Many people ask why governments fund non-government schools - including parents who send their children to Catholic and other non-government schools.

There are many good reasons why commonwealth, state and territory governments fund non-government schools to some degree. They include:

1. AFFORDABLE CHOICE: A school education costs more than $11,000 per primary student and more than $14,000 per secondary student each year, regardless of sector. Most Australian families could not afford this cost, especially if they have two or more children. There is no real ‘school choice’ in Australia if only wealthy families can afford to choose.
2. IT’S FAIR: All families pay taxes and therefore deserve some taxpayer support of their children’s education. A fairly funded non-government school sector ensures families can afford a school that reflects their values and beliefs – an important feature of a pluralist society.
3. IT SHARES THE LOAD: One-third of Australia’s 3.9 million students attend a non-government school. Government schools are already stretched in many areas. Without non-government schools, taxpayers would need to build (or buy) and staff enough schools to accommodate an extra 1.3 million students.
4. HEALTHY COMPETITION: Given that schooling is compulsory, it is sensible to have a network of affordable schools to provide healthy competition and improve all schools.
5. TAXPAYERS SAVE: On average, Catholic school communities pay almost 30 per cent of the annual cost of their children’s education and almost 90 per cent of capital works. In 2017, our schools raised $3.6 billion in fees and $1.27 billion in capital costs – a huge saving to taxpayers.
6. TAXPAYERS FUND NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES: Governments also fund other private sector activities that have social benefits and high underlying costs such as GP visits, medicines, hospitals, aged care, child care and private bus services. All schools are a public good and deserve taxpayer support.