Term 4 runs to 19 December 2026
Victorian government schools with uncommitted 2026 discretionary budgets are running out of time to commit Student Resource Package funding for outdoor improvement projects before the 31 December 2026 reconciliation deadline.
EduMarking, which supplies playground line marking and outdoor services to schools, says Term 4 is the final 2026 window in which those schools can still align that funding with a school holiday installation slot.
Victorian government school budgets run on the calendar year. The Student Resource Package is issued based on annual enrolment data and is reconciled against 31 December each year.
Unspent credit is subject to the department’s carryover policy. For a principal holding uncommitted 2026 discretionary budget, Term 4 is the only remaining window in which both the funding and a school holiday install slot overlap.
Term 4 runs to 19 December 2026. September and October school holiday periods have passed, while the summer holidays begin in mid-December 2026.
A project committed in late November has, at best, a two-week December holiday window to be completed before the budget year closes.
Late decisions can push work to April
EduMarking completes most marking and resurfacing projects in one to three days. It says a principal who makes a decision in the next four to six weeks retains the ability to have the work completed during the December summer holiday break.
However, a decision made in late November or December may not retain that ability. EduMarking says December holiday installation slots book out quickly and schools that miss December can be pushed back to April.
Sally Reiter, Sales Manager at EduMarking, said: “The principals who get the most out of their budgets are the ones who think about outdoor projects in Term 3 and commit them in Term 4. By the time we reach late November, the December holiday slots are booked out and the funding deadline is two weeks away. The window that feels wide open in October is genuinely narrow by the time most schools get around to it. A project that misses December gets pushed to April, and the funding that could have paid for it is gone,”
Nationally, EduMarking installs heat-applied thermoplastic line marking across primary and secondary schools, including activity zones, curriculum markings, sports courts and fitness circuits. Projects are scoped against each school’s yard layout and completed with minimal disruption to school operations.
EduMarking also provides playground line marking and outdoor services to schools nationally, with installations carried out during school holiday periods. The company says it has worked with more than 10,000 schools worldwide and offers initial consultations and yard assessments at no cost.
