Private school with $85 million pool gets all-clear for federal cash

An exclusive Melbourne private school that has just opened an $85 million swimming complex has been cleared to receive three times as much federal funding as some comparable, high-fee peers.

Education Minister Jason Clare ordered the review of Commonwealth funding to Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) in Burwood last year after The Age revealed the huge price tag for the prestigious school’s new sports and aquatic centre, which opened in March.

Presbyterian Ladies College in Burwood has a new $85 million aquatic and sports centre.Credit: Penny Stephens

Clare’s department says it found no discrepancies in the school’s Commonwealth funding, which increased in 2023 to more than $15.8 million from $9.2 million the previous year, according to the government’s MySchool website.

The project has attracted fresh political heat, with the Australian Greens this week condemning the high level of taxpayer funding for a “mega rich” school when Victorian government schools were set to remain underfunded for the rest of the decade.

PLC has previously said the dramatic jump in federal funding in 2023 was partially due to being back-paid money it was entitled to, but had not received, the two previous years and to a significant increase in enrolments.

The school, which had not responded on Thursday to a request for comment, has consistently said the new sports centre was paid for from cash reserves, bank borrowing and donations, but not federal or state government funding.

The Education Department found the school’s “capacity to contribute (CTC)” score – which uses Tax Office records of parents’ income to estimate the relative wealth of independent school communities – of 104 had been correctly assessed.

The department’s data also shows that most Victorian independent schools with CTC scores in a similar range to PLC’s were Catholic schools in Melbourne’s middle or outer suburbs charging fees that were a fraction of the $41,000 parents pay for a year 11 or 12 place at the Presbyterian college.

Most schools charging similar fees to PLC, like Ruyton Girls School or Methodist Ladies College, where parents reported median household incomes of $273,000 and $303,000 respectively in 2023, had been assigned CTC scores in excess of 120.

Median household income among PLC parents was $167,000 that year, while families at Mount Scopus College, less than two kilometres away, reported median incomes of $344,000.

Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne says it is “unfair and indefensible” that a private school with an $85 million sports centre continues to receive public funding. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

One of the nation’s prominent schools funding experts said he was baffled by the level of taxpayer cash PLC was attracting.

Trevor Cobbold, of campaign group Save Our Schools, told The Age that he estimated on the available figures that PLC was “vastly overfunded”.

Cobbold described the government’s funding calculations for PLC as puzzling.

He pointed out the school’s similar demographic profile to Kew’s Ruyton Girls School, where – like at PLC – 80 per cent of students come from the top socio-educational advantage quartile.

Both schools have similar scores at the top end of the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage.

“Despite these similarities, PLC received $9471 per student in Commonwealth funding in 2024 while Ruyton got $3591,” Cobbold said.

“The available figures suggest that PLC is being vastly overfunded.

“The discrepancy in funding between very similar schools is very puzzling. A more detailed investigation into the funding entitlement of PLC is needed.”

Greens education spokeswoman Penny Allman-Payne, who pursued questions about PLC’s financing through the Senate estimates process, said the school’s funding was “indefensible”.

“A mega-rich private school with an $85 million sports centre will keep banking public money while every single Victorian public school remains underfunded,” the Queensland Greens senator said.

“It’s unfair and indefensible, and it shows just how broken our school funding model is.

“The federal government’s funding deal with the states means that Victorian public schools will remain underfunded until 2034.

“Labor has abandoned Victoria’s 700,000 public school kids while continuing to pour millions into the pockets of wealthy private schools charging outrageous fees.”

Clare shot back through a spokesperson.

“The Albanese Labor government has reached new funding agreements with every single state and territory, which put all public schools including in Victoria on a path to full and fair funding,” the spokesperson said.

“It means an additional $16.5 billion into our public schools. The biggest new investment in public schools by the Australian government ever.

“The Greens political party has delivered absolutely zero.”

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