Attendance Dues Communication, Guidelines, and Forms

Attendance Dues Guidelines

• Form A1 – Attendance Dues Overview 2024 for all primary schools and Bishop’s Colleges – St Peter’s College Palmerston North, Sacred Heart College Napier, Cullinane College Whanganui and St John’s College Hastings.
• Form A2 – Attendance Dues Overview 2024 for all other Colleges – Francis Douglas Memorial College New Plymouth, Sacred Heart New Plymouth, Hato Pāora Feilding, St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College Taradale.
• Form B – Attendance Dues Agreement
• Form C – Invoice Payment Information
• Form D – Reminder Notice Information
• Form E – Attendance Dues Assistance

2024 Credit and Debit Card Payment form for all primary schools and Bishop’s Colleges – St Peter’s College Palmerston North, Sacred Heart College Napier, Cullinane College Whanganui and St John’s College Hastings.

2024 Credit and Debit Card Payment form for all other Colleges – Francis Douglas Memorial College New Plymouth, Sacred Heart New Plymouth, Hato Pāora Feilding, St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College Taradale.

Automatic Payment Form

Who can I contact to discuss Attendance Dues?

Contact for all enquiries: 06 350 3825 or 0800 200 208; [email protected].

What are Attendance Dues?

Attendance dues are a charge made by the proprietors (owners) of Catholic schools as a condition of enrolment and attendance of students at the schools in our Diocese. Parents or other persons accepting responsibility for the education of your child/children, having signed attendance dues agreement forms, have a legal obligation to pay attendance dues. Attendance dues are not donations (and therefore, are not tax deductible). Also, they should not be confused with school and activity fees which are charged by the Boards of Trustees of many schools and are payable to the school itself.

Attendance Dues in the Education and Training Act (2020)

Who are the proprietors?

“Proprietors” are those who have primary responsibility for determining and maintaining the special character of integrated schools and who own (or hold in trust or lease) the land and buildings that constitute school premises. There are five proprietors in the Diocese of Palmerston North. The Bishop of Palmerston North is the proprietor of all 28 primary schools in the Diocese and the following secondary schools:

• Cullinane College, Whanganui;
• St John’s College, Hastings;
• Sacred Heart College, Napier; and
• St Peter’s College, Palmerston North.

Four proprietors own Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Palmerston North:

• Trust Board of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in New Zealand (Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth);
• Mission College New Plymouth Trust Board (Sacred Heart College, New Plymouth);
• St Joseph’s Maori Girls College Trust Board (St Joseph’s Maori Girls College, Napier);
• Hato Paora Trust Board (Hato Paora College, Feilding).

What are Attendance Dues used for?

Our proprietors – the Bishop, some Religious Orders, and some Trust Boards – work collaboratively with other Dioceses of New Zealand to ensure we get the best possible loans to fund our new school building work. The bulk of your Attendance Dues services and pays off these loans for new or upgraded buildings. The balance of your Attendance Dues is used to pay insurance, and to cover collection costs and some building-related costs. Projects go to tender and we have developed great relationships with various architects and builders etc

When do we pay Attendance Dues?

The Attendance Dues team, on behalf of the proprietor of your school, will send you an attendance dues invoice in March each year. The invoice will show the full amount of attendance dues payable by you including attendance dues owing from the previous year (if any).