‘Double whammy’ for parents as schools raise fees for 2023

Parents sending a child to Geelong Grammar School from prep to year 12 will end up paying at least $500,000 in tuition alone. See how your school compares.

Parents will be forking out more than half a million dollars to send their child to Victoria’s most expensive school as private school fees jump for the 2023 school year.

It would cost at least $515,000 in tuition alone for a student to attend Geelong Grammar School’s Toorak and Corio campuses from prep to year 12 from next year – about $100,000 more than the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne’s CBD.

Tuition now totals more than $479,000 for a student to complete their entire education at Lauriston Girls’ School in Armadale, with fees reaching for students between years 10 and 12.

It would have cost parents $421,000 to send their child there from prep to year 12 based on 2022 prices.

It comes as fee hikes at private schools for 2023 can be revealed, with tuition costs at Catholic and independent schools jumping by hundreds of dollars in what education specialists have labelled a “double whammy” for parents already battling soaring inflation costs.

Tuition for a student to attend Geelong Grammar School from prep to year 12 will cost $502,000.

Parents can expect fees to increase by up to six per cent across low-cost Catholic schools and some of the state’s most exclusive private schools.

Most schools have raised their fees by at least $200 for year 12 students.

It will cost parents $8477 to send a senior student to Chairo Christian School’s Drouin and Drouin East campuses next year, a spike of $425 compared to 2022.

Fees at Catholic Ladies’ College in Eltham will rise from $10,609 to $11,034.

Salesian College in Chadstone will increase fees from $7,960 to $8,300 for its year 11 and 12 students.

Mulgrave’s Mazenod College will raise fees from $7,310 to $8,320.

Catholic Ladies’ College in Eltham is increasing fees from $10,609 to $11,034.

Tuition for a year 12 student at Kilbreda College in Mentone will increase from $7,245 to $7,535.

Kate Hill, group executive of Futurity, an investment firm that provides education-related financial advice to families, said schools were passing costs onto families after stalling fee increases and offering financial aid during the pandemic.

“The main driver really is inflation. The cost of education is on the rise particularly in Melbourne, where they’ve (schools) held back on fee increases over the last couple of years,” she said.

“Even a small percentage increase for parents who are sending their child to an independent school could mean hundreds of extra dollars that they’re trying to find each term.”

Elite independent schools such as Loreto in Toorak have hiked their fees, with tuition at the Catholic girls school rising from $29,600 to $31,350.

Fees at Loreto in Toorak will rise from $29,600 to $31,350 in 2023. Picture: David Crosling

Firbank Grammar will charge parents $35,056 for a year 12 student in 2023, an increase of 4.5 per cent on this year’s $33,546 fee.

Fees at Geelong College also rose by 4.5 per cent, and by 4.75 per cent at Wesley College.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) acting executive director Edward Simons said schools individually set fee costs for the school community but would try to remain as accessible to every family wanting to send their child to a Catholic school.

“We don’t want to see any child miss out on a Catholic education because of financial circumstances,” Dr Simons said.