page_title: Education in Australia
section_title: Catholic schools
hierarchical_section_title: Education in Australia / Primary and secondary education / Types of schools / Organisational structures / Non-government schools / Catholic schools
caption_attribution_description: English: St Mary's College in Hobart, Tasmania
context_page_description: Education in Australia encompasses the sectors of early childhood education and primary education, followed by secondary education, tertiary education and adult education. Regulation and funding of education is primarily the responsibility of the States and territories, however the Australian Government also plays a funding role.
  Education in Australia is compulsory between the ages of four, five, or six and fifteen, sixteen or seventeen, depending on the State or territory and date of birth.
  For primary and secondary education, government schools educate approximately 60 percent of Australian students, with approximately 40 percent in non-government schools. At the tertiary level, the majority of Australia's universities are public, and student fees are subsidised through a student loan program where payment becomes due when debtors reach a certain income level.
  Underpinned by the Australian Qualifications Framework, implemented in 1995, Australia has adopted a national system of qualifications, encompassing higher education, vocational education and training, and school-based education.
context_section_description: After government schools, the education system delivered by the Roman Catholic Church in Australia has grown, from 18th century foundations, to be the second biggest provider of school-based education in Australia. As of 2018, one in five Australian students attended Catholic schools. There are over 1,700 Catholic schools in Australia with more than 750,000 students enrolled, employing almost 60,000 teachers.
  Administrative oversight of Catholic education providers varies depending on the origins, ethos, and purpose of each education provider. Oversight of Catholic systemic schools may rest with a Catholic parish, diocese, or archdiocese; while religious institutes have oversight of Catholic independent schools.
  The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, is tasked with maintaining liaison with the federal government and other key national education bodies and complements and supports the work of the state and territory Catholic education commissions. While some Catholic schools operate independently via religious institutes, the majority of Catholic schools, called systemic schools, operate under the Canon Law jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical public juridic person, such as a bishop. In practice, the bishop assigns a Catholic Education Office (CEO), Catholic Education Commission, Catholic Schools Offices, or a similar body with daily operational responsibility for the leadership, efficient operation, and management of the Catholic systemic schools which educate in parish primary and regional secondary schools in Australia. These diocesan bodies are charged with the implementation and management of the policies of the diocese and the allocation and administration of the funds provided by government and private sources to Catholic systemic schools, as well as the financial responsibilities for administration of salaries for staff members.
  Most Catholic schools (96 percent) are systemically funded, meaning that the government funding they nominally attract is provided to the relevant state Catholic Education Commission for needs-based distribution. Sixty-one Australian Catholic schools are non-systemically funded (independent schools) and receive government grants directly.
caption: St Mary's College, Hobart, pictured in 2014. The College is affiliated with the Presentation Sisters, a religious institute of the Catholic Church.
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