History
In 1987, the Australian Government replaced the Australian Schools Commission and introduced the Capital Grants Program to support the development of capital infrastructure in non-government schools. This initiative led to the establishment by the Australian Government of Capital Block Grant Funding and Block Grant Authorities.
In 2008, the NSW Government announced the closure of the Interest Subsidy Scheme and introduced the NSW Building Grants Assistance Scheme (BGAS), which commenced funding in the fiscal year 2010/11.
The NSW Government guidelines and the Australian Government guidelines were harmonised to better manage the overall capital funding programs.
Authority
Under the Australian Government guidelines, the Capital Grants Program, Block Grant Authorities are authorised to act as the Australian Government in evaluating grant applications and making recommendations to the Australian Government's Education Minister for final approval.
Following the incorporation of CSNSW in 2017, the CBGA became a function of this newly established organisation. The constitution of CSNSW reserves powers for the NSW Bishops regarding the allocation of both recurrent and capital grant funding.
Governance
This governance structure ensures that the CBGA allocates and manages grants in line with both federal and state guidelines, supporting the ongoing infrastructure needs of Catholic schools across NSW.
In 2018, CBGA Principles were established and incorporated into CBGA Membership agreements. These principles encompass a range of conditions that complement legislative requirements and government guidelines. Updates to the CBGA Principles were made in 2019 following feedback and representations to the NSW Bishops.
As part of the NSW Building Grants Assistance guidelines, the application process was split into two sub-rounds. This provided the opportunity for applications to be considered over a longer period and for the government to provide flexibility for those applications that were considered premature. To integrate with the Australian Government Capital Grants Program, the submission of recommended projects is made in September and March of each year.