Search
Member Login

Finance and Compliance

Funding distribution

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission has responsibility for state-wide policy making and for action in the areas of:

  • funding (distribution of, negotiations concerning and accountability for the funding of Catholic schools by the Commonwealth Government and the State Government)
  • research and collection of statistical, financial and educational data relevant to the Commission’s prime functions.

The Commission’s Finance Committee reviews funding distribution arrangements for all programs and recommends to the Commission arrangements for each program for formal endorsement.

These arrangements take into account:

  • the need for transparency in the Commission’s financial operations
  • the need for good administrative practice, i.e. appropriate authority and adequate documentation to facilitate the making of payments
  • the need for a fair and equitable outcome in terms of student, school and community needs.

Full details are available in the Group Funding Guidelines 2018 – 2023.

Government programs available to Catholic schools that are being administered by the Commission are listed in the Government Programs section of this website.

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission has an appeals process that applies to all government funding programs where the Commission is responsible for and has endorsed arrangements for the distribution of funds. The endorsed arrangements refer to the Program Funding Arrangements approved by the Commission on an annual basis.

Government Programs

Australian Government Programs

Further information on the programs below is available on the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website, on the Schooling page.

Program Purpose
General Recurrent Grant To assist schools with recurrent costs of school education
Students First Support Fund To assist school authorities to support the implementation of the national reform efforts and school improvement generally
Capital Programs
Capital Grants Program General Element To provide and improve school capital infrastructure

Queensland Government Programs

Further information on Grants and Allowances is available at the Queensland Government, Department of Education and Training website.

Program Purpose
Capital Assistance Scheme To provide funding assistance to non-government schools for the provision, conversion, refurbishment and upgrade of educational facilities and boarding accommodation.
Education Support Funding for Children in Care To contribute to positive education experiences for Children and Young People in Care of the State.
External Infrastructure Subsidy Scheme To provide funding assistance (up to 50% of the eligible cost) to non-government schools for infrastructure costs external to the site imposed by local authorities as a condition of a building approval.
Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme To provide funding for kindergarten service providers for students who are at least 4 years old by 30 June.
Living Away from Home Allowance To assist families to offset schools’ tuition fees for boarders.
Non State School Transport Assistance Scheme To provide travel assistance to eligible applicants to subsidise the cost of transporting their children to non-State schools.
Special Needs Organisation To assist approved non-state organisations provide education services for students with special needs by supplementing recurrent operating costs associated in developing suitable programs and activities.
Special Needs Students Recurrent To assist schools with recurrent operating costs associated with the programs/activities developed to meet the needs of identified special needs students.
State Recurrent Per Capita Grant To assist schools with recurrent operating costs.
Textbook and Resource Allowance To assist parents of secondary school age students to offset the cost of textbooks and other learning resources.
Youth Support Coordinators Initiative To support retention and attainment of students in years 10-12. The target group will be students at risk and disengaging from school.
National School Chaplaincy Program To support the provision of chaplaincy/student welfare service in schools.
Alcohol Education Program To promote responsible alcohol use.
Vocational Education & Training (VET) in Schools To set out operational targets and activities in addressing industry needs, skill shortages and managing the implementation of the new VETiS Funding framework.

Capital

Capital Programs

Log in to Capital Programs Online

Reporting Timetable

2018 Reporting Timetable

There are a number of data collections that occur each year, some of them are government collections, others are to fulfil requirements that meet funding accountabilities or to provide statistical data for annual reporting on Catholic schools.

This facility is intended to help authorities with their planning.

 Procedure for the Accreditation and Funding of Non-State Schools

Application forms and information booklets can be obtained from the following websites:-

To apply for Australian Government funding for new schools, an Approved Authority Application (AAA) form will need to be completed by QCEC at the beginning of each year. Please click here for a copy of the AAA form. Schooling authorities are required to complete Parts B, C and E and email the completed form to QCEC at DataCollections@qcec.catholic.edu.au.

Please contact Cyrus Li on (07) 3316 5833  if you require any assistance.

January – March

January

2018 School Directory

School Authorities are required to review the existing and add new school details in the proposed 2018 School Directory and submit change request as appropriate.

Data Collection: Adding of New School

School Directory Detail 2018

Due Date: 26 January 2018

State Students with Disabilities (SWD) Accountability

School Authorities that did not complete the 2017 State SWD Education Accountability in December 2017 are required to provide a complete the report before the end of January to fulfil accountability requirements with the Queensland Department of Education and Training for the Students with Disability Program for Non-State Schools.

Data Collection: Blank Form (If you have submitted the form prior but want to modify or add content, please contact datacollections@qcec.catholic.edu.au to get the link to access the submitted form)

Due Date: 31 January 2018

February

2018 Initial Enrolments

2018 QCEC Online Data Collection

Report from each Catholic School Authority on enrolments for each year level as at day 8 of the school year (Friday 2 February 2018). This is to allow QCEC to respond to the National Catholic Education Commission and the media on preliminary enrolments for 2018.

Due Date: 2 February 2018

Student Background Data

Data collection process for the National Assessment Program – Literacy & Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

The key dates for collection of the data (subject to verification from Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority) are:

1 February 2018 – collection website will open for receipt of data

13 February 2018 – Catholic Diocesan schools will be able to access the webpage to edit their data

28 February 2018 – the website will close for the provision of all data

Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) NAPLAN Portal

QCAA NAPLAN Portal – User Manual

Application for New Schools/Schools Undertaking Changes to Operation

Department of Education and Training data collection: Catholic School Authorities must complete an application form for new schools or schools undertaking changes to their operation (e.g. a new level of schooling where a primary school adds secondary year levels). Details are available on the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (NASSAB) and Department of Education and Training website.

Please complete Parts B, C and E (the second and third declaration) in the application form.

All applications must be accompanied by the NSSAB accreditation documentation.

All completed forms are to be sent to QCEC (not Commonwealth Department of Education and Training). Please note: the cut-off date to submit the DET forms for separations or amalgamations is 1st July 2018. Separations and amalgamations can only be approved for Australian Government funding from the commencement of the following year.

Due Date: 23 February 2018

March

Queensland Government Census on Students

Queensland Government data collection: The Queensland Government census day is Friday 23 February 2018 and is conducted by the Office of the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.

Due Date: 2 March 2018

State Students with Disabilities (SWD) Program Financial Accountability

Grant recipients are required to provide a report on school level expenditure of State SWD funds.

Completed acquittal forms to be:

Please log onto the QCEC Member Site and navigate to the Data Collections menu to download the 2017 SWD program financial acquittal collection instrument.

Template will be available by the end of January 2018.

Due Date: 9 March 2018

 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) 2018: Pre-Population

Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a 3-yearly nationwide data collection of early childhood development at the time children commence their first year of full-time school. All schools with Prep Year offered must participate in this survey.

Template will be provided in early Feb to start loading in the demographic and background information about the students.

Due Date: 23 March 2018

Youth Support Initiative (YSI) Financial Report

Under the funding agreement, Catholic School Authorities are required to provide details of how the allocated funds were used for the reporting period 1st January 2017 to 31 December 2017. This information will be included in the financial report to be submitted to the Queensland Department of Education and Training.

Note: Only Diocesan offices and Edmund Rice Education Australia are required to complete this exercise.

Please log onto the QCEC Member Site and navigate to the Data Collections menu to access the YSI data collection instrument.

Template will be available by the end of January 2018.

Due Date: 23 March 2018

Applications for Capital Grants (Part A)

QCEC data collection: For General Capital (State and Australian Government) (Part A) requests for funding; see QCEC Circular 2017/155 of 26 September 2017 for relevant details.

Due Date: 30 March 2018

Kindergarten Enrolment Collection

Validation of kindergarten enrolment data for Semester 1, Term 1- 2018 is to be entered in the data collection instrument.

Due Date: 4 April 2018

Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) Performance Reporting – Q1

Delegated Catholic agencies are required to complete a quarterly Performance Report which asks for issues/trends impacting on their organisation and kindergarten services.

QKFS Performance Reporting template.

Due Date: 4 April 2018

QCEC Financial Accountability for Government funded programs

QCEC data collection: QCEC provides to each payee a statement of government funds paid to that payee in the preceding year. The statements are to be signed by the authorised officer and the auditor responsible for signing off on the payee’s financial statements. The statements will be issued by 9 February 2018.

Due Date: 20 April 2018

Financial Questionnaire (FQ) – Provision of Data to QCEC

The annual Australian Government Financial Questionnaire (FQ) for the collection of 2017 data from Non-Government schools and Systems will be available from March 2018.

Catholic school authorities are required to enter the FQ data in the QCEC FA and FQ template. This information will be uploaded to the School Entry Point portal in bulk by QCEC.

The QCEC FA and FQ template will be circulated in March 2017.

Due Date: 18 May 2017

Financial Contribution Assessment for the 2018 Capital Round (Part B)

Financial Contribution Assessment for the 2018 capital round (State and Australian Government) (Part B).

The grant contribution application, financial report documentation and any other information relating to the assessment should be emailed to schoolfunding@qcec.catholic.edu.au.

Due Date: 21 May 2017

April - June

April

Kindergarten Enrolment Data Collection

Validation of kindergarten enrolment data for Semester 1, Term 1- 2018 is to be entered in the data collection instrument.

Due Date: 4 April 2018

 

Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) Performance Reporting – Q1

Delegated Catholic agencies are required to complete a quarterly Performance Report which asks for issues/trends impacting on their organisation and kindergarten services.

QKFS Performance Reporting template

Due Date: 4 April 2018

 

QCEC Financial Accountability for Government funded programs

QCEC data collection: QCEC provides to each payee a statement of government funds paid to that payee in the preceding year. The statements are to be signed by the authorised officer and the auditor responsible for signing off on the payee’s financial statements. The statements were issued on 15 February 2018.

Due Date: 20 April 2018

 

May

Financial Questionnaire (FQ) – Provision of Data to QCEC

The annual Australian Government Financial Questionnaire (FQ) for the collection of 2017 data from Non-Government schools and Systems will be available from March 2018.

Catholic school authorities are required to enter the FQ data in the QCEC FA and FQ template. This information will be uploaded to the School Entry Point portal in bulk by QCEC.

The QCEC FA and FQ template will be circulated in March 2018.

Due Date: 18 May 2018

 

Financial Contribution Assessment for the 2018 Capital Round (Part B)

Financial Contribution Assessment for the 2018 capital round (State and Australian Government) (Part B).

The grant contribution application, financial report documentation and any other information relating to the assessment should be emailed to schoolfunding@qcec.catholic.edu.au.

Due Date: 21 May 2018

 

Applications for Non State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme

  • Bus Fare Assistance Program
  • Students with Disabilities

Online parent applications can be made between 1 May – 31 May 2018 on the School Transport website.
Student Travel Assistance – Semester 1, 2018 Application.

Visit the School Transport website to apply for assistance.

Due Date: 31 May 2018

 

June

Trade Training Centre Activity Report

Trade Training Centres and Trade Skills Centres are required to complete the Trade Training Centre 2017 Activity Report and Principal’s Declaration and return them to their Catholic School Authority in order to be submitted to QCEC by Friday 15 Jun 2018.

– Reporting templates, Principal declaration forms and guidelines will be provided by QCEC to the Catholic School Authorities to distribute to the relevant Trade Training Centre lead school in April.

– For Trade Training Centre clusters, the lead school is responsible for the final completion and submission of the report and Principal’s declaration to their Catholic School Authority who will then submit to QCEC.

– QCEC is required to check and upload each completed report into the Australian Government’s School’s Hub by 29 June 2018.

Due Date: 15 June 2018

 

Financial Questionnaire (FQ) – Online Declaration

Schools and school authorities are required to review the uploaded FQ data, provide comments for any anomalies and complete the online declaration in the School Service Point portal by 29 June 2018.

Due Date: 29 June 2018

 

School Annual Report – School Report

Schools are required to publish their school Annual Report on the school website, and in at least one other format (e.g. hard copy, newsletter, handbook, noticeboard or sign), which the school can choose. To assist schools in completing their Annual Report, Apparent Retention Rates for 2017 are provided.

Refer to the DET website (http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/reporting/) for more information.

Due Date: 29 June 2018

 

Kindergarten Enrolment Data Collection

Validation of kindergarten enrolment data for Semester 1, Term 2- 2018 and the provision of forecast attendance for Semester 2, to be entered in the QCEC data collection instrument.  This information is required to facilitate release of funding to QCEC in its capacity as the Central Governing Body (CGB).

Due Date: 4 July 2018

 

Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) Performance Reporting – Q2

Delegated Catholic agencies are required to complete a quarterly Performance Report which asks for issues/trends impacting on their organisation and kindergarten services.

QKFS Performance Reporting template

Due Date: 4 July 2018

 

Preliminary National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) Data Collection

Preliminary NCCD data collection from school authorities to QCEC helps anomalies finding prior to its actual collection in August. The data collection will close on 20 July 2018 (Week 1 Term 3) while school authorities are encouraged to submit their data as soon as the data is available to them.

NCCD Preliminary Data Collection Template

Due Date: 20 July 2018

 

Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) 2018 Data Collection

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a triennial measure of how young children have developed by the time they start school .

Prep teachers will complete a checklist for each child in their class. The checklist refers to five critical areas of early childhood development. The data collection period in 2018 is from 1 May to 31 July.

Due Date: 31 July 2018

 

Student Attendance – Semester 1 2018

Schools are required to report student attendance and the proportion of students attending school for 90% or more twice a year. Data for Semester 1 2018 is due on 1 August 2018.

Please visit the Student Attendance System (STATS) page on the School Entry Point (https://ssp.education.gov.au/STATS/Controller.aspx) for more information.

Due Date: 1 August 2018

 

 

July - September

July

 

Kindergarten Enrolment Data Collection

Validation of kindergarten enrolment data for Semester 1, Term 2- 2018 and the provision of forecast attendance for Semester 2, to be entered in the QCEC data collection instrument.  This information is required to facilitate release of funding to QCEC in its capacity as the Central Governing Body (CGB).

Due Date: 4 July 2018

 

Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) Performance Reporting – Q2

Delegated Catholic agencies are required to complete a quarterly Performance Report which asks for issues/trends impacting on their organisation and kindergarten services.

Data collection tool: QKFS Performance Reporting template (Q2)

Due Date: 4 July 2018

 

Education Support Funding Program (ESFP) Annual Report and Acquittal

This data collection identifies students living in “Out of Home Care (OOHC)”. Students must have a completed Education Support Plan as at 30 June 2018.

The data collected will inform the 2018/2019 allocation of Education Support Funding and the Financial Acquittal for 2017/2018.

Collection templates (available in June 2018) can be downloaded from the QCEC member site.

Due Date: 13 July 2018

 

Safety in Schools Collection

The Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) requires each school to complete a Safety in Schools Statement under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006.

Data collection tool: Safety in School 2017-2018.

Each diocese should at least submit one copy of the form for all schools plus one each for any school within the authority with a “yes” responds to any question asked in the survey.

Due Date: 20 July 2018

 

Preliminary National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) Data Collection

Preliminary NCCD data collection from school authorities to QCEC helps anomalies finding prior to its actual collection in August. The data collection will close on 20 July 2018 (Week 1 Term 3)  while school authorities are encouraged to submit their data as soon as the data is available to them.

Data collection tool: NCCD Preliminary Data Collection

Due Date: 20 July 2018

 

ACARA Student Background Data Collection

Student Background Data is collected annually by ACARA to enable the recalculation of ICSEA scores. The data collected will also inform the calculation of Low SES Loading and Low English Proficiency Loading of Commonwealth Recurrent Grant.

As in previous years, ACARA has liaised directly with Diocesan School Authorities. RI and PJP schools have also been contacted by the Secretariat and be provided with further information about this collection in June.

ACARA Privacy Notice

For schools wishing to update their score prior to the SEA and DLBOTE recalculations for the AGDET October payment, the due dates are:

27 July 2018 for RI and PJP Schools

3 August 2018 for Diocesan School Authorities

 

Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) 2018 Data Collection

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a triennial measure of how young children have developed by the time they start school . School Leader Packs were mailed by the Commonwealth Department of Education to all the relevant schools in March.

Prep teachers will complete a checklist for each child in their class. The checklist refers to five critical areas of early childhood development. The data collection period in 2018 is from 1 May to 31 July.

Due Date: 31 July 2018

 

VET in Schools: Financial Acquittal

QCEC data collection – information to be provided for financial acquittal of VET in Schools funding.

Data Collection: The template is available for download on the QCEC Member Site under Data Collections from June.

Due Date: 31 July 2018

 

August

 

Student Attendance – Semester 1 2018

Schools are required to report student attendance and the proportion of students attending school for 90% or more twice a year. Data for Semester 1 2018 is due on 1 August 2018.

Please visit the Student Attendance System (STATS) page on the School Entry Point (https://ssp.education.gov.au/STATS/Controller.aspx) for more information.

Due Date: 1 August 2018

 

2018 Census on the Internet of Non-Government schools (Federal Census)

This annual collection of student and staff numbers is completed via the Schools Entry Point (SEP). PLEASE NOTE: Starting from 2018, the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD SWD) is included as part of the Census collection.

Where a school considers that a student’s attendance on the Census day was not typical of their regular pattern of attendance during the school year, the school may apply for a determination of special circumstances in respect of each affected student.

Students for whom the school is seeking approval of special circumstances must be excluded completely from the Census data until such time as approval is granted by the Minister’s delegate.

Students who are expected to repeat Year 1 minus 1 (i.e. Prep) must be excluded from the Census count as these students are not eligible for Government funding (see the Census help document).

Census date: Friday 3 August 2018
Statutory Declaration due date: Friday 10 August 2018
Supporting documentation for each special circumstance student must be provided to the Commonwealth Department by Friday 17 August 2018.

 

Religion of Teachers in Schools

This collection is undertaken to inform NCEC about the religion of teachers for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Please collect and report the relevant information as at Friday 3 August 2018 (the Census day). This will ensure student and teacher numbers reported in this collection match the 2018 Australian Government Census data.

Data collection tool: Religion of Teachers

Due Date: 17 August 2018

 

Religion of Students in Schools

This collection is undertaken to inform the NCEC of the religion of students for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Please collect and report the relevant information as at Friday 3 August 2018 (the Census day). This will ensure student and teacher numbers reported in this collection match the 2018 Australian Government Census data.

Data collection tool: Religion of Students

Due Date: 17 August 2018

 

Certifying Compliance Certificate 2017 School year

School Authorities are required to submit to QCEC on behalf of their schools a compliance certificate for the 2017 school year confirming that each school:

  1. if selected, took part in national sample assessments,
  2. holds required information on student background characteristics,
  3. provided parents or carers plain language student reports, and
  4. has published a school annual report the required information about the school for 2017.

Details can be found regarding the Student Background Characteristics on the ACARA web site see Data Standards Manual: Student Background Characteristics (October 2012) at http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/DSM_1.pdf

Data collection tool: will be available closer to collection.

Due Date: to be confirmed

 

September

 

ACARA Student Background Data Collection

Student Background Data is collected annually by ACARA to enable the recalculation of ICSEA scores. The data collected will also inform the calculation of Low SES Loading and Low English Proficiency Loading of Commonwealth Recurrent Grant.

As in previous years, ACARA will liaise directly with Diocesan School Authorities. RI and PJP schools will be contacted by the Secretariat and be provided with further information about this collection in July.

ACARA Privacy Notice

Due Dates:

6 September 2018 for RI and PJP Schools

27 September 2018 for Diocesan School Authorities

 

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Class Sizes

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) releases publication of “Education at a Glance” every year with general class size data.

Collection of class size data is required for primary (Prep – Year 6) and lower secondary (Year 7 – Year 10).

Data collection tool: Number of Class in Schools 2018

Due Date: 22 September 2018

 

Kindergarten Student Collection

Validation enrolments for semester 2, term 3 is to be entered into the 2018 Kindergarten data entry Sem 2 term 3. This information is required to validate enrolment data for reconciliation purposes.

Due Date: 26 September 2018

 

Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) Performance Reporting

Delegated Catholic agencies are required to complete a quarterly Performance Report which asks for issues/trends impacting on their organisation and kindergarten services.

QKFS Performance Reporting (Q3)

Due date: 26 September 2018

 

Queensland Annual Schools Reporting – Post Year 12 Destination

Schools are required to publish their school annual report on the school website, and in at least one other format (e.g. hard copy, newsletter, handbook, noticeboard or sign), which the school can choose.
Refer to the NSSAB website for information.

Due Date: 30 September 2018

 

Student Attendance – Term 3 2018

Schools are required to report student attendance and the proportion of students attending school for 90% or more twice a year. Data for Term 3 2018 is due on 19 October 2018.

Please visit the Student Attendance System (STATS) page on the School Entry Point (https://ssp.education.gov.au/STATS/Controller.aspx) for more information.

Due Date: 19 October 2018

  

VET in Schools: Strategies & Outcomes

QCEC data collection – information to be provided for reporting strategies and outcomes for the VET in Schools program.

Note: VET Coordinators in Schooling Authorities will be contacted directly with the related information and reporting template.

  • VET Strategies and Outcomes 2018

Due Date: 16 November 2018

 

Work Experience and Structured Work Placement data collection

QCEC data collection – information is required to be provided on student data in years 9-12 for assurance purposes, including:

  • total number of students who participated in structured work placements
  • total number of hours spent by students on structured work placement
  • total number of students who participated in work experience
  • total number of days spent by students on work experience

Note: VET Coordinators in Schooling Authorities will be contacted directly with the related information and reporting template.

  • VET Work Experience Survey

Due Date: 16 November 2018

Search Schools

Search by school name, address suburb, city, postcode.

Subscribe for Updates

You will receive our newsletter.

News & Events

Celebrating Catholic Education Week Longman candidates need to commit to fair funding See all