Applications open for Schools Upgrade Fund: Round 2 (Australia)

Funding Information

• The Schools Upgrade Fund Round 2 will provide $215.8 million to support government schools meet the cost of important infrastructure projects such as new classrooms or other major refurbishments and upgrades.

Eligible Projects

• Eligible projects include (but are not limited to):
  • building or upgrading facilities essential to support student learning and/or wellbeing, other subject specific facilities (such as art facilities, music rooms, technical and applied studies facilities, sporting facilities etc) or other critical school infrastructure.
  • upgrading playground and outdoor learning facilities.
  • for schools with a high proportion of ageing demountable buildings, replacing these with permanent structures or modern modular teaching spaces.
• A minimum of $250,000 (GST Exclusive) of funding must be committed to each project.

Eligibility Criteria

• Round 2 of the Fund is open to all government schools that attracted Commonwealth recurrent funding through their relevant state or territory education department (approved authority) for 2023, under the Australian Education Act 2013.
• To be eligible for funding, the school must anticipate continuing to operate in 2024. For example, a school would be ineligible if it is closing at the end of 2023 or will have no enrolled students in 2024. The school must also have at least one enrolled student at the time of applying.
• Government schools that received funding through Round 1 of the Schools Upgrade Fund – the Targeted Round or the Open Round – are eligible to apply for funding under Round 2 of the Fund.

Ineligible

• Funding is not available for:
  • projects with a Commonwealth funding requirement of less than $250,000 (GST exclusive).
  • projects that have commenced prior to the school receiving notification of approval from the department. Project commencement includes making financial commitments (for example, purchase orders placed or invoices received) for work involved in the project. Preliminary work undertaken by a school to prepare its applications (for example, research, scoping, obtaining costs or quotes) does not constitute project commencement.
  • projects where the majority of use will be by overseas students or any other students who would not attract funding under the Act.
  • projects that are principally for pre-primary education, being children below the prescribed state or territory school starting age.
  • a facility that is not in a formal school setting (for example, an Early Learning Centre attached to a school).

For more information, visit Department of Education.