Scientology Australia: Questions raised over taxpayer funding for Scientology-linked Sydney school

A Newtown private school using Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s teaching methods has received almost $5 million in government funding since 2014.

Taxpayer funding for Newtown’s Scientology-linked Athena School has more than quadrupled over the last decade, prompting a NSW Senator to hit out at the “smokescreen” and call for greater transparency.

The Daily Telegraph has spoken to multiple ex-Scientologists and a former Athena student, who all raised concerns that the L. Ron Hubbard-devised ‘Study Technology’ used at The Athena School could be doing kids harm.

Financial figures published by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) show state and federal funding for The Athena School rose 348 per cent between 2014 and 2023 – the latest year for which data is available – despite a 70 per cent increase in enrolments over the same period.

It has received almost $5 million since 2014, with the lion’s share paid out by the Commonwealth at more than $3.9 million over ten years, while the NSW government has given the school just over $1 million.

Its funding peaked in 2022, when The Athena School had 55 students and raked in more than a million dollars that year alone.

The Athena School in residential Newtown caters to less than 60 students. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The school also received more government funding on a per-student basis in 2023 than any of its neighbours in the public system, with more than $17,800 on average spent on each child.

In the same period Newtown North Public School received approximately $16,500 per child and Newtown Performing Arts High School received $15,200, while Camdenville Public School and Newtown Public School both got $14,300 per student.

Newtown North Public School near the University of Sydney receives less funding on a per-student basis than The Athena School.

NSW Greens Senator David Shoebridge said “it’s deeply concerning and questionable that this school gets more per student than the excellent public schools around it” and called for “transparency and accountability in private school funding”.

“The complicated legal structure underpinning this school should have set off alarm bells,” he said.

“Study Technology has been criticised globally as pseudoscientific Scientology indoctrination that denies learning disabilities, suppresses critical thinking and lacks credible research backing.”

Greens senator David Shoebridge called for “transparency and accountability in private school funding”.

Senator Shoebridge described the school’s claim of a ‘secular’ educational model as “a smokescreen”, and said that taxpayers “shouldn’t be bankrolling” Scientology-influenced education.

The NSW government and federal government both declined to confirm the value of funding given to The Athena School in 2024 and 2025, but defended the funding model.

Small schools with less than 200 primary or 500 secondary students automatically receive an additional loading, set at $353,026 this year.

“Federal Government funding for schools is calculated with reference to the Schooling Resource Standard,” a spokesman for Education Minister Jason Clare said.

“Schools have to make sure their curriculum and teaching resources are in line with the policies and requirements set by state and territory governments.

“The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) approves and sets standards for NSW schools.”

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Picture: Glenn Hampson

NESA confirmed the school is up-to-date with its accreditation, and the authority has not received any complaints in relation to Athena’s use of funds or its teaching of the NSW curriculum.

NSW Acting Education Minister Courtney Houssos said “anyone with concerns about any school in NSW failing to comply should urgently raise it with NESA”.

“The Minns Labor Government has been clear in our position that all children deserve full and fair funding of their school,” she said.

“That is why Deputy Premier Prue Car fought hard to secure a fair funding deal with the Commonwealth for public school students in NSW.”

Former Athena School student Jason Horvatic said in his opinion the school “is different” to other taxpayer-subsidised religious schools like Catholic schools or independent Islamic schools.

“Scientology ... has its own pedagogy that is completely isolated and separate from all of Western society and all of human society, so it’s not the same as the Catholic school or even a Montessori school,” he said.

“It is a explicit rejection of the schooling system.”

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Originally published as Scientology Australia: Questions raised over taxpayer funding for Scientology-linked Sydney school