The Integration Act allows for Attendance Dues to be levied on parents whose children attend Catholic Schools.
A proprietor may charge Attendance Dues at a maximum level approved by the Minister of Education. The payment of Attendance Dues in a Catholic Integrated School is a requirement on the condition of enrolment provided in the Integration Agreement for each school. The income from attendance dues can be used only for the costs associated with the provision of school land and buildings.
It is important to realise that Attendance Dues are the only means the diocese has of repaying all Education Loans whether they be from the Diocesan Catholic Development Fund or Religious Orders.
Attendance Dues are a charge payable to the Proprietor and a condition of enrolment at integrated schools. Dues are not a donation, and they are not tax deductible.
Catholic integrated schools are financed partly by the government and partly through Attendance Dues paid by parents/caregivers to the Proprietor. Attendance Dues fund the borrowing required to provide those new classrooms that are not funded by the government. These loans have been incurred to provide some of the school facilities being used by this generation of students. Attendance Dues are also used to pay other building-related costs, insurance on school buildings and to repay loans, attendance dues administration, lease payments, building warrants of fitness, etc.
Attendance Dues are payable to the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (for primary school students and for the diocesan secondary school students - Catholic Cathedral College, John Paul II High School, Marian College and Roncalli College).
Attendance Dues are not the same as school contribution donations which are charged by both state and integrated schools and are payable directly to the particular school.
What do Attendance Dues cost?
The following GST exclusive attendance dues rates apply for diocesan schools during 2024:
Primary Students: $430.00 per year, per student.
Secondary Students: $860.00 per year, per student for diocesan secondary schools.
Please contact the non-diocesan secondary schools (St Bede's College, St Thomas of Canterbury College and Villa Maria College) for their 2024 attendance dues rate.