Victoria vs. NSW: Which state has the richest school parents?

Parents at Victoria’s poshest schools boast median incomes of more than $340,000 – but it’s a long way off the income of NSW’s richest parents. See how the rival states stack up.

Parents at Mount Scopus Memorial College have a median family income of $344,000. Picture: Carly Douglas

NSW has soundly beaten Victoria in the race for Australia’s poshest school parents, with Victoria only claiming one school in the top 20 compared to 16 in NSW.

A list of the median family incomes of every Australian private school shows the top richest Sydney school, SCEGGS in Darlinghurst, has parents which earn $495,000 a year.

This is $151,000 more than Victoria’s poshest school, Mount Scopus Memorial College in Burwood, which has a median family income of $344,000.

Notable alumni include late music industry titan Michael Gudinski, North Melbourne footballer Harry Sheezel, and former Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass.

Overall, there are only 25 schools in Victoria where families earn more than $277,000 while NSW has double the amount of schools where parents earn a salary above that figure.

Victoria’s second poshest schools are Christ Church Grammar, an Anglican primary school, and boys’ school Melbourne Grammar, which both have parents with a median family income of $336,000.

Third is Loreto Mandeville Hall, a Catholic girls’ school ($332,000) which is number 28 on the top 100 list of poshest schools nationwide.

Notable alumnae include Supreme Court judge Elizabeth Curtain, best-selling author Sally Hepworth, and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil.

Victorian Catholic schools in the top 100 across the country include primary school St Joseph’s in Hawthorn which is number 43 ($311,000), St Kevin’s College at number 50 ($305,000) and Xavier College at number 57 ($299,000).

Loreto Mandeville Hall is Victoria’s third poshest school, based on median family income. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Poshest Victorian Anglican schools include Melbourne Girls’ Grammar at number 33 ($325,000) and Trinity Grammar at number 90 ($277,000).

Elite boys’ school Scotch College ranked 32 nationally, with a median family income of $326,000.

Trinity Grammar School has a median family income of 277,000. Picture: Mark Stewart

Deakin University senior research fellow Emma Rowe said while most schools market themselves as accessible for everyone, the reality is “you can only go to certain schools if you have enough money to pay for those schools”.

“It’s a real problem because we’re seeing a lot of segregation in our schools.”

Analysis of more than 2500 private schools nationally shows there are more than 1000 private schools with parents with median family incomes of less than $100,000.

The lowest is St Joseph’s School in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood which has a median family income of $30,000.

Analysis from the Save Our Schools state school lobby group shows the wealthiest private schools also benefit from billions of dollars in taxpayer funding, with many continuing to be overfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The bias towards the funding of private schools and the underfunding of public schools is a major factor behind the large achievement gaps between rich and poor in Australia,” national convener Trevor Cobbold said.

Dr Rowe said much of the private school funding was very wasteful.

“Some schools are ordering limestone blocks from Scotland for their library or they’re getting pools with movable floors. You don’t need these things.

She said Australian taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for private school funding when parents who earn a higher income choose to pay hefty tuition fees.

“The public taxpayer shouldn’t be subsidising that choice,” she said.

Graham Catt, CEO of Independent Schools Australia, said non-government schools are “an integral part of Australia’s education system and educate more than a third of Australia’s four million students.”

“Most families with children enrolled in Independent schools are middle-to-low-income earners, increasingly from multicultural backgrounds. Many of these families are currently facing economic stress and are making substantial sacrifices for their children’s education,” he said.

“The majority of Independent schools are small to medium sized and charge fees below $6,000.”