28 October 2026
I rise in support of the Education and Children's Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. It gives effect to three commitments this government took to the people of South Australia: abolishing the materials and services charge in public schools, making out-of-school-hours care work for more families and opening our school grounds to the communities that own them.
I am proudly a product of public education and my children are also now being, albeit one having recently finished year 12, publicly educated. So I understand when we talk about this bill that we are talking about the everyday experiences that a range of children and their families' experiences within the public education system: the fee notice that arrives at the start of the year, the scramble for care when the bell rings at 3 o'clock, and the school oval that often sits behind a locked gate on the weekend.
I truly value public schools. First and foremost, they are educational institutions. Their purpose is to teach, to nurture and to open doors for every child who walks through their gate. This bill reflects that principle in a very practical way. From 2027, the materials and services charge will be abolished in South Australian public schools. On average, families who do not currently receive the School Card will save more than $8,000 per child across 13 years of schooling.
For a family with one child in primary school and one in high school, that can mean savings of more than $1,000 a year. Some costs will remain, such as specialist subjects, excursions and camps, but removing the universal charge is real relief for families managing the cost of groceries, power bills, a mortgage or rent. Importantly, no school will be worse off. The department will provide schools with the funding they would have received through the charge, with indexation built in. Principals and front office staff will no longer spend their time issuing reminders and chasing unpaid M&S fees.
At the heart of this reform is a belief in equality of opportunity: that a child's access to education should not depend on their postcode or their parents' income. But it goes further than that. It reflects a belief in equality of outcome—a conviction that where a child starts in life should not determine where they finish.
Opportunity matters, but opportunity alone is not enough when some children arrive at school carrying burdens that others never have to think about. A fee notice may seem small, yet for some families and for some children it is a source of stress, embarrassment and quiet disadvantage that children notice more than we might assume: missed school camps, excursions or other activities. Removing it removes one more barrier between a child and what they are capable of achieving.
This is not a new value for Labor governments; it runs through the South Australia Bilateral Agreement under the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement signed with the commonwealth in March 2025. Under that agreement, schools are funded according to need. Students facing disadvantage receive more support because we recognise that they need it to reach the same destination as their peers. Funding according to need is, in practice, an attempt to secure equal educational outcomes—indeed, life outcomes. It is a commitment Labor has made at both state and federal levels, and this bill continues it.
On this side of the house, we are not content simply to open the door and hope every child can reach what might be described as a fulfilling or financially secure life. We want every child to have every opportunity to reach that goal. We recognise the burden of disadvantage and we aim to do all we practicably can to change their life's course. This bill is part of that aim.
None of this works without the people at the centre of our schools. Public school teachers constantly leave me with enormous admiration. Their dedication, their passion and the creativity they bring to teaching our children—who are our future—is remarkable. They adapt lessons, engage children in a shared learning journey, notice the child who is struggling and find ways to light a spark in students who may not yet have found their place. I want to acknowledge two schools I believe are the light on the hill when it comes to public education: Marryatville High School and Marden Senior College. I have great pleasure in serving on their governing councils and I have seen firsthand the care, professionalism and quite extraordinary vision of their leadership teams, led by Julie Ferguson and Nikki Kotrotsos respectively. They lead their school communities with ambition and a genuine commitment to every student in their care, and we see the results of that focus on outcomes. I thank them for their work and for what they continue to teach me about public education at its best.
This bill also recognises a simple reality: the school day may end at 3 o'clock but the working day does not. Nearly 12,000 children aged five to 12 attend out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) at a South Australian government primary school on any given day. But not every family who needs OSHC can get it. Over the next four years, this government will establish OSHC at a further 68 public primary schools, with 18 new services planned for 2027. This is an additional 2,300 places—a 20 per cent statewide expansion—as part of a plan to make OSHC available to every public primary school family over the next decade.
I know what this means because I have lived on both sides of the availability coin. In recent years, OSHC was a lifeline. As a working mum, it gave me the confidence to get on with my day knowing my children were safe, cared for and having fun. But I also know what it is like when that care is not there. While I was studying, I simply could not get the care I needed on the days I needed it. By the time my timetable came out, those days were full. As a result, I was unable to complete some of my subjects. It was frustrating and it showed me how quickly a lack of available care can close off opportunities, particularly for women. In fact, it partly contributed to delaying me getting out of an abusive relationship.
Every parent who has been in that position knows the trade-off: you turn down shifts, you defer the course, you put your own plans on hold. Expanding OSHC means fewer families will have to make that choice and more children will have the chance to make friends, try new things and build new skills after the bell.
The final part of this bill is about the places where our children learn. As part of our $75 million Kids Off Screens initiative, school facilities will become more accessible to the community outside school hours. All new public schools will be designed with community use in mind. A $13 million fund over four years will support upgrades that make access easier, and a centralised booking system will help clubs and schools coordinate use without adding to the workload of busy administration teams.
I remember playing on school grounds as a child after the day had finished, playing on the playground, riding my bike, meeting schoolmates and feeling that the school was ours not just between 9 and 3.30 but as part of our local neighbourhood. That matters even more today. As our suburbs grow denser, with more people living in apartments or townhouses and fewer backyards, open space has and will continue to become more and more important. Sporting clubs are crying out for places to train and play. Public schools are owned by the public and it makes sense that the public should be able to use them.
This bill is about the kind of state we want to be: one where every child can learn without their family worrying about the cost of the basics, where parents can work and study knowing their children are cared for, and where our schools are open, generous places at the heart of their communities. Most of all, it is about making sure that every child, whatever their circumstances, has a fair chance of finishing well. I commend the bill to the house.