{"id":462740,"date":"2026-02-06T18:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/462740\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:12:13","slug":"kew-girls-school-genazzano-fcj-college-puts-prime-real-estate-on-the-market-to-pay-down-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/462740\/","title":{"rendered":"Kew girls school Genazzano FCJ College puts prime real estate on the market to pay down debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 6, 2026 \u2014 7:59pm<\/p>\n

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One of Melbourne\u2019s oldest Catholic girls\u2019 schools is selling prime real estate in Kew in a bid to pay down its debt after more than a decade of sliding enrolments.<\/p>\n

Genazzano FCJ College \u2013 where year 12 fees this year are $39,629 \u2013 has operated in the red for nine of the 12 years between 2013 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe vacant land at 12 Moonbria Avenue, which is behind Genazzano FCJ College.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

Its 2024 annual report, the most recent insight into the school\u2019s finances, outlines the strain the 137-year-old school is under, noting that to remain viable, the college must sell a neighbouring property to repay part of a multimillion-dollar debt.<\/p>\n

If the college is unable to sell the land, \u201cthere is a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on whether or not the college will be able to continue as a going concern,\u201d auditors write in the report. A going concern is an accounting term used to clarify that an organisation can meet its financial obligations.<\/p>\n

The property, a 628-square metre block adjoining the school at 12 Moonbria Avenue, was subdivided from the main school property in January and is now on the market with a price range of $2.1 million to $2.3 million. The land previously had a home on it, which was demolished in 2019. <\/p>\n

No mention of the plan to sell the property was made in the 2024 annual report to parents, however, the school\u2019s financial burdens were referenced.<\/p>\n

\"GenazzanoGenazzano FCJ College in Kew.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many independent schools, Genazzano has faced financial pressures driven by demographic shifts, rising operational costs and increased competition,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The annual report, which was recently uploaded to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission website, and reveals the college is being financially propped up by a $6.5 million loan from the Catholic Development Fund, which requires only interest payments and expires in September 2034.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Victorian<\/a><\/p>\n

The school has a further overdraft arrangement of $2 million to cover potential short-term cash shortfalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe directors intend to realise a parcel of land, whereby the proceeds will be used to pay down long-term debt with the CDF,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

The report also highlighted that the school had eked out a $62,569 surplus in 2024, and had $9,729,344 in fees to be utilised in school operations.<\/p>\n

In a statement to The Age, a spokeswoman for the college said a \u201crecent handover of the former convent from the FCJ Sisters has rendered the Moonbria block surplus to requirements\u201d. The sale of the Moonbria Avenue land, she said, \u201cwill resolve the going-concern issue\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the FCJ Sisters vacated the convent and transferred the site to the college. The school has repurposed the former convent \u2013 on school grounds at the corner of Moonbria Avenue and Mont Victor Road \u2013 to house its archives and second-hand uniform shop.<\/p>\n

\" Genazzano FCJ College in Kew.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

\u201cThe college remains financially sound,\u201d the spokeswoman said, adding that the school had not cut or reduced programs and \u201cmaintained its commitment to delivering broad and high-quality educational and co-curricular programs\u201d.<\/p>\n

Enrolments at the school have been declining each year since 2014 when 1095 students attended, to only 680 last year, MySchool data shows.<\/p>\n

The college spokeswoman said the shrinking enrolments were due to cost-of-living pressures, changing demographics, and payroll tax changes which had made \u201cthe privilege of a private education out of reach for some\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current environment is particularly challenging for independent schools such as ours,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Catholic Development Fund referred The Age\u2019s questions to Genazzano, noting the school was governed by its college council.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"BridieBridie Smith<\/a> is an education reporter at The Age. A former desk editor, she has also reported on science and consumer affairs.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"JacksonJackson Graham<\/a> is an education reporter at The Age. He was previously an explainer reporter.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February 6, 2026 \u2014 7:59pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-462740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}