Religious and independent Victorian schools are being wooed by the Labor government with a $400 million building fund ahead of the state election.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the cash for upgrades and the building of new non-government schools at Glenroy's Corpus Christi Primary School in suburban Melbourne on Monday.
That school will get $1 million towards an upgrade of learning areas and to redevelop the play area and courtyard.
"It's about making that choice that is central to our education system is properly supported," Mr Andrews told reporters.
"We can't do the work that we do, we simply can't educate all of our kids across Victoria, without our partnership with Catholic schools and other independent schools."
The fund will be $100 million a year over four years and help improve facilities as well as build brand new schools in growth areas.
A re-elected Labor government also promises to streamline school works approvals, creating a specific unit within the planning department rather than getting bogged down at a council level.
The money comes on top of the cash Labor has spent on public schools - $3.8 billion to build 70 new schools and upgrade 1300 more.
The announcement follows a federal government announcement last month of more than $4 billion for Catholic schools, funding which federal Labor had long sought.
Victoria's Catholic Education Commission executive director Stephen Elder said the funding would ease pressure on the second-largest school system in the state, which had built five new schools in 2018 to cope with enrolments.
Independent Schools Victoria's chief executive Michelle Green said planning reform would help with progress.
The state's Liberal-Nationals opposition on Monday announced $44 million to redevelop the dilapidated Swan Hill Hospital and continue pushing its plan to expand protective service officers at train stations.
At Swan Hill, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the coalition wants to see greater decentralisation of the population to ease the pressure on Melbourne and regions needed the facilities to entice potential residents.
With only 47 days left until the state election, a new poll on Monday showed the incumbent Labor government ahead of the coalition opposition.
The Andrews government has a two-party preferred vote of 52 per cent, against the coalition on 48 per cent, the ReachTel survey of 1239 voters, taken on October 3 and published in The Age on Monday, found.
Mr Andrews did not comment on the poll, reinforcing that he was running for a majority government as he sidelined speculation of a deal with the Greens if the count is too tight.
"I've been very clear, no deal will be offered, no deal will be done," he said.
Mr Guy said polls would be "all over the place" until the state election on November 24.
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