Canberra Catholic schools to raise tuition fees in 2027 — ABC News Australia

Catholic primary and secondary schools in Canberra, Australia, will raise tuition fees in 2027. Parents were informed of this by Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Education Limited, which manages 56 schools in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, ABC News reports.

Increases for primary and secondary schools

Tuition fees at primary schools will rise by 6%. At four out of five Catholic secondary schools, fees will increase by 7.5%.

St John Paul II College in the Nicholls area will be an exception: tuition fees there will increase by 6%. In 2025, the institution had already raised fees for several grades.

For a Year 12 student at St Clare's College in the Griffith area, the annual fee for 2027, excluding a separate building levy, will be 14,188 Australian dollars. This is 991 Australian dollars more than before.

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Building levy and administration's explanation

2027 will also be the final year of a planned increase in the Catholic schools' building levy, which was introduced in 2025. It will amount to 1,000 Australian dollars per year for families.

David de Carvalho, executive director of Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Education Limited, said the organization is trying to keep fees as low as possible while providing schools with resources for quality Catholic education. According to him, pressure on fees is intensified by an effective reduction in base government funding per student.

According to the 2026 Australian Capital Territory school census, Canberra's Catholic schools are attended by more than 16,000 students. Families experiencing payment difficulties can contact school principals about a possible fee reduction depending on their circumstances.

Fees at other schools

Most independent schools in Canberra have not yet announced their fees for 2027. At the same time, Radford College expects to raise tuition fees by 8.5%: for a Year 12 student, they are expected to total 28,156 Australian dollars.