ACT Catholic schools to hike fees in 2025, set new levy

Parents of children enrolled in the ACT’s Catholic schools will face fee rises of up to 10 per cent next year and a new compulsory maintenance levy of $300 a family at the primary school level.

The new fee structure aims to get on top of rising costs for schools in the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese.

While the maximum increase for ACT primary schools will be 10 per cent, fee rises will vary for each school and range between 5 and 10 per cent.

That will amount to fees of about $3200 per year for the first child at the lower end to $4000 plus at the top, with discounts for siblings.

Secondary schools set their own fees, but most will increase by 6 to 8 per cent.

Last year, fee increases across the Catholic system ranged from 3 to 10 per cent.

Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn said that education costs had outpaced inflation over the 12 months to September 2024.

It said the consumer price index had increased by 2.8 per cent over that period, but CPI for the education sector had risen by 6.4 per cent.

This reflected higher costs for insurance, electricity and gas, ICT, travel, books and stationery.

CEGG also had to cover a rise in salary and wages of 3 to 3.5 per cent under enterprise bargaining agreements and a 0.5 per cent increase in superannuation.

Director Ross Fox said primary schools had previously set a voluntary capital and maintenance levy of $840, but a compulsory levy would allow them to plan with more certainty.

The levy would increase over the next few years to settle at about $1000 per family.

Mr Fox said CEGC would continue with its three-year phase-in of a standard fee for the first child at ACT Catholic primary schools, which began this year.

“Uniformity isn’t always valuable, but we think it’s going to be clearer for parents what they need to pay and also easier for us to provide remissions and concessions and fee support for those who need it,” he said.

“In the past, it’s been pretty complicated sometimes. It was hard to work out what parents had to pay.”

Mr Fox said the goal was to keep fees as low as possible, but schools had to stay on top of their costs, which were rising.

Government funding changes were also still working their way through the system and that had driven some of the higher fee increases in secondary schools.

Mr Fox urged any families with concerns to talk confidentially with their principal to see what could be done to support them.

“Our absolute commitment is that no family should be denied a Catholic education because of their financial circumstances,” he said.

“I don’t want anybody to leave because they’re worried about fees. I’m very confident we represent overwhelmingly really good value.”

Mr Fox said government funding over the next few years won’t keep pace with costs but CEGC was at least clear on that trajectory.

“So we’re adjusting to the reality of that as well,” he said.

“But we’re developing that long-term plan, and we’ve got good academic results. We’ve got a sustainable financial footing, but we need to reflect our cost increases with fees.”