Warrnambool City Council will pick up the $16,628 annual bill for two school crossing supervisors after the Victorian Government withdrew its 50 percent funding contribution.
What happened: Councillors unanimously voted in Monday's meeting to continue funding supervisors at the Bromfield Street and Queens Road crossings near Saint Joseph’s Primary School.
Councillor Vicki Jellie, who moved the motion, said the decision “beggars belief” and questioned whether the state government regarded schoolchildren’s safety as a priority.
“Our children and their families deserve this and they should be funding it all across the state,” she told the meeting.
Councillors described the state’s decision as “cost shifting” and resolved to fund the supervisors while continuing to advocate for state funding to be restored.
Why has the state withdrawn? Revised State Government criteria means crossings that have been upgraded with infrastructure such as a wombat crossing (a raised zebra crossing), traffic signals or pedestrian-operated signals, may no longer qualify for funding, even if they continue to be heavily used by students.
Both the Bromfield Street and Queens Road crossings have had wombat crossing upgrades.
How many kids use it? Recent usage counts recorded 317 school-aged users across the two crossings during morning and afternoon periods. The number of passing cars was not recorded.
What’s the cost? Warrnambool City Council has 33 supervisors across 29 crossings in the municipality - the current state government subsidies add up to $274,362 for the 2026-27 financial year.
A job listed by the council in May put the hourly rate of crossing supervisors at $40.45 with about 10 hours of work per week.
The current subsidy means council paid $8,314 per year for each crossing.