Thank You for Your Support: School Response Received

Thank you again to everyone who signed and supported this petition.

Following the petition, I had the opportunity to speak directly with the school and have now received a detailed written response from Olivia Woodruff, Head of Advancement, regarding the 2027 fee increase.

For transparency, the key points from the school's response are provided below:

"Earlier this month, the State Government agreed to a new EBA with its teachers, which included salary increases of 28% - 32% over four years, with 13.0% - 16.7% in the first year. While we are not bound by the State Government EBA, remaining competitive in teacher remuneration is essential to attracting and retaining excellent teachers, in order that we can continue to provide a quality Christian education.

The Board and Finance Committee have been expecting these significant state salary increases for several years and have been planning accordingly to keep our salaries competitive in the market. However, there will still be a gap between where we are currently and where the state EBA will end up, and, as such, we will have to make further adjustments.

Salaries account for almost 70% of our costs, and consequently, increases such as these are the primary driver of our tuition fee increase.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Educational component of the CPI has over many years tracked well ahead of the general CPI. For the year ended July 2026, the Educational CPI was 4.7% and the general CPI was 3.5%. With the significant increase in staff costs, we would expect the Educational CPI to increase significantly over the next year or two.

Please be assured that we are genuinely empathetic to the financial challenges our parents are facing. As part of this, we are committed to reviewing all non-salary operating costs to ensure that we keep our school fees as low as possible for our hard-working families. However, if you know of any families who may need assistance, please encourage them to contact our Finance Team directly. We would be happy to extend any appropriate support where possible."

While this outcome may not provide the financial relief many families were hoping for, I believe the petition has achieved something important by creating an open dialogue and obtaining greater transparency around the reasons behind the fee increase.

would like to thank Olivia and the school leadership team for taking the time to engage, listen to concerns, and provide a detailed explanation. Open communication and transparency are valuable outcomes, even when the final decision is not the one many families were hoping for.

Olivia has also indicated that the school is happy to answer any further questions from parents and continue the conversation where clarification is needed.

If you have additional questions or would like to discuss your individual circumstances, please feel free to contact the Crest Education Finance Team directly.

Finally, thank you to every parent, grandparent, caregiver and community member who supported this petition. Regardless of individual views on the fee increase, I hope we can continue to work together respectfully and constructively in support of our children and the wider school community.