‘It’s a stressful time’: One in two families face back to school cost fears

Almost 50 per cent of Australian parents worry about being able to afford uniforms for their children ahead of the 2024 school year, a report has found.

The start of the school year is a tough time for single father of three Tristan Wesker.

His three boys, Logan, 13, Leon, 12 and Wade, 10, all attend Mark Oliphant College in Munno Para and routinely require new uniforms for school despite their stay-at-home dad having a thin budget.

“It’s a stressful time to get the uniform sorted especially with Leon going into high school this year,” Mr Wesker, 40, from Elizabeth Downs said.

“They have a different coloured shirt for high school so I have to get him (Leon) all completely new uniforms and with him I’ll probably need three so it’ll be $90 to $100.”

Logan, Leon and Wade Wesker have been helped by the Smith Family back to School appeal to get new school tops and school supplies. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Mr Wesker, who is also a full-time student at UniSA, said he was barely scraping by with costs of his children returning to school and as a result has had to make sacrifices.

“I have a mindset where I’ve got no choice (to get their new uniforms),” he said.

“I’ll get that (uniform) but the thing is I won’t be able to do anything with them for the holidays.”

However, Mr Wesker is not alone as a new survey has found that nearly half of Australian families reported worrying about being able to afford uniforms or shoes for school.

The Smith Family’s annual national survey of more than 2200 families supported by the charity found that almost 45.6 per cent of respondents think their children will miss out on uniforms or shoes for school.

The situation has worsened from 2023, when that figure was at about 30 per cent.

And nearly 90 per cent of respondents said they were worried about being able to afford all their children’s back to school needs.

The Smith Family chief executive Doug Taylor said these concerns are the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“The families we support make impossible decisions every day about how to prioritise the limited resources they have,” Mr Taylor said.

“Educational essentials like uniforms, books, a laptop and the internet are increasingly hard to afford.”

Tristian Wesker with his boys Logan, Leon and Wade have been helped by the Smith Family back to School appeal. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Mr Wesker, who is sponsored by The Smith Family to help with his children’s back-to-school needs, is in his final year of an early childhood education degree and he hopes to secure a job in 2025 to make fees more affordable.

He said it was “not easy” having to rely on a school card which allows him to pay discounted fees.

But he has been “upfront and honest” with his children about their financial situation.

“I just tell them we don’t have any money … that’s why I’m going to university to better myself so I can afford these things in the future,” Mr Wesker said.

“It will hopefully plant the seed in their mind so they go ‘okay, if we want stuff higher learning is a thing (to do)’.”

Mr Wesker said that with the high cost of living, schools should be “more lenient” with uniforms.

“Until things get a bit better, they shouldn’t be so strict,” he said.

“I don’t think having the exact shirts should be compulsory and as long as they’re wearing a red shirt, it shouldn’t have to have the school logo on it.”

Originally published as ‘It’s a stressful time’: One in two families face back to school cost fears