Keep Teachers in Classrooms: Fair Funding for All
The issue
We support Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) providing teachers and education support staff with fair pay and conditions.
What concerns families is the impact on students.
Changes announced for 2027 mean fewer teachers, larger and combined classes, and reduced support in some schools. These are not theoretical concerns. They are real changes that will affect children’s learning, the attention they receive and the support available to those who need it most.
Teachers deserve fair pay, but children should not lose educational opportunities because schools are struggling to absorb rising employment costs.
Under the new EBA, the Government will fund public school teachers’ pay increase. This is currently not the case for Catholic school teachers. MACS needs to fund the pay increase within existing Government funding that had already been set until 2029.
Catholic schools are not elite private schools. They educate families from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and their students deserve the same support and opportunities as every other child.
Claims that Catholic students receive more funding can be misleading because total funding in the case of Catholic students also includes parent school fee contributions, rather than comparing combined State and Federal Government funding alone. This is not a like-for-like comparison.
Catholic School teachers and students deserve fair treatment and funding.
Catholic schools are an important part of Australia’s education system. They educate hundreds of thousands of students nationwide (1 in 5 Victorian students) and reduce pressure on government schools. A 2025 national analysis estimated that Catholic schools account for around $3.19 billion a year in recurrent taxpayer savings. Keeping Catholic schools sustainable benefits students, families and taxpayers alike.
We call on the Victorian State and Federal Governments to work with MACS on a sustainable solution that:
- funds the Catholic School teachers’ pay increase;
- protects teachers, classes and student support;
- keeps Catholic education affordable and accessible; and
- puts children first.
Teachers deserve fair pay. Students deserve the support they need to thrive. We can and should fund both.
Emilia Toia, Tania Sideras and the concerned Catholic School Parents of Merri-bek
214
The issue
We support Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) providing teachers and education support staff with fair pay and conditions.
What concerns families is the impact on students.
Changes announced for 2027 mean fewer teachers, larger and combined classes, and reduced support in some schools. These are not theoretical concerns. They are real changes that will affect children’s learning, the attention they receive and the support available to those who need it most.
Teachers deserve fair pay, but children should not lose educational opportunities because schools are struggling to absorb rising employment costs.
Under the new EBA, the Government will fund public school teachers’ pay increase. This is currently not the case for Catholic school teachers. MACS needs to fund the pay increase within existing Government funding that had already been set until 2029.
Catholic schools are not elite private schools. They educate families from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and their students deserve the same support and opportunities as every other child.
Claims that Catholic students receive more funding can be misleading because total funding in the case of Catholic students also includes parent school fee contributions, rather than comparing combined State and Federal Government funding alone. This is not a like-for-like comparison.
Catholic School teachers and students deserve fair treatment and funding.
Catholic schools are an important part of Australia’s education system. They educate hundreds of thousands of students nationwide (1 in 5 Victorian students) and reduce pressure on government schools. A 2025 national analysis estimated that Catholic schools account for around $3.19 billion a year in recurrent taxpayer savings. Keeping Catholic schools sustainable benefits students, families and taxpayers alike.
We call on the Victorian State and Federal Governments to work with MACS on a sustainable solution that:
- funds the Catholic School teachers’ pay increase;
- protects teachers, classes and student support;
- keeps Catholic education affordable and accessible; and
- puts children first.
Teachers deserve fair pay. Students deserve the support they need to thrive. We can and should fund both.
Emilia Toia, Tania Sideras and the concerned Catholic School Parents of Merri-bek
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Petition created on 3 November 2026