Private schools across Victoria have federal funding slashed

A new system measuring parents’ finances will see funding for Victoria’s non-government schools cut by millions. See how your school fares.

Nearly one in three Victorian private schools is set to receive less federal funding under a new financial model taking into account the amount of money parents earn.

Most of the state’s most exclusive private schools are among hundreds of primary and secondary colleges set to be stripped of $748 million over the next decade.

Analysis from Independent Schools Victoria shows 28 per cent of the state’s non-government schools will have their funding cut under a new model based on parents’ ability to pay for the costs of running their child’s school.

The Herald Sun has previously revealed colleges now deemed to be overfunded include 17 Ecumenical Schools which will lose a combined $86 million, along with Penleigh and Essendon Grammar ($23 million), Haileybury ($22 million), Ivanhoe Grammar ($10 million) and Mentone Grammar ($9 million).

It comes as taxpayer funding for private schools has increased nearly five times more than state schools over the past decade.

The new funding will be allocated on the basis of a schools’ Capacity to Contribute (CTC) score which is determined by using parental income figures from the Australian Taxation Office.

Almost 400 Victorian schools – 165 secondary and 227 primary schools – have been given higher CTC scores than last year, signalling a cut to their base funding.

Melbourne Grammar School’s jump in CTC score from 128 to 138 is the highest in the state, along with Newtown’s Geelong College, Lauriston Girls’ School, Loreto Mandeville Hall and Scotch College which all saw their scores rise by 12.

Burwood’s Mount Scopus Memorial College and Xavier College in Kew both rose by 11 points.

Scotch College is an in-demand school for boarders across Australia.

Some prep's at Loreto Mandeville Hall in Toorak, the school has the second highest Capacity to Contribute score increase in the state. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Many of the biggest funding cuts are slated for schools in regional Victoria, with Girton Grammar School in Bendigo’s score rising by 9 to 109, and Warragul’s St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School rising from 98 to 106.

Morwell’s St Vincent de Paul School recorded the highest rise in primary school scores, jumping from 84 in 2021 to 92 this year.

Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Michelle Green said there was “concern about the ability of the affected schools and their communities to absorb the impact of the funding reductions”.

“We believe that additional support is required to address the unintended consequences of the phased shift to the new funding model,” she said.

St Vincent de Paul's Primary school students.

Deakin University Associate Education Prof Andrew Skourdoumbis said it remained to be seen whether the new model would help equalise funding and educational opportunities across private and public schools.

“It’s probably the right way to go because the CTC takes into account many factors like parental income so it probably will be reasonably effective,” Prof Skourdoumbis said.

Acting co-director of Victoria University’s Centre for International Research on Education Systems Andrew Wade said the new system was “an improvement” from the previous area-based model.

Federal education Minister Jason Clare said: “The Albanese Government is committed to working with states and territories to ensure every school receives their fair share of funding.

The CTC score, implemented by the previous Morrison government in 2020, is now allocated to all eligible non-government schools after the scathing 2012 Gonski review called for the introduction of a needs-based funding model to close the gap between Australia’s most advantaged and disadvantaged students across all schools.

State and federal governments combined spend more on each public school student than independent ones, but the Commonwealth spends almost $10,000 on each Catholic school student and $8,272 on private school students – compared to an average of $3000 on public school students.