Parents and the Australian and Northern Territory Governments share the financial responsibility for educating children in Independent Schools in the Northern Territory.

Capacity to Contribute and Direct Measure of Income

The Capacity to Contribute (CTC) assessment is a score which is a measure of a non-government school community’s capacity to contribute to the ongoing costs of running the school. A school’s CTC percentage affects the amount of base recurrent funding the school attracts from the Commonwealth Government under the Australian Education Act 2013 (the Act).


In 2020 the Australian Government introduced a new method of calculating the schools CTC score based on the Direct Measure of Income (DMI) of the parents and guardians of students within Independent Schools.


DMI identifies the median income of parents and guardians within a schooling community using data collected through the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP) which collects information around health, education, government payments, income and taxation, employment and population demographics. 


The median income of the schooling community is then converted to an annual DMI score which is then used to create the CTC score of the school. The CTC score is then discounted from the base amount of funding schools can receive from the Australian Government.


The DMI does not apply to Special, Special Assistance or Majority Indigenous Schools which are funded at the maximum Commonwealth funding rate.


Fact Sheets

The Department of Education has prepared a range of fact sheets for schools explaining the new DMI.



Independent Schools Australia (ISA) has also prepared a fact sheet on Direct Measure of Income Methodology.



Choice and Affordability Fund


The Choice and Affordability (CAF) fund was developed to support the non-government school sector, to help provide a flexible means for driving government priorities. AISNT will administer funding in line with agreed priorities for the fund. This fund commenced in 2020, and will be provided to the non-government sector over the next 10 years until 2029.


This fund will supplement Commonwealth recurrent funding, to help drive government priorities. This includes;


  • Supporting parental choice and affordability of schools.
  • Assisting schools during the transition to the new Direct Measure of Income (DMI) for determining a non-government schools capacity to contribute.
  • Assisting schools in regional and remote areas; and schools in drought affected areas.
  • Enhancing student wellbeing and support initiatives.
  • Lifting outcomes in underperforming schools.


Further Information:



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