Non-government Victorian schools are sharpening their campaign against a proposed new tax on high-fee providers, despite it being watered down.
Dozens of principals and leaders from independent and non-denominational schools converged on Victorian parliament on Thursday for a forum with the Victorian Liberals.
The hour-long forum focused on a plan unveiled in the state budget to remove the longstanding payroll tax exemption for non-government schools in Victoria from mid-2024.
About 110 so-called high-fee schools were initially forecast to lose the exemption, but Premier Daniel Andrews last week said that number would be fewer, with the threshold to be set higher than the current mark of $7500 in fees a year.
That would spell good news for Heathdale Christian College, which has average fees of $8050 a year across its Melton and Werribee campuses in Melbourne's west.
But executive principal Ross Grace said he and his school remain fundamentally opposed to the proposed tax.
"This is a tax on learning," he told reporters at state parliament.
Schools are expected to know if they are still exempt from payroll tax by September this year before the change takes effect from July 1 next year.
If Heathdale climbs above the threshold, Mr Grace expects the school's costs to increase by more than $1 million a year and admits fees will have to be reviewed.
"There's a potential we could lose families because of the increase of the fees," he said.
Mr Grace said the school was formulating its budget for next year and had been frustrated by the lack of detail.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the government was yet to explain whether more schools could lose their payroll tax exemption in coming years as fees slowly rise with inflation.
"There's no protection for our independent and non-denominational schools, and they need to plan," he said.
The coalition is in discussions with the crossbench after vowing to oppose the schools tax and repeal it if elected in 2026.
The Greens are withholding support for the government's suite of tax reforms, seeking rental safeguards ahead of the legislation coming before the upper house later this month.
Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam confirmed talks with the government are ongoing, but the party is yet to receive assurances.
Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said the government would provide further detail to non-government schools on the tax threshold once the legislation passes parliament.