At 9am on a weekday morning in the affluent Perth suburbs of Peppermint Grove, Cottesloe, Nedlands and Mosman Park, a snaking line of Porsche Macans, Mercedes S500s, BMWs, Audis, top-end Teslas and the occasional Toyota Camry weaves around local schools as parents drop their charges off for the day.

Presbyterian Ladies College, Christ Church Grammar School, Scotch College and Methodist Ladies’ College are the big-brand, high-end schools where parents are happy to fork out more than $32,000 a year for fees – before the added extras such as uniforms, textbooks, technology, excursions and administration fees.