Fewer Victorian private schools will lose their longstanding payroll tax exemption than first thought, with the fee threshold to be increased. 
The 2023/24 state budget forecast about 110 non-government schools would lose the exemption from mid-2024, raising $422.2 million (US$280 million) for the state across the next four years.
Peak bodies for independent and religious schools have criticised the changes, saying lower-fee schools would be affected. 
But Premier Daniel Andrews said that would not be the case, with the threshold to be higher than the current fee mark of $7500 (US$4970) per year.
“I’m not in a position to confirm what it will finish up at, but it will go up,” Andrews told the budget estimates hearing on June 2….