Surplus
We need a surplus that funds the mission.
Is our surplus healthy and resilient, and where is money leaking or being left on the table?
Sustainability starts with pricing: are your fees set appropriately for the families you are trying to attract? From there, funding is optimised where possible with particular attention to your Direct Measure of Income (DMI) and unfilled seats, and classes are checked for sufficient size to be economic. This service examines the economics per student: fee and revenue strategy, funding and DMI, enrolment, and cost structure benchmarked against schools genuinely like yours. This is the financial view; where the numbers point to a structural fix, that connects through to Operations.
Two levers move this need: revenues and the cost base. Enrolments sit behind both. The Review benchmarks all three.
The framework
What we examine
Funding and revenue
| Subdriver | What we look at | What excellence looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Government funding (SRS, loadings) | Whether funding is optimised and claimed accurately under the Schooling Resource Standard, including loadings. | All eligible loadings claimed accurately and in full; enrolment and census data reviewed and submitted completely and on time. |
| Fees and fee structure | The level and structure of fees relative to comparable schools, capacity to pay, and the families the school is trying to attract. | Fees priced appropriately for the target family segment, tested against their willingness and ability to pay, and benchmarked annually against the schools you actually compete with for enrolments; a transparent schedule communicated early in the enrolment process; fee elasticity understood; a structured, defensible annual increase process. |
| Discounts and concessions | Sibling discounts, staff concessions, scholarships, and hardship provisions, and whether they are costed and working. | Total cost quantified annually as a percentage of gross fee revenue; each concession tested against its strategic intent; scholarships evaluated for enrolment impact. |
| Ancillary and other revenue | Non-fee income: facility hire, OSHC, international students, grants, and philanthropy. | Non-fee revenue actively managed and grown; facility hire priced and reviewed annually; international and philanthropic streams run with a dedicated plan. |
| Enrolment mix and DMI | How enrolment mix and access to the school are considered, and what that means for the school's Direct Measure of Income (DMI). | Enrolment mix and access considered deliberately, as a community and strategic question, not left to chance; targeted scholarships and bursaries used to broaden who the school reaches; the resulting effect on DMI and Commonwealth funding understood as a consequence of that mix, not pursued as the objective. |
| Unfilled seats | Capacity utilisation and the marginal revenue value of an additional student in an unfilled seat. | Unfilled seats quantified in revenue terms; the marginal contribution of an additional student understood; capacity-to-contribute settings optimised so filling seats is priced and pursued deliberately. |
Government funding (SRS, loadings)
- What we look at
- Whether funding is optimised and claimed accurately under the Schooling Resource Standard, including loadings.
- What excellence looks like
- All eligible loadings claimed accurately and in full; enrolment and census data reviewed and submitted completely and on time.
Fees and fee structure
- What we look at
- The level and structure of fees relative to comparable schools, capacity to pay, and the families the school is trying to attract.
- What excellence looks like
- Fees priced appropriately for the target family segment, tested against their willingness and ability to pay, and benchmarked annually against the schools you actually compete with for enrolments; a transparent schedule communicated early in the enrolment process; fee elasticity understood; a structured, defensible annual increase process.
Discounts and concessions
- What we look at
- Sibling discounts, staff concessions, scholarships, and hardship provisions, and whether they are costed and working.
- What excellence looks like
- Total cost quantified annually as a percentage of gross fee revenue; each concession tested against its strategic intent; scholarships evaluated for enrolment impact.
Ancillary and other revenue
- What we look at
- Non-fee income: facility hire, OSHC, international students, grants, and philanthropy.
- What excellence looks like
- Non-fee revenue actively managed and grown; facility hire priced and reviewed annually; international and philanthropic streams run with a dedicated plan.
Enrolment mix and DMI
- What we look at
- How enrolment mix and access to the school are considered, and what that means for the school's Direct Measure of Income (DMI).
- What excellence looks like
- Enrolment mix and access considered deliberately, as a community and strategic question, not left to chance; targeted scholarships and bursaries used to broaden who the school reaches; the resulting effect on DMI and Commonwealth funding understood as a consequence of that mix, not pursued as the objective.
Unfilled seats
- What we look at
- Capacity utilisation and the marginal revenue value of an additional student in an unfilled seat.
- What excellence looks like
- Unfilled seats quantified in revenue terms; the marginal contribution of an additional student understood; capacity-to-contribute settings optimised so filling seats is priced and pursued deliberately.
Cost structure (the financial view)
| Subdriver | What we look at | What excellence looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Staff cost ratio | Total staff cost as a share of revenue, the largest line, benchmarked. | Staff cost ratio benchmarked against comparable schools and understood by driver; movements explained and managed. |
| Class size sufficiency | Whether classes are of sufficient size to be economic (the financial view). | Class sizes benchmarked for economic sufficiency; sub-scale classes identified and costed; the financial case for consolidation clear. |
| Non-staff and facilities cost | Non-staff operating and facilities cost per student. | Costs benchmarked per student; procurement leverage used; planned (not reactive) maintenance and an energy plan; capital prioritised through a transparent, needs-based process. |
| Surplus position and resilience | Surplus per student and its resilience to enrolment or cost shocks. | Surplus per student known and benchmarked; sensitivity to enrolment and cost shifts modelled; a clear line of sight from financial decisions to the surplus that funds the mission. |
Staff cost ratio
- What we look at
- Total staff cost as a share of revenue, the largest line, benchmarked.
- What excellence looks like
- Staff cost ratio benchmarked against comparable schools and understood by driver; movements explained and managed.
Class size sufficiency
- What we look at
- Whether classes are of sufficient size to be economic (the financial view).
- What excellence looks like
- Class sizes benchmarked for economic sufficiency; sub-scale classes identified and costed; the financial case for consolidation clear.
Non-staff and facilities cost
- What we look at
- Non-staff operating and facilities cost per student.
- What excellence looks like
- Costs benchmarked per student; procurement leverage used; planned (not reactive) maintenance and an energy plan; capital prioritised through a transparent, needs-based process.
Surplus position and resilience
- What we look at
- Surplus per student and its resilience to enrolment or cost shocks.
- What excellence looks like
- Surplus per student known and benchmarked; sensitivity to enrolment and cost shifts modelled; a clear line of sight from financial decisions to the surplus that funds the mission.
Data used
A funding-and-surplus model covering more than 2,500 Australian non-government schools, calibrated against actual My School financial data. It benchmarks your position against schools matched on enrolment, ICSEA, location, level, and sector, rather than generic business averages.
Illustrative opportunities
What this looks like in practice
A fee-discount policy costing $180k a year with no evidence it influences enrolment decisions.
Restructured at the next fee cycle, surplus restored.
Unfilled seats carrying fixed cost with no plan to fill or price them.
A utilisation and capacity-to-contribute plan that turns spare capacity into recurrent income.
Facility hire and OSHC run without a pricing strategy.
A managed non-fee revenue plan.
How we help
The Review surfaces and sizes the findings on this need. Where one is worth acting on, the work is targeted strategies for the priority levers, fees, funding, enrolment, or cost structure, with an implementation plan your team can execute.
What we stay out of
This is the financial diagnosis and the money levers, not the operational redesign of how the school delivers to plan.