The federal government is offering to bring forward more than $3.3 billion in promised funding to non-government schools if they can commit to having at least half of their students back in the classroom by the end of May.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said the offer came in response to requests from independent and catholic schools, who were seeking relief from cashflow pressure brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government has dangled the financial carrot in front of the schools as it continues to lobby for a quick transition back to classroom teaching.

Mr Tehan wrote to the Independent Schools Council of Australia and National Catholic Education Commission on Tuesday, to invite schools to apply for an early payment of a quarter of their annual funding, which was due to them in July.

Schools are required to hit certain targets to access the funding.

If they commit to having their physical campus open for Term 2 for those students who can't learn from home, they can get 12.5 per cent of their annual funding on May 21.

They must also have a plan to fully reopen classrooms at the start of June.

They would receive another 12.5 per cent if at least half of their students were back in regular classroom-based learning from June 1. That amount would be paid on June 9.

ACT Catholic Education director Ross Fox said it would evaluate the offer in the coming days. Schools have until Friday to opt into the scheme.

But Mr Fox, speaking on ABC radio on Wednesday morning, said the offer was "really not relevant" to the Catholic sector because it was not experiencing cashflow problems.

He said the decision on a return to normal classroom teaching would be guided by the ACT government's advice and what was in the best interests of students, staff and parents.

Catholic school students are learning remotely at the start of Term 2. All Catholic schools remain open to students who need to attend. This is a point of difference from the public school system, where all but nine "hub" schools have been closed.

"The principles that will guide us are: will it help parents, will it help our students and will it help our staff," he said.

"It is very clear that if it is safe to do so [return to classrooms], and the ACT government's advice is consistent, then it is everyone's best interest that schools return to face-to-face learning as soon as practical in a safe environment," Mr Fox said.

Mr Fox said while the sector wasn't experiencing cashflow problems, there were families who were struggling financially as a result of the economic downturn. He said in those cases, funds from the sector's cash reserves would be used to waive student fees on a term-by-term basis until the families were "back on their feet".

Mr Fox told The Canberra Times that the sector would do all it could to protect the budgets of individual schools.

But he said that if far more families than anticipated came forward needing fee help then it would have to look at "other measures".

"At the moment, we are hopeful that won't be required," he said.

Association of Independent Schools of the ACT executive director Andrew Wrigley said while measures to ease financial pressures on schools would be welcomed, they shouldn't be used to incentivise an early return to classroom learning.

Mr Wrigley said private schools were already actively planning their transition back to face-to-face teacher in consultation with their communities.

"Why are independent schools being painted as resistors to schools returning to somewhere close to normal?" he said.

Mr Wrigley said each of the ACT's 19 private schools were in different financial positions. He wasn't sure how many, if any, would apply to access the scheme.

But he was certain that no school would "abrogate their responsibility to staff and students" and rush to resume classroom learning just so they could receive the payment.

with AAP