Why do Catholic schools have fees?
To provide quality learning environments, Catholic schools have fees to help meet the shortfall in Government funding. Catholic schools strive to keep fees as low as possible. The term ‘school fees’ includes tuition fees and levies. Each school assesses the school levies necessary to meet their individual school and community operation requirements. In doing this they are firstly guided by the diocesan tuition fee set by Catholic Education Services.
Tuition Fees
The tuition fee is an annual fee that is generally charged quarterly and supplements funding for ongoing school operating expenses, including wages and utilities. Tuition Fees ensure the operational costs of the school are met and contribute to most educational costs including tuition. Tuition Fees are set for all Catholic schools and colleges in the Cairns Diocese by Catholic Education Services. Discounts are provided to families when there are two or more students enrolled in Catholic Primary and/or Secondary schools in the Cairns Diocese. Refer to your enrolment package for fee schedule details. Other discounts apply to those experiencing financial hardship (refer to School Fee Discounts below).
Resource Levy
The school Resource Levy is set to cover general classroom overheads, other curriculum areas in the school (eg sport, language, arts, diverse learning, counselling, etc), curriculum related materials, and running costs.
Capital Levy
The Capital Levy enables St Francis Xavier’s School to continue to develop. The levy contributes to upgrading buildings, building and capital loans, maintenance, improvements and structures. It is an annual levy that is charged per family to contribute to the capital costs of school infrastructure.
Technology Levy
This levy contributes towards the increasing technology costs of providing IT infrastructure, broadband connectivity, wireless connectivity and the increased costing for technical support. The IT Levy ensures that our students are provided with the latest technology equipment, data access, software, computer and classroom resources and technical support which in turn support the learning experience of our children and enable us to deliver the Australian curriculum more efficiently and effectively.
Air Conditioning Levy
This levy contributes towards the installation of new air conditioners, improvements, repairs and maintenance of air conditioning within the school.
Activity Levy
The Activity Levy is charged per student to contribute to the cost of activities; i.e. incursions, photocopying, materials, sport, celebrations, subscriptions and other subject related expenses not covered by the Diocesan Tuition Fee.
P&F Levy
An annual levy is collected per family on behalf of the Parents & Friends Association. The levy assists the Parents & Friends Association to contribute towards capital projects and maintenance works of the school. It helps to fund school projects and the purchase of resources, as determined by the school Parents and Friends Association, in consultation with the school Principal. This levy is invested back into the school infrastructure under the guidance of the sitting P&F Executive.
Instrumental Music
Instrumental music lessons are an elective offered to students wishing to develop instrumental skills. The program offers tuition on stringed instruments, keyboard, woodwind, brass and percussion. Students attend lessons either individually or in a small group during the school day. The lesson times may be rotational or constant, at the Principal’s discretion. Lessons are delivered by either private tutors or staff employed at St Mary’s Catholic College. Applications are completed and returned to St Mary’s Catholic College. Invoices will be sent out each term from the College.
School Fee Discounts
In addition to tuition fee discounts for siblings, tuition fee discounts are available to holders of means tested Health Care and Pensioner Concession Cards, and to families experiencing genuine financial difficulties. Families experiencing financial hardship are encouraged to contact with the school’s Finance Officer to arrange an interview that will be handled with confidentiality and sensitivity. No Catholic child will be denied a Catholic education because of financial difficulties.
HCC Card
Those families who have Health Care Concession (HCC) cards must submit a new form at the beginning of every year.
Payment Options
Accounts are issued quarterly and are due within 14 days of the date of issue. Payment can be made by monthly or fortnightly instalments, including credit card and direct debit options. Please contact our Finance Officer, to arrange a payment plan.
2023 Catholic School Fee Discounts
2023 Concession Card Info Sheet
2023 Schedule of Fees – St Francis Xavier’s School
