Election material from the TCEO

Catholic education is central to the core mission of the Church:

The Church 's mission provides the rationale for Catholic Education in Tasmania (CET). The Church and Catholic education cannot be portrayed and treated simply as a stakeholder or a service provider participating in current political debates out of a corporate interest. Accordingly, we support the increased investment in education with a priority to students most in need resulting in a fairer and more equitable funding system for the education of all Australians.

Catholic schools, respecting the rights and freedoms of families to choose schooling for their children in the Catholic tradition, should also continue to be free to form and instruct students in the Catholic faith and celebrate the faith as an integral and inseparable activity of the Catholic school.

Catholic schools are the responsibility of the Catholic community as well as accountable to Government

Catholic schools in Tasmania predate government schools and were already spread throughout the colonies when government-owned and operated school systems were formed. Consequently, Catholic schools have played a major part in the development of modern Tasmanian society.

In a pluralistic society with different education systems, Catholic authorities will continue to insist, regardless of funding models, on the overall governance, administration and operation of their schools.Government funding arrangements should respect the identity, integrity and autonomy of Catholic school and education systems.

As part of this society, they meet society’s standards with respect to governance and accountability for government funding.

Capital Funding of Catholic Schools

Parents currently cover the majority of building costs in Catholic schools.Current Commonwealth and State capital funding will not support Catholic schools in Tasmania to meet capital infrastructure and compliance requirements in the future.

As future demands on capital rise, so too will the funds required from parents, putting pressure on families via capital levies. Given that Catholic schools have a preferential obligation to the poor and marginalised, fee increases in Catholic schools will limit parent choices.

Catholic schools have a long history of successfully catering for the disadvantaged:

Catholic education serves the needs of the whole socio-economic range of families. In recent years Tasmanian Catholic schools have had significant increases in enrolments of students with a disability, indigenous students, and students from recent migrant and humanitarian entrant families, mainly from a non-English speaking background.

We need to ensure that Catholic education remains affordable to as many Tasmanians as possible. It is important to ensure that Catholic school parents are not faced with unreasonable fee increases or put in a position where a Catholic education is beyond their financial reach.

Recurrent Funding of Catholic Schools

Government and non-government schools are funded differentially in Australia’s current federal and state funding models. To continue to provide quality education, our Catholic schools need appropriate funding from state (and federal) governments to ensure they remain an affordable option for families into the future.

Tasmanian Catholic schools receive significant government funding, which covers 81 per cent of the cost of schooling, on average. Fees and private income cover the rest.On average Government funding for our Catholic school students is 18 per cent lower than funding for government school students. In 2017 the Commonwealth Government provided 63% of the funding to Catholic schools in Tasmania. The Tasmanian Government provided another 18 % and parents contributed 19% through fees and levies.

At the very least funding increases need to keep pace with school costs. If not, this could lead to fee increases, affect school quality or even lead to school closures.

Government must fund their priorities

In the last three years the Tasmanian Government has implemented a major program of education reform including changes to Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) legislation, changes to school health checks, a new Education Act, a Year 11 and 12 extension school program, a review of Year 9-12 curriculum, and greater emphasis on the early years of a child’s education.

These priorities and others, including literacy and numeracy initiatives, come at a cost that should be borne at least in part by the government that is implementing them. If government has responsibility for the education of every Tasmanian and young person, including those in Catholic schools, then it should fund its priorities accordingly.

Authorised by John Mula, Tasmanian Catholic Education Commission, Emmett Place, New Town, Tasmania

Here are links to Fact Sheets produced by the TCEO you may view or download:

Fact Sheet 1; Fact Sheet 2; Fact Sheet 3