Tiered Family Fees 2027

At St John’s, we are committed to helping every child flourish by fostering intellectual curiosity, strengthening character, and supporting wellbeing within a nurturing Catholic community.

In planning for 2027, our focus has been to ensure we can continue to provide the high-quality learning opportunities, care and support that families value, while keeping costs as affordable as possible.

As part of this commitment, St John’s will be transitioning from our traditional flat fee to a tiered family fee structure in 2027.

Why we are moving to tiered family fees: Under a flat fee model, a family pays one set tuition fee regardless of whether they have one child or four children enrolled. Under our new tiered model, fees are set with an upfront fee for the first child and smaller, stepped amounts for additional siblings.

This model is already used successfully across Catholic secondary colleges and over 60% of Catholic primary schools. Transitioning now addresses three practical realities:

·         Fairness for all families: Under a flat fee, families with one child contribute the exact same amount as larger families, even though every child uses classrooms, teachers, specialists, and resources equally. A tiered structure shares costs more fairly across the whole community, while still providing significant discounts for siblings.

·         Matching how our school is funded: Commonwealth and state grants are calculated strictly on a per-child basis. Government funding formulas assume our school collects a fee contribution for each enrolled student. Under a flat family fee, our school foregoes critical operating revenue that the government expects us to receive. A tiered fee closes this gap.

·         Protecting our classrooms: A flat fee model establishes a predictable, dependable financial baseline to retain great teachers, maintain supportive class sizes, and keep classroom resources up to date.

2027 Tiered Fee Schedule. Beginning in the 2027 school year, our annual tuition fee structure will be:

 The Capital Fee Levy is $460 per family and is billed separately. We can arrange regular weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payments for school fees and the capital levy, via direct debit. 

We know that family budgets are under real pressure, and we never make fee decisions lightly. While our fees will naturally need to reflect normal cost-of-living movements over time, taking this adjustment ensures a stable, dependable operational foundation for our school. Most importantly, it ensures our classrooms remain focused on delivering the personal care, quality teaching, and attention your child deserves.

Pastoral care and financial support. In keeping with our Catholic ethos, financial hardship should never be a barrier to an education at St John’s. We continue to offer confidential fee relief and support for families holding a Health Care Card, as well as for any family whose financial circumstances have changed.

If you have questions about the new fee structure or wish to discuss support options in complete confidence, please contact me directly.