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School fees

September

The cost of sending your child to a private school – in seven charts

Just one year of tuition at a top-range private school will set you back at least $40,000, but demand keeps growing.

  • Julie Hare
Students sit an exam at Sydney’s Northern Beaches Secondary College.

The suburbs where nearly every child goes to a private school

In some suburbs, parents don’t ask whether to go public or private; it’s more a question of which private school to send their kids to.

  • Julie Hare

January

Danielle Funston with daughters Audrey, 12, and Adelaide, 8.

Why high-fee private schools took the biggest price hit in 2024

School fees are rising faster than inflation, and the most expensive schools are charging the biggest increases.

  • Julie Hare
Fees make up only half of the cost of education costs in independent schools.

School fees paid? Then double your budget

Rising school fees are heaping stress on household budgets. And then there’s the extra cost of uniforms, sports gear, music lessons and camps.

  • Julie Hare

December 2023

Tam Orr with daughters Zara (centre) and Zoe.

Seven ways to cope with school fees set to rise by up to 18pc

Many parents are making big sacrifices to put their children through private schools. These strategies can ease the financial burden.

  • Duncan Hughes
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August 2023

Emma Sakellaris says families are looking for more ways to deal with climbing school fees.

Cut tax and educate your grandkids

Education bonds can be used to help pay for a wide range of things, including school fees, sports equipment and university accommodation.

  • Hannah Wootton

April 2023

Private schools that charge fees should not get government funding, says think tank.

Cut fee-charging private schools from taxpayer teat, says think tank

Parents should be able to exercise choice, but government shouldn’t pay for it if schools also charge fees.

  • Julie Hare

January 2023

“A lot of parents look at the school fees and think that’s achievable,” says Kate Hill from Futurity Investment Group.

School fees are rising – and that’s only half of it

Parents be warned: school fees make up only half the annual cost of sending a child to a private school.

  • Julie Hare
Geelong Grammar has long been Australia’s most expensive school with fees now over $46,000.

Australia’s top schools hike fees, but less than inflation

Many top private schools have moderated their fee increases for 2023, one critic says there’s still an arms race to provide “ever more ridiculous amenities”.

  • Julie Hare

December 2022

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Surging school fees cost more than a second house

Worried about how you’ll pay fees in 2023? Here are some strategies to help.

  • Duncan Hughes

July 2022

Production executive Mack Campbell and his daughter Ginger at St Catherine’s in Sydney

Parents set on private schools even as cost of living pressures bite

Private school enrolments usually reflect broader economic movements, but the pandemic experience has changed the ball game.

  • Samantha Hutchinson

June 2022

Schools can protect themselves from loss of fee income if families are hit my misadventure.

School fees should be part of insurance mix

Jonathan Marchant is helping schools cover the cost of lost fees when families’ finances are hit by unexpected events.

  • Julie Hare

February 2022

Toni Riordan, principal of St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School, with year 6 student Grace Humphrey and her mother Ros.

Children, grandparents heavily influence school choice

Choosing a school is complex and increasingly children and grandparents have a strong influence over the final decision.

  • Julie Hare
Protesters against Citipointe’s plan to exclude gay and trans students made their point clear.

The failure of Gonski is a failure for all students

Schools loomed large during the religious discrimination bill debates, but how schools operate, are resourced and who they serve all escaped scrutiny.

  • Chris Bonnor and Tom Greenwell

January 2022

For the first time in years, private school fee increases are below or line with inflation, says Jack Stevens

All-boys private schools hike fees faster than the rest

Private school fees for 2022 rose 2.6 per cent on the back of rising costs, but all-boys’ schools are more aggressive in their fee hikes.

  • Julie Hare
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Top school zone property prices outpace capital city growth

Parents are driving up prices by competing for homes close to top-performing government and private schools.

  • Duncan Hughes
AFR

Seven ways to keep up with soaring private school fees

As schools play catch up after the pandemic, and some lift fees by more than 5 per cent, here are tips on how to prepare for the rising costs of education.

  • Duncan Hughes

December 2021

Australia has among the highest rates of private school attendance in the developed world.

Buy now, pay later normalises high school fees: academic

A QUT academic has raised the alarm on financial solutions such as buy now, pay later encouraging families to take on debt to fund private school education.

  • Julie Hare

November 2021

Edstart co-founders Jack Stevens, left, and Jonas Hallerby.

Afterpay of school fees banks $10m to target parents

Edstart, a NAB-backed start-up that uses the buy now, pay-later model for private school fees, has closed a funding round as it looks to seal school deals.

  • Jessica Sier

January 2021

Pandemic reality check hits private school fees

For the first time in a decade, some private schools are not raising fees. It only took a global virus.

  • Robert Bolton

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/school-fees-1mtn