Why was Catholic Schools NSW established?

Catholic Schools NSW Limited (CSNSW) was established as a company limited by guarantee and began operations in 2017, following the 2016 review of its precursor body, the Catholic Education Commission of NSW (CECNSW). Each of the nine diocesan bishops of NSW, the Archbishop of Sydney, and the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn are Members of the Company (Bishop Members).

How was Catholic Schools NSW set up?

Catholic Schools New South Wales is a company whose members are the eleven diocesan Bishops of NSW. Each Bishop has responsibility for the CSA in his diocese. Collectively these systems are recognised by governments as the NSW Catholic schools system.

The functions, authority, and responsibilities of CSNSW are derived from the CSNSW Constitution, the Bishop Members’ Canonical Mandate (through the exercise of their jurisdiction as local ordinaries), and pursuant to Australian and NSW legislative and regulatory instruments.

CSNSW neither owns nor operates schools, rather, CSNSW works in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, particularly the directors of Catholic education in each diocese, not simply to discharge legislated compliance obligations regarding government funding, but also to advance the common good in support of the Mission of the Church in education and evangelisation.

The aims and powers of CSNSW are set out in section 7 of the Company’s Constitution:

The charitable objects for which the Company is established are to act as an overarching entity for the purpose of advancing education and religion in Catholic schools in NSW and ensuring that Catholic schools meet their compliance requirements and can measure their activities in such a way as to maximise the educational and faith outcomes of students.

Catholic Schools NSW Mission and Values

Our Mission
To advance God’s Mission through our leadership and service to Catholic education.

Our Values

  • Service – Our role of leadership and service is founded in the Gospels. Our service to those in Catholic education contributes to achieving excellence and equity.
  • Accountability – We demonstrate fidelity to our mission through professionalism in our work, effective stewardship, transparency, and holding ourselves and others accountable for outcomes.
  • Integrity – We act ethically, justly, and honestly. We demonstrate that we value the dignity and worth of each individual by listening, speaking, and acting respectfully toward everyone.
  • Collegiality – We value the principle of subsidiarity and work in close collaboration with others for the common good.

The functions and responsibilities of Catholic Schools NSW

Advocacy
CSNSW presents a single voice advocating for and representing Catholic schools to state and federal governments, public bodies, the media, parents, and society. CSNSW is the designated Non-Government Representative Body (NGRB) for the sector. It advocates publicly for Catholic schools as an education choice by contributing to discourse and debate. Its advocacy follows
evidence-based research and is informed by extensive consultation throughout the sector.

The Bishop Members have tasked CSNSW to liaise with other key Church stakeholders in education, including the Council of Catholic School Parents, the Association of Catholic School Principals, the Federation of Religious Institute and Ministerial PJP Catholic School Authorities in NSW and ACT (known as the Catholic Religious Institute and Ministerial Public Juridic Persons NSW and ACT School Authorities from 1 January 2024), the National Catholic Education Commission, and other state and territory Catholic education commissions.

Catholic Employment Relations Ltd

Catholic Employment Relations Ltd (CERL) is a professional service-based legal practice that provides advice on Australian law, employment relations, industrial, and human resources to Catholic agencies.

Compliance
Governments continue to increase oversight and supervision of Australian school sector, resulting in increased compliance and reporting obligations. To assist systems and schools, CSNSW develops policies and procedures so that they may fulfil their statutory and regulatory obligations concerning financial audits, reporting to the government, regulation of charities, and other compliance requirements, especially those arising from the statutory roles of NESA.

Working with systems and schools, CSNSW develops and shares policies and procedures for data collection, reporting, and audit requirements that apply to Catholic schools in NSW. It also offers an advisory service that covers existing, new, and revised regulatory obligations, including providing standardised documentation and training opportunities.

CSSA

CSSA is a division of CSNSW that provides high-quality trial Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations to schools in NSW, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and international Secondary schools. Previously operating as an unincorporated association under the name Catholic Secondary Schools Association, CSSA was integrated into CSNSW in January 2021 and is now a registered business name of CSNSW. The CSSA trial HSC examination programme has been in place since the HSC examinations were introduced in 1967.

Education Policy and Programme Management

CSNSW is the lead agency for engagement with governments and regulators on all education policy matters affecting Catholic schools in NSW. It provides expert policy advice to regulators and governments on behalf of the sector, as well as to Catholic School Agencies (CSAs). Policy areas include preschool education to post-school pathways, curriculum, assessment, Aboriginal education, vocational education, diverse learning, wellbeing, safe and supportive schools, teacher accreditation, and school registration.

CSNSW is also the chief agency for coordinating Commonwealth and state ‘targeted’ programmes, including Vocational Education and Training (VET) delivered to Secondary students, Road Safety, COVID Intensive Learning Support, and chaplaincy. As the Non-Government
Representative Body (NGRB) for the Catholic school sector, it also manages an extensive programme of work to support the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) through the Non-Government Reform Support Fund (NGRSF). NGRSF focus areas include:

  • supporting students outcomes;
  • supporting teachers, school leaders, and school
    improvement;
  • improving governance and compliance;
  • enhancing the national evidence base; and
  • supporting improved engagement and practices related to
    NAPLAN Online and the Nationally Consistent Collection of
    Data on Students with Disability.

To enhance the quality of education in Catholic schools and the preservation of Catholic identity, CSNSW works with all CSAs to engage with education policy reform and implementation. It does this through extensive advisory structures that include reference groups, time-limited working groups, and policy networks. CSNSW also publishes discussion papers, policy documents, research briefs, benchmarking capability, and a broad offering of Professional Learning and training opportunities.

Efficiency and Effectiveness
In line with constitutional obligations, CSNSW has developed and implemented a well-established framework for reporting on the educational effectiveness of Catholic schooling in NSW and provides regular State of the System reports to the Bishop Members. These reports are developed in consultation with CSAs.

Funding
CSNSW is responsible to the Australian and NSW governments for distributing recurrent funding to Diocesan School Systems (DSS) in accordance with the requirements of the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth) and the Education Act 1990 (NSW). In doing so, CSNSW
works to ensure that schools comply with the terms and conditions of funding grants and adhere to not-for-profit guidelines. CSNSW also allocates and oversees funding for several targeted government programmes in schools.

CSNSW, in its role as the Catholic Block Grand Authority, receives and allocates capital funding from the Australian and NSW governments and works with CSAs to ensure it is distributed, used, managed, and accounted for in compliance with government guidelines. CSNSW
works closely with the 11 CSAs in all activities associated with applications for capital works funding.

Registration

On 11 November 2022, the Bishop Members endorsed a proposal from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for CSNSW to operate as the single approved registration authority for systemic Catholic schools in NSW. After extensive consultation, the NSW Education Minister appointed CSNSW as the single Catholic registration system authority from 1 July 2023.

This change aims to reduce the overall regulatory compliance burden on Catholic school systems and support sector unity. CSNSW will monitor schools’ and dioceses’ compliance through visits, audits, and training. In addition to receiving and evaluating schools’ registration applications, CSNSW is required to report annually to
NESA. This report, which will be included in NESA’s annual report to the Registration and Accreditation Committee, will cover compliance with curriculum and policy requirements and outline actions and future directions taken by CSNSW.

Sport Services

CSNSW Sport Services is a division of CSNSW and is responsible for sports pathways for the Catholic school sector. More than 22 sporting pathways are available for Catholic school students. The major sports pathways are:

  • The NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC). It enables Catholic Secondary school
    students to compete at NSW All Schools Championships and events.
  • The NSW Catholic Primary Schools (NSWCPS). It is comprised of MacKillop (southern NSW)
    and Polding (northern NSW).