Catholic schools warn of fee hikes as teachers negotiate pay

Catholic schools in Victoria are preparing for potential fee increases and reductions in educational offerings following negotiations over teacher pay, according to officials and school leaders. The anticipated 28.3 per cent wage increase for public school teachers, set to be finalized by October, has prompted concerns among Catholic education providers that their budgets will struggle to absorb the added costs. With nearly 40,000 Catholic school staff involved in the negotiation of a new four-year workplace agreement, the sector faces a complex balancing act between maintaining competitive teacher salaries and ensuring affordability for families. Brook Mitchell Catholic teachers, who have enjoyed pay equity with their public school counterparts since the 1990s, have been assured by their employers that they will receive the same percentage increase as public sector workers. However, this assurance comes with a caveat: Catholic schools will not see corresponding increases in government funding. Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), the state's largest employer of Catholic educators, acknowledged this challenge in a letter to staff, stating that the organization hopes to avoid “significant fee increases” despite rising labor costs. According to MACS general manager Marwin Austerberry and director Mary Oski, the lack of additional government support means schools must rely on existing budgets to manage the financial burden. “While these changes will be government-funded in state schools, Catholic schools will not receive additional funding commensurate with the additional cost,” they wrote. “They need to be supported through our usual budget and planning process.” At Flavio Brancaleone Mater Christi College, an all-girls secondary school in Melbourne’s outer east, principal Maria Haggett outlined specific impacts of the looming financial strain. She warned that certain low-enrollment subjects might not continue into the next academic year, and some extracurricular activities such as school trips and camps could be cut due to budget limitations. Haggett emphasized that the federal government, which covers up to 80 per cent of public funding for private schools, has not pledged extra money to offset the wage increases. “This decision by the federal government is unprecedented in my career,” Haggett said. “It leaves non-government schools with few options but to raise fees.” Despite this, she stressed that the goal is not to exclude families financially but to ensure operational sustainability. “We don’t want to price anyone out,” she said. “We also want people to understand that there’s not a profit motive here. This is about operations and sustainability.” Mater Christi College, which serves approximately 680 students, currently receives more than $900,000 annually in government funding and charges about $12,690 per student. Haggett noted that the school is still determining the exact percentage of its 2027 fee increase, though it will not be lower than the previous year’s 7.5 per cent hike. Across Victoria, the financial health of more than 100 Catholic schools may come under scrutiny due to the impending pay raises. Total enrollments at Catholic schools have not kept pace with those at independent institutions, adding pressure to already strained budgets. MACS has announced the closure of two primary schools, St Pius X Primary in Heidelberg and Ss Peter and Paul’s School in Doncaster East, at the end of the year due to declining enrollment numbers. According to MACS, fewer than 20 of its nearly 300 schools have fewer than 100 students. In addition, 47 Catholic schools in Melbourne alone have fewer than 150 students, and the number rises to 105 when regional Catholic schools are included. Elizabeth Labone, CEO of the Victorian Catholic Education Authority, stated that Catholic schools are actively working on 2027 budgets to adapt to the new enterprise agreement. “This is about investing more of our school budgets directly in teachers and staff so they can be among the best-paid educators in the country, with leading workload conditions,” she said. The federal government’s stance on funding remains unchanged, with a spokesperson for the Education Department explaining that recurrent funding for all schools, including Catholic institutions, is based on the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). The SRS is adjusted yearly to account for wage and other cost changes, with 75 per cent of the indexation tied to the Wage Price Index, acknowledging the substantial role of teacher and staff salaries in overall school expenses. As the situation unfolds, Catholic schools face mounting challenges in maintaining both quality education and affordability for families, particularly as they navigate the intersection of increasing teacher compensation and limited financial resources.