Issue 25 - 22 August 2025

From our Principal

The Catholic Settlement

Riverview is, of course, a part of the larger enterprise of Catholic education in Australia. The National Catholic Education Conference was held in Cairns this week and I was fortunate to attend.

The first Catholic school in Australia was opened in Parramatta in 1820 and since then we have grown to be an essential arm of the Church’s work in Terra Australis . Initially, it was the religious orders (including the Society of Jesus) who established schools throughout the 19th Century in the various British colonies. Most Catholic families in these decades were of Irish descent and poor; and Catholic schools were staffed by the religious, providing a low cost or free education in the faith. Initially supported with funding, this was halted in the 1890s by a succession of colonial governments.

Catholic schools continued to offer an education for the faithful throughout the 20th Century. However, by the 1950s and 60s, with the decline in religious vocations and the boom in post-war migration from many Catholic countries in Europe, a campaign was pursued to restore ‘state aid’ to Catholic and other non-government schools throughout Australia. The campaign was successful and re-establishment of both recurrent and capital funding to Catholic and Independent schools became a shared policy commitment from both major parties. A settlement was reached, that every parent deserved government support (in the form of funding) in their choice of schooling for their child. It became an accepted norm in Australia that this was a ‘citizen’s entitlement’.

Once state aid for Catholic schools was re-established the 1960s and 1970s, dioceses built systems to support the flow of Commonwealth and State funding to these schools. In our city, Sydney Catholic Schools under the leadership of Executive Director Danielle Cronin, is one of the largest diocesan systems in nation with over 150 schools. The peak body for Catholic education in Australia is the National Catholic Commission. It is chaired by Riverview Old Boy, Nicholas Moore and its Executive Director is former Labor Senator Jacinta Collins.

In 2025 there are 1751 Catholic schools in Australia educating over 800,000 students and employing 112,000 staff. Over $100B in capital has been invested in these schools. A vast majority of these Catholic schools are systemic in nature and operate under a diocesan system that is the main distributor of funds and provider of resources. Whilst we are located in the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and pursue our mission as a Catholic school with the permission of the Archbishop as our local ordinary, Riverview is an independent Catholic school and not part of a system. We are owned and operated by the Society of Jesus through our governing body – Jesuit Education Australasia. The College prioritises faithful, Catholic families in our enrolment processes and 90% of our families are Catholic. This compares favourably to most other Catholic schools around Australia.

The settlement has been under pressure in recent years. The Turnbull Government changed the funding formula in 2017 in a move that undermined parental choice. As a result, Riverview is currently in the midst of a decade-long decline in its recurrent funding from both the Commonwealth (our primary funder) and State governments. In Victoria, the Andrews Government recklessly removed the exemption on payroll tax for Catholic and Independent schools with fee levels over an arbitrary threshold. A cash grab by any measure. Recently, the financially inept North Sydney Council has being doing its best to publicly pressure local Catholic and Independent schools to pay monies in substitute for the long-standing nationally-recognised exemption that not-for-profit educational institutions hold on Council rates.

Most concerningly have been the developments in the UK. At the 2024 general election, the government was elected on a policy platform of imposing Valued Added Tax (VAT) on non-public school fees with the promise that revenue raised would be directed to government schools. (They also proposed removing their status as charitable organisations, but this has fortuitously not been pursued at this point). The results have been calamitous with the average school fees in these schools rising by 22% in the 12 months to January 2025. Many schools have been forced to close as middle-class parents cannot afford the higher fees. This has included two Jesuit-affiliated schools - Mount St Mary’s College and Barlborough Hall School. They closed with immediate effect in late July this year when they became insolvent because of the government’s legislation. Legislation that was known and understood when voters went to the polls.

In Australia, over 35% of children are enrolled in Catholic or Independent schools, this compares favourably to the UK and means that we are in a stronger position electorally to argue for the citizen’s entitlement. However, we should not be complacent and government funding of Catholic schools should never be taken for granted. This was a common phrase of long-time Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools, Br Kelvin Canavan FMS. Schools like Riverview must use our government funding prudently and demonstrate that we are responsible stewards of the state’s support of the education of every child. We are grateful for this funding and for the continued support of the settlement on both sides of politics. A recent report by Catholic Schools NSW (led by Chief Executive Officer, Dallas McInerney) sets out the significant benefit that Catholic schools provide the Australian project - a copy of which can be found here.

We are a blessed school community and many of our families are of means. In addition, the College has always prioritised means-tested bursaries in its philanthropic efforts and in 2025 scores of anonymous boys across the College are receiving a Jesuit education because of the generosity of the Riverview community. However, there are also many families who sacrifice a great deal to send their sons to our Jesuit school. Access to the College for these families is a priority for us. Continued Commonwealth and State funding is an important means to sustain this access. As it is for Catholic families across Australia who choose an education in the faith for their children.

It would be a disaster if future governments in Australia chose to break the settlement concluded a half a century ago; or to polarise our society by ceasing funding to a certain demographic. Just as every taxpayer has access to Medicare; every child deserves some government funding because every taxpaying parent deserves genuine choice. May it always be the case in our nation.

From the P&F

P&F Update - Term 3 Week 5

Regis Campus

Co-Curriculum

The Rugby Report | Round 10 vs St Joseph’s College

Football Report vs Joeys

The score remained 2-0 until deep into the second half when Riverview won another corner. This time Billy Barwick approached the shaded corner and curled his delivery toward the goal. Lucas Breeze had taken up a position at the far post, and as the ball came in, he leapt high enough to head the ball down into the goal. The referee blew time almost immediately and the Riverview 2nd XI had secured the three points they needed. In those other results referred to above, The King's School suffered a defeat, but Newington won their match which took them to first place on the Premiership table a point ahead of King's and Riverview.

1st XI v SJC August 16 at Lower Park (Round 7)

Riverview 3 (Cooper Morton, Billy Barwick, Marcus Hughes) defeated SJC 2.

Following the 2nd XI’s victory, the Riverview 1st XI took the field with a sterner test before them. Joeys were placed second on the table. Seven minutes into the game a mistimed tackle in the box gave Joeys a penalty. Captain and ’keeper Cooper dove to his left and intercepted the shot, however, he was judged to have moved off his line before the kick was taken and the penalty was retaken. At the second attempt the shot flew high above the cross bar and so the match remained scoreless. Play flowed up and down the field and six minutes after the penalty, Sam Ryan was released down the right side, carried the ball downfield and just to the right of the penalty area, crossed the ball in to where Coooper Morton ran on to it on the left side of goal and volleyed past the ’keeper into the goal. Play continued at a high level of intensity until half time with the Riverview boys maintaining their advantage till the break.

Immediately after half time, a loose attempt at clearance just outside the Riverview penalty area gifted Joeys the ball and their number 9 shot effectively into the right-hand corner of goal, bringing considerable joy to the cerise shirted team. Halfway through the second term the same Joeys boy repeated the dose in much the same way to give the home team the lead. With time running down, Matteo Shipman, who had joined the match in the second half, was available to return to his shady corner and deliver a ball onto the head of Marcus Hughes (also subbed in during the second half) who directed the ball into the goal to give the Riverview team a much-needed equaliser. Billy Barwick, who had come on early in the second half and who had spent much of his time harrying the defence ran onto a through ball from Marcus and scored with a left foot shot to give the Riverview team the advantage and bring considerable joy to the Riverview contingent. Although the Joeys boys pressed hard and had come very close to scoring on several occasions leading up to this point, they were unable to find any more goals. The senior Riverview teams came to Joeys and bettered their teams to bring the season to a pleasing conclusion.

In this Issue

From our Rector

The threefold call to reconciliation

From our Principal

The Catholic Settlement

From the P&F

P&F Update - Term 3 Week 5

Year 11 Mums Mass and Lunch

Regis Campus

Regis Book Week - 'Books take us on an adventure'

Co-Curriculum

The Rugby Report | Round 10 vs St Joseph’s College

First XVIII Premiership Win!

Football Report vs Joeys

College Fencing Junior Championship

Pastoral Care

Ignatian Interschools Forum

Around the College

Father's Day Gift Ideas at the Licona

Community News

Save the date - Jesuit Missions Bazaar

Volunteer at the Jesuit Mission Bazaar!

Join the Battle of the Bands at the Jesuit Mission Bazaar

Donate Wine to the OIU Wine Auction

Christopher Brennan Library

Get your tickets for the Hunger Games Trivia!

What's new at the Christopher Brennan Library?

Happenings

Invitation to the Sydney Synod Consultations

Prayers

Owen Roderick Fitzgerald (Rick) (OR1972) passed away on 19 August 2025