Some wealthy private schools may have their budgets cut after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten signalled he could support a government proposal to crack down on overfunded schools.

Mr Shorten said last week that Labor would work with the government on a review of schools receiving taxpayers’ money beyond the standard amount per student.

“If they want to look at whether or not some schools well in excess of the resourcing standard should continue to receive the sort of increases that are currently slated, we will work with them and look very carefully at their evidence,” Mr Shorten told the ABC.

Labor Leader Bill Shorten says the opposition would look at overfunded schools. Photo: AAP

Labor had previously accused the government of holding a “hit list” of schools to target when Education Minister Simon Birmingham said some private schools were overfunded.

“If that is a change in the Labor Party’s position to work more constructively with us to make sure we get the best bang for our education dollars in the future then I welcome that,” Senator Birmingham said on Wednesday.

A touchy subject

Education experts have long argued that some wealthy independent schools were overfunded.

Last year, Fairfax Media reported that 150 private schools across the country were overfunded to the tune of $215 million per year.

Sydney’s prestigious Loreto Kirribilli and Oakhill College, Melbourne’s Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School, and Brisbane Girls Grammar were among the schools reportedly receiving too much public money.

“Governments are very wary of changing schools’ funding formulas because there’s always winners and losers,” Professor Louise Watson, education expert at the University of Canberra, told The New Daily.

Mr Shorten’s comments were “perhaps a way for both sides of politics to move towards a bipartisan position, which can only benefit Australian children in the long run”, she said.

But last week Labor insisted its position had not changed, with education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek telling reporters within the past fortnight she would be willing to look at any specific government proposals about overfunded schools.

“You can’t trust the Liberals on schools – remember Malcolm Turnbull’s proposal to cut all federal funding from public schools?” Ms Plibersek said on Wednesday.

School funding has been a political football. Photo: Getty

Independent Schools Council of Australia Executive Director Colette Colman said there were schools in other sectors “which also attract funding in excess of their entitlement”.

“The vast majority of independent schools 75 per cent are in fact receiving less than their public funding entitlement and are transitioning upward,” she said.

“There are complex reasons why some independent schools are deemed to be funded in excess of their entitlement and this is apparent from the diversity of independent schools.”

Trevor Cobbold, a former Productivity Commission economist and convenor of public education lobby group Save Our Schools, called on Labor to take a stronger position.

“The evidence is really clear. These schools are getting between $200 and $300 million per year in funding they are not entitled to under the current funding model,” he told The New Daily.

The federal government is currently negotiating a new school funding deal with the states, which must be rolled out by 2018.

‘A bipartisan approach’

Peter Goss, education program director at the Grattan Institute, said the contentious issue of overfunding has been a “huge political roadblock”.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has criticised the Gonski arrangements the Labor Party had in place. Photo: AAP

“Reducing overfunding is not the only thing that is needed to support schools that are underfunded but it’s a necessary part of the process,” Mr Goss told The New Daily.

“Signalling that they may be able to agree in a practical way around the overfunded schools is a step towards a more bipartisan approach. But much more is needed.”

Late last year, Mr Goss unveiled an education compact aimed at quelling the toxicity in the funding debate.

He said a small number of schools needed their funding reduced and that the current indexed funding increases were excessive due to historically low inflation.

-with AAP