Championing fair access to funding for the NCEC

The week before the Federal Budget in 2017, the Federal Minister or Education announced a new education funding model which created a $1.7 billion shortfall for Catholic schools. Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese called for Primary’s assistance to reverse this decision. This work then transitioned to working with the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) directly.

Primary worked rapidly to develop and deploy a high-profile grassroots campaign using schools and parenting networks. We partnered with the NCEC to develop a funding strategy and brief key political and media stakeholders.

At the same time, we orchestrated a strategic town hall with 500+ parents, and political, educational, and community leaders and invited media to attend. A key part included coordinating hourly briefings and interviews until legislation and agreement were delivered.

Front page coverage in The Australian newspaper on the day of the Federal Budget.

The NCEC delegation leveraged media spotlight to secure crossbench Senate support for amendments to the Government’s legislation.

Achieved participation in a Senate Inquiry and a favourable Catholic education a short-term funding agreement for the Catholic Education system through strategic media and political engagement.