Victorian Budget: how it will affect you and your family

In what Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has called a budget for families, some of the most significant investments will go towards schools. Here's what you need to know about the Victorian Budget 2015 “16 and how it will affect you and your family.

Key funding areas include:

Schools

The Victorian Government will invest $2.9 billion in schools over four years the biggest education budget in the state's history. The state will continue its commitment to the Gonski Agreement under its promise to making Victoria the ˜education state'. It will fully deliver on its Gonski funding obligations for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 school years.

School construction and renewal is a big winner, with $680 million allocated for building new schools and upgrading existing infrastructure. This includes:

• $325 million to renovate, refurbish and rebuild 67 exiting schools (nine schools will receive major rebuilds totaled at $10 million or more)
• $111 million to build 10 new schools, spanning the suburbs of Craigieburn, Doreen, Mernda and Richmond in the state's north; Footscray and Tarneit in the west; South Melbourne and Albert Park in the south; and Bannockburn in Victoria's Barwon South Western region
• $42 million to conduct the first stage of a state-wide school asbestos removal program
• $40 million to purchase land for new schools in Melbourne's fastest-growing suburbs
• $35 million for more than 120 relocatable classrooms for overcrowded schools
• $10 million for works and equipment to support schools for students with disabilities.

A further $50 million will support Victoria's kindergartens, while an additional $9 million will assist young children with a disability or developmental delay.

Support for families

The Budget also includes $178 million for families who are struggling to cover the costs of education. This includes:

• $148.3 million to support the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund, which will help more than 200,000 disadvantaged students access these parts of an education
• free eye tests and glasses for Prep to Grade 3 students in 250 disadvantaged government schools
• breakfast clubs at disadvantaged schools
• expansion of the State Schools' Relief free uniform, shoes and books program
• music programs and provisions for students in government schools to purchase instruments.

TAFEs

The vocational education sector will benefit from $350 million in funding to save the struggling Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector. This includes $300 million to complete the TAFE Rescue Fund, which is helping campuses to reopen closed buildings and upgrade facilities. An additional $50 million will assist campuses to meet the needs of local employers through the TAFE Back to Work fund.

Other initiatives include:

• $32 million for Local Learning and Employment Networks, assisting jobseekers by providing work opportunities and advice
• $12 million to establish tech schools across Victoria, which will allow students from Years 7 to 12 to learn practical job-related skills alongside a secondary school curriculum.

Useful links:

• State budget overview Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance
• Financing your child's education