From next year, all schools will be required to publicly disclose information about their fees, resources and results as a condition of billions of dollars in federal funding.

But in a series of submissions to a Senate inquiry, non-government schools have resisted the plans, warning disclosure could do more harm than good.

"We already provide exhaustive reports to receive appropriate funding and are concerned more detailed information may be counterproductive if misinterpreted by publicity or ? used for political purposes," Ballarat and Clarendon College principal David Shepherd wrote to the Senate committee.

The group president of the Australasian Association for Progressive and Alternative Education, Cecelia Bradley, said the Government's proposed changes could result in "constricted learning and fearful parents and communities".

Fitzroy Community School co-founder Philip O'Carroll said his school found "terrifying" the prospect that funding to a school could be cut if it failed to pass financial audits.

"If you had any idea what hostile inspections non-(government) schools are subject to, you would understand why we find this idea terrifying. There is no rule of law if you let this clause through. It will be ideological bullying."

The concerns come as the Federal Parliament debates the merit of the Schools Assistance Bill, which sets out the funding framework for non-government schools over the next four years.

Under the bill, non-government schools will be required to publish their fees, finances and how students compare against national standards as conditions of about $28 billion in funding. Education Minister Julia Gillard said the move would allow governments to direct funds to where they were needed most.

"Only by understanding the total amount of funds at the disposal of ? schools is it possible to understand the relationship between resourcing and educational outcomes," she said.

But independent schools argue they already provide the Government with enough information through annual financial questionnaires.

The new curriculum must also be adopted by all schools as a condition of future funding. However, many groups have raised concerns about signing up to a curriculum that will not be complete until 2011.

"We are being asked to sign off on a curriculum which has not yet been developed," wrote Rudolf Steiner Schools of Australia executive officer Rosemary Gentle, in a submission to the inquiry.

"The integrity of our curriculum, methodology and educational pathway ? could be under threat."

But Ms Gillard said the Government would allow for flexibility on the curriculum.