This year's Budget once again demonstrates the State Government's commitment to providing quality education and training opportunities for all Tasmanians.

I am confident that this year's Budget will enable us to build on our achievements and work towards achieving our long-term goal of a world-class education, training and information system.

I look forward to us all working together to achieve this goal.

Paula Wriedt MHA
Minister for Education

Since 1998 the Government has injected $227.5 million more into education (an increase of 43.5%), bringing the total appropriation funding for the education portfolio in the 2005-06 Budget to $750.8 million.

Key Initiatives

• Skills for Growth - directly addressing skills shortages to enable business and industry growth: $12.6 million over four years

  Initiatives include:

  • Supporting Enterprise Development - subsidised training provided by TAFE Tasmania to targeted industries to stimulate demand for training for existing employees
  • Trades Express - an accelerated trades recognition and training program for mature-aged Tasmanians and new workforce entrants
  • Skills Direct - short training programs to meet specific industry skills requirements
  • Training for Migrants and Refugees - additional programs to improve employment outcomes for migrants and refugees
• Supporting students with high and/or additional needs: $4.3 million

  Initiatives include:

  • Employing additional specialist support staff such as guidance officers, social workers and speech pathologists and providing additional resources
  • Increasing resources to school clusters with high needs for additional support programs for their students
  • Providing resources for clusters to support flexible education programs and establishing new alternative education programs in the north and north-west
  • Continuing funding for the Managing and Retaining Secondary Students at School program (MARSSS)
• Establishing a Tasmanian Early Years Foundation: $750,000
  • Supporting early learning and development initiatives and promoting public and corporate awareness of the importance of the early years
• Increasing educational programs for refugee and migrant students: $650,000
  • Extending the English as a Second Language (ESL) program
• Assisting transition from primary to secondary school: $750,000
  • Providing additional resources for clusters to develop programs to improve transition for students moving from primary to secondary education
• Establishing the Institute for Inclusive Learning Communities: $300,000
  • Supporting the professional learning of staff working with students with special and/or additional needs through the University of Tasmania
• Reducing class sizes: $500,000
  • An additional $500,000 to continue implementation of our 2002 election commitment to reduce class sizes for Prep and Grade 1 students, lifting the overall commitment to $1.8 million
• Increasing opportunities for students to participate in sport: $175,000
  • Supporting the development of school sport through regional sports co-ordinators
• Establishing new Online Access Centres at Glenorchy and Clarence Plains: $1.1 million
  • Providing Tasmanians with better access to information technology
• Improving computer and Internet access: $90,000
  • Assisting Online Access Centres to provide free access to the disadvantaged
• Continuing funding of Tasmania: State of Learning: $3.7 million
  • Improving post-Year 10 education and training opportunities for Tasmanians
• Providing training for the State's fishing, aquaculture and maritime industries: $2.75 million over four years
  • Meeting industry training needs with state funding
• Providing record-level funding for capital works: $33.53 million
  • Continuing the commitment to upgrading schools, libraries and TAFE facilities
• Providing infrastructure maintenance: $2 million
  • Reducing deferred maintenance in schools
• Increasing School Resource Packages: $500,000
  • Providing additional funding to schools for staff relief