St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Narrabeen and St Rose Catholic Primary School in Collaroy are set to share a principal under a Catholic Schools Broken Bay leadership restructure affecting 14 primary schools across the Northern Beaches and North Shore. The two schools, which belong to The Lakes Catholic Parish, are one of seven pairs moving to a model in which a principal divides their time between two campuses.
St Joseph’s is currently led by Elizabeth Jones, who was appointed principal from Term 1 this year after serving in leadership roles at several Catholic Schools Broken Bay schools. St Rose lists Fiona Ngamu as its current principal.
CSBB has not publicly specified who will take the shared role for the Narrabeen-Collaroy pairing, when the arrangement will begin or how the principal’s time will be divided between the two schools. No public detail has been found setting out whether either campus will receive additional senior leadership positions as part of the change.
Two schools already linked through The Lakes parish
St Joseph’s and St Rose already operate within the same parish structure. The Lakes Catholic Parish encompasses St Joseph’s Church at Narrabeen and St Rose Church at Collaroy Plateau, while its school network includes both primary schools and Mater Maria Catholic College at Warriewood.
Both primary schools teach Kindergarten to Year 6. St Joseph’s is at 108 Ocean Street, Narrabeen, while St Rose is at 8 Rose Avenue, Collaroy Plateau. NSW registration records confirm St Joseph’s is a registered K–6 non-government school operated within the Diocese of Broken Bay.
The local pairing sits within a wider CSBB plan that also links Maria Regina Avalon with Sacred Heart Mona Vale, St John the Apostle Narraweena with St Kevin’s Dee Why, Our Lady of Good Counsel Forestville with St Martin’s Davidson, and St Mary’s Manly with St John the Baptist Freshwater. Schools at Asquith, Berowra, Carlingford and Epping are also included in the 14-school restructure.
Union takes consultation dispute to Fair Work Commission
The Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch lodged a dispute with the Fair Work Commission on 2 September after CSBB announced the shared-principal plan. The union alleges CSBB failed to meet consultation requirements applying to a major workplace change under relevant enterprise agreements.
Union officials have questioned how principals will manage responsibilities across two schools and whether staffing will be increased when each principal divides their time between campuses. The union has described the proposal as creating principals who are present at individual schools only part of the time.
CSBB disputes the union’s position and says it complied with its obligations under the enterprise agreement. The industrial dispute remains unresolved, with the competing positions centred on the consultation undertaken before the restructure was announced.
Funding changes cited in case for shared leadership
CSBB has linked its new leadership model to financial pressure on Catholic schools in northern Sydney and has said resources should be directed towards students rather than maintaining separate leadership structures where shared arrangements are considered viable.
Commonwealth funding for most non-government schools includes a Capacity to Contribute assessment. The Australian Government says a school’s score affects its base recurrent funding and is calculated using a Direct Measure of Income based on the median income of parents or guardians. The DMI replaced the former area-based socio-economic measure and has applied to all relevant schools since 2022.
CSBB has said changes to funding arrangements have reduced funding across the diocese by about $90 million a year, with Sydney’s north particularly affected. The figure is CSBB’s estimate; a detailed public calculation supporting the amount was not available in the material reviewed for this report.
Parents seek pause while questions remain
A parent-led petition covering the affected Northern Beaches and North Shore schools is calling for the shared-principal rollout to be paused until the Fair Work Commission dispute is resolved and further consultation occurs with families, staff and school communities.
Questions remain for families at St Joseph’s and St Rose about the identity of their future shared principal, the implementation date, how leadership responsibilities will be divided between Narrabeen and Collaroy and what senior staff will be available on each campus when the principal is elsewhere. CSBB has said the model is intended to strengthen collaboration and leadership capacity while maintaining the separate operation of individual school communities.
Published 8-Sept-2026
