Enrolments

Will I receive a discount if I settle my fees early in the year?

• A discount of 5% is available if the full annual tuition fee is paid on or before 28 February of each year.
• Please note that the discount is combined with the sibling discount and applies to the basic tuition costs only. It does not apply to the school development fund or curricular activities such as music tuition, excursions, books, or consumables separately charged by schools during the year.
• The full annual fee minus a 5% discount on tuition fees must be received by SCEA on or before the 28th of February for that school year to qualify for the discount.
• The discount will be added to your statement after 28 February.

How do I claim a pension discount?

• A 15% concession discount on tuition fees may be available if the parent and/or legal guardian hold a current pension card. 
• The first statement that you will receive will reflect the basic tuition costs for students for the year. No discounts will be reflected on this statement.
• Pension cards need to be sighted at the SCEA office at the start of each school year in order to qualify for the pension discount.
• Alternatively, please scan a copy of the card and email it to fees@scea.wa.edu.au. 
• If you are eligible for a discount, we will process the discount to your account and it will reflect on all subsequent statements that you receive that year.

What if my child commences during the school term?

• Where a new student commences part way through any term, a pro-rata tuition fee will be calculated. The full School Development Fund applies to children commencing at any time of the year. 

What payment options are available?

Direct Debit is the preferred payment option. Payments can be made weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly using the Bank Direct Debit authority system on your cheque, savings or credit card account. Authority forms for this method are available from your school, the SCEA office, and below.  

Alternatively, payments may be made by the following methods at your local school, or at the SCEA office located at 1 Padbury Terrace, Midland. 

• Online Banking: Bank – ANZ BSB – 016 359 Account number – 427966947. Please use your Account number (located on the top right-hand side of the statement) and your surname as a reference.
• Mail: Please make all cheques payable to Swan Christian Education Association and mail to PO Box 254, Midland WA 6936.
• Telephone payments: To pay your account by phone, please call (08) 9374 5405 or (08) 9274 6411. Please have your credit card details ready.

When do I pay?

How does the Direct Debit cycle work?

• The Direct Debits cycle runs from the first of February to the end of November, with quarterly, weekly, fortnightly or monthly options available.
• If you wish to cancel your direct debit arrangement, please notify us by email to fees@scea.wa.edu.au
• Direct Debits will be adjusted each year to reflect changes in fees or changes in the number of students attending per family. 
• Direct debits may need to be adjusted midyear, to ensure that additional costs incurred during the course of the year, are paid for before the end of the school year.
• The initial direct debit calculation at the start of each year does not include any additional fees, such as extra-curricular activities, that may be incurred during the year.
• You will be notified of any changes and you have the right to cancel the direct debit arrangement at any time, provided you give us 10 business days’ notice of the cancellation in writing.

How do I calculate the amount of my direct debit?

• A letter will be sent to you to advise you of the direct debit amount before the end of January each year.
• Please remember to advise us of any changes in writing.

Direct debit calculations can be made as follows: take the total annual amount of your tuition fees and

• if paying weekly divide the total by 44
• if paying fortnightly divide the total by 22
• if paying monthly divide the total by 10
• In 2017, quarterly deductions are made on 15/2/2018, 5/5/2018, 31/7/2018, and 16/10/2018.

What if I want to cancel a Direct Debit?

• Direct Debit arrangements can be cancelled by notifying us in writing with at least 10 business days’ notice.

Where can I get a Direct Debit Authority form? 

• To download a form, click here.

What about additional charges during the year?

• SCEA aims to have a simple fee structure, however, some curricular activities, excursions, books and consumables may be charged separately.
• If your child incurs costs for non-compulsory activities (such as private music lessons or overseas tours) these fees can be added to your direct debit deduction, or you can choose to pay these additional fees separately by cash, cheque, credit card or via EFT into our bank account.
• We usually review the number of direct debit deductions in June and will contact you if the amount needs to increase due to additional fees.
• You will receive statements that will bring any additional fees to your attention and these statements will inform you of any changes and increases to total school fees.
• Additional charges are not subject to discounts.

What if my payment is late?

When are statements distributed to families?

• Official statements are sent out in January each year.
• Payments may be made before this time to make use of the Early Settlement discount. Please refer to your school’s Fee Schedule document for or the question on the Upfront Annual Payment Discount above for more information.

What will appear on my statement?

• Statements are computer generated and mailed out to all families within our organisation.
• The number of statements processed makes it impossible to view statements individually before the mail-out is processed.
• The first statement that you will receive reflects the basic tuition costs incurred for your family for the year.
• Payments made prior to the distribution of annual statements may not be shown on this statement. However, payments will be recorded as soon as possible. SCEA aims to have a simple and inclusive fee structure, however, some curricular activities, excursions, books and consumables may be charged separately by schools during the year. As the costs are not yet finalised, they are not included in the initial direct debit agreement.
• The sibling discount will be shown as a separate item on your statement.
• Each term will be billed separately. 
• Statements dated 31st December will show the full year’s fees.
• Statements printed during the year will only show fees incurred up to issue date of the statement.

Why is my payment not reflected on the statement?

• Payments made in the three weeks preceding the issuing of statements, either at the school or at the SCEA office, will usually not be shown on the first statement. Payments will be updated in our records by the following month.

My family has multiple students in SCEA Schools. Do I receive a discount on the School Development Fund contribution? 

• Yes. Families with multiple students currently within SCEA schools will receive the same significant discount on School Development Fund contributions as are available on tuition fees.
• Discounts for the per-student contribution of second, third and subsequent children are as published on the fee schedules.

Is the compulsory School Development Fund contribution tax deductible?

• No. As a compulsory payment, the School Development Fund contribution is not tax deductible. However, tax-deductible voluntary contributions to a particular school’s building fund are welcomed and can be made by contacting the relevant school office. 

What if my child joins during the school year? 

• Children commencing at any time during a school year shall make the full annual contribution for that year. 

How can I contact SCEA?

• Email communication is desirable for fast, efficient service during busy periods. 
• Please email us at fees@scea.wa.edu.au. 
• Phone: (08) 9274 6411 Fax (08) 9274 6899
• Kindly note that delays are often experienced in December and at the beginning of each year due to a high volume of calls received during this time. We will do our best to resolve your enquiry as soon as possible.

What are your office hours?

• Normal office hours for account enquiries are 8:30 to 3:30 daily, from Monday to Friday.

What notice of withdrawal should I give?

• One school term’s notice in writing must be given to the Principal before the withdrawal of a student from the School. For example, if a student will not be continuing from Term 1 the following year, notice must be given to the school by the first day of Term 4 in the present year.
• Failure to give such notice will render parents or guardians liable for one term’s fees in lieu of notice. Verbal notice is not accepted.