2027 Annual School Fees

At St Cecilia’s Catholic Primary School, we are committed to providing every child with a high-quality Catholic education in which they are known, supported and challenged to flourish. Central to this commitment is maintaining excellent teaching and learning, strong pastoral care and wellbeing, and the programs and resources that enrich our students’ experience at school.

Setting school fees is an important part of our annual planning. We remain very mindful of the financial commitments made by our families and the pressures that increased living costs continue to place on household budgets. For this reason, decisions regarding fees are made carefully and with a strong commitment to responsible financial stewardship.

Here is a special message from Dr Edward Simons Executive Director, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS)

Planning responsibly for 2027

As we plan for 2027, our school, like all Catholic schools, is facing a number of significant cost pressures.

The most substantial of these relates to increasing employment costs associated with the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for staff across Catholic education. While the agreement is yet to be fully finalised, significant salary increases are anticipated over the coming years. St Cecilia’s strongly supports appropriate recognition and remuneration for our teachers and staff, whose professionalism, care and commitment are fundamental to the education we provide.

At the same time, the school continues to manage changes in government funding, together with broader increases in the costs of operating, maintaining and resourcing our school.

In response, we have undertaken a careful review of our 2027 budget, staffing, programs and operational expenditure. Our priority has been to identify efficiencies wherever possible while protecting what matters most: quality classroom teaching, appropriate support for students, strong wellbeing and pastoral care, and the breadth of learning opportunities available to our children.

This work has enabled us to absorb a meaningful proportion of the increased costs rather than passing them directly on to families.

2027 Fees and Charges

The following table outlines our fees and charges for 2027, alongside the 2026 amounts for comparison.

Change to the family fee structure

Families with three children at St Cecilia’s will notice a larger change in the family fee for 2027. We want to be transparent about the reason for this difference.

St Cecilia already had a tiered fee structure, but from 2027, the tiering will extend to each additional child. Previously, families with two and three children paid the same family fee. In 2026, for example, both a two-child and three-child family paid a family fee of $5,365. From 2027, the fee structure will be extended so that a separate fee applies to each family size, with fees of $3,705 for one child, $5,705 for two children and $6,605 for three children.

We recognise that this represents a more significant adjustment for our three-child families. While the revised structure is a required change, we have sought to keep the additional contribution as manageable as possible.

Across the remainder of the fee schedule, increases to curriculum, swimming and excursion levies have been kept modest. The Capital Fee will continue to support the maintenance and improvement of our school facilities and learning environments.

We recognise that any increase in school fees can place additional pressure on families, and we do not make these decisions lightly. We believe the 2027 fee structure strikes an appropriate balance between keeping costs as manageable as possible for families and ensuring St Cecilia’s maintains a stable and sustainable financial position.

Most importantly, it enables us to keep our focus where it belongs: providing your child with excellent teaching, individual care and support within a welcoming Catholic school community.

Pastoral Care and Financial Support

In keeping with our Catholic ethos, financial hardship should never be a barrier to a child receiving a Catholic education at St Cecilia’s.

Confidential fee assistance remains available to eligible Health Care Card holders and to families experiencing financial hardship or a significant change in circumstances. We understand that circumstances can change unexpectedly, and we encourage families to speak with us rather than allow financial concerns to become a source of additional pressure.

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact me directly for a confidential conversation so that we can discuss how the school may be able to assist.

We sincerely appreciate the trust our families place in St Cecilia’s and the contribution you make to our school community. Your partnership enables us to continue providing a nurturing, inclusive and high-quality Catholic education for every child.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding as we prepare for 2027.

Marty McKenna

Principal

St Cecilia’s Primary School