unjustifiably high benchmark caused by the expanded loadings, not some independent schools being overfunded."
The Gonski panel recommended extra money to compensate for socio-economic disadvantage be given for the lowest quarter of students, but in negotiating funding agreements the Gillard government expanded this to the bottom half of all students.
"When other sources of disadvantage are included - location, indigenous, and disability - the majority of students attract needs-based funding," Mr Joseph says.
The federal government is in the midst of negotiation a new schools funding deal with the states, expected to be finalised when leaders meet in June.
Labor and the education union have criticised the government for refusing to offer the large increase in funding originally slated for 2018 and 2019, saying it's needed to bring all schools up to the same SRS level.
Mr Joseph says the Gonski panel's recommendations have largely not been implemented, especially measures intended to improve transparency around school funding from all sources - taxpayers, parents and philanthropy.
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