One in five in disrepair with leaking roofs and cracked walls
One in five public schools in Victoria need urgent repairs or rebuilding due to leaking roofs, cracked walls and other faults, prompting the Victorian School Construction Authority to rate them as “poor”.
A snapshot of the state of almost all public schools in Victoria has revealed that schools in all parts of the state are in need of significant improvement; but almost three of the four most desperate schools were in regional and rural areas.
Official reports compiled by the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) show that 199 of the 1062 schools it assessed in the years to 2023 received condition scores below 3.25 out of 5; this is the threshold at which schools are deemed to be in “poor condition” and project officers are appointed to lead improvements.
The Department for Education fought for two years to block the release of sensitive school condition reports through freedom of information provisions until November, when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered the state opposition to release them.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said efforts to fight the release of the reports followed a $2.4 billion “hidden” funding cut to state schools from the state budget last year.
“With hundreds of schools in poor condition, billions of dollars in funding cuts and a persistent teacher shortage crisis, Labor’s claim that Victoria is an ‘education state’ is in tatters,” Wilson said.
“Instead of spending years fighting the publication of this list and avoiding accountability, the Allan Labor government must urgently step up our schools to ensure every pupil has a safe, modern classroom to learn in.”
VSBA carries out a rolling facilities evaluation (RFE) inspection of every public school in Victoria at least every five years, assigning a condition score to its buildings and spaces to identify urgent problems and prioritize those most in need of funding for improvements.
Reports published by the department reveal that there are 21 schools in poor condition to receive scores below three in 2023, 16 of which are in regional Victoria.
Of these, Ultima Elementary School, the state’s most dilapidated school, has since been closed due to lack of enrollment. Brighton Beach Elementary School, rated the state’s second-worst, has received more than $1 million in funding through various construction grant programs since 2023, when the report was compiled.
A Victorian government spokesman said the state had made record investment in school infrastructure for communities and maintained Victoria continued to be recognized as “the nation’s education state”.
“Our department and our schools work incredibly hard to manage their budgets and sustain schools across Victoria, and these five-year rolling facilities scores are only a snapshot of the school’s health,” a government spokesperson said.
A Department for Education spokesman said the 2023 snapshot was based on a five-year audit process and did not reflect the current situation of many schools.
They said the department’s annual maintenance and compliance budget has increased sixfold over the past decade to more than $600 million for 2026, with more than half provided directly to public schools through programs targeting specific upgrade and maintenance needs, as well as Student Resource Package allocations.
“Once we receive the condition scores, the Department for Education works directly with schools to identify defects, prioritize them and then provide funding, guidance and support to resolve them to ensure schools remain safe and in good condition,” a spokesperson for the department said.
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