Funding

Information and graphs supplied by the National Catholic Education Commission, June 2010.

Catholic school funding - the facts

Catholic schools receive funding from both state and federal governments as well as contributions from parents via the payment of school fees.

• Catholic schools have been providing a quality Catholic education for Australian children for 190 years
  
  
• There are approximately 1,700 Catholic schools in Australia with an enrolment of almost 704,000 students
  
  
• In the Diocese of Parramatta there are 77 systemic Catholic schools serving over 41,000 students
  
  
• In Australia, the Catholic school system employs over 78,000 teachers and staff. This is more people than the entire Australian workforce involved in the manufacturing of motor vehicles, or the same number of people employed across every department store in Australia
  
  
• There are over 4,000 teachers and staff working in Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Parramatta
  
  
• Catholic school students receive significantly less government funding than students in government schools
  
  
• Some of this gap is made up by contributions from parents and parishes through tuition fees, levies and fundraising, however Catholic schools keep fees as low as possible so they are affordable for families
  
  
• No child is ever refused enrolment because of a family’s inability to pay school fees
  
  
• Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Parramatta offer sibling discounts to all families, and fee concessions and scholarships are available for families in financial need
  
  
• On average, Australian Catholic schools operate at about 85% of the resourcing level of government schools, even when parent contributions are taken into account. In the Diocese of Parramatta Catholic systemic schools operate at about 76% of the resourcing level of government schools due to lower parent contributions 
  

funding information brochure