History of the NSW CBGA
Authority and Governance
In 1987 the Australian Government established the Capital Grant Program (CGP) for non-government schools to support capital infrastructure development replacing the Australian Schools Commission.

In 2008, the NSW Government announced the closure of the Interest Subsidy Scheme and establishment of the NSW Building Grants Assistance Scheme (BGAS). The first year of funding was in 2010/11.

To ensure efficiency in the process, the rules governing the grant process were harmonised so that one set of rules applies to both Australian and NSW Government grants. There are minor differences in certain aspects such as the recognition processes are slightly different.

Following the incorporation of Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) in 2017, the CBGA became a function of the newly established organisation, distinct from a separate legal entity. The NSW Bishops, as owners of the company, have reserved powers under the constitution of the CSNSW for the allocation of both recurrent and capital grant funding.

In 2018, CBGA Principles were agreed to by the Bishops for inclusion in CBGA Membership agreements that contain a range of conditions in addition to those contained in legislation and government guidelines. The CBGA Principles were updated following representations to the Bishops in 2019.

Catholic schools can apply in two application rounds in September and March each year.

Our responsibility is to support all NSW Catholic Schools to obtain equitable access to capital funding support, with support available to assist and advise all schools on future applications.

How it works
Both Australian and NSW Government grants are paid to the CBGA by NSW Treasury on the advice of the relevant Australian and NSW Government departments.

The CBGA will endeavour to ensure that payment claims from schools/diocesan authorities are paid as early as possible in the designated offer year. However, because the CBGA must maintain a cashflow in relation to its total commitments against funds available at a particular time, it may be necessary, at times, for some payments, for which claims are made early in the year, to be completed later in the year.

View process
Funding
The Australian Government provided all capital grant funding from 1987 to 2010. The total amounted to $474 million. Another $322 million was received from 2011 to 2021.

The NSW Government provided $84 million from 2010/2011 to 2017/2018. In the four years from 2018/19 to 2022/23 the NSW Government will have provided funding of approximately $300 million. This funding uplift was based on assisting the NSW Government to meet the provision of spaces for increasing student enrolments. The NSW Government funding over this period matches the funding received from the Australian Government in the ten years from 2011 to 2021.