What Victorian families will have to spend to send a child to school in 2024

There has been a huge jump in the cost of school supplies and uniforms, new research has found. Here’s what Victorian families are expected to fork out.

Victorian parents are expected to fork out close to $1300 per child this year on back to school costs. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Victorian parents are bracing for a back-to-school budget blowout, with the average family expecting to fork out almost $1300 per child this year.

Figures from Officeworks reveal that parents are expecting the cost of buying school supplies and uniforms to increase by $341 – or 36 per cent – compared to research in YouGov’s Annual Back to School Research Report that pegged spending in 2023 at $944.

Parents in Victoria will spend on average $1285 on school supplies – the second-most expensive kit in the country, just behind South Australia on $1332, and above the national average of $1182.

Unsurprisingly, electronics are biggest cost with parents expected to spend $482.

Riley Newport, 12 and Amelie Newport, 9, getting ready to go back to school. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Victorians will be forced to cough up the most across the country for uniforms and textbooks, with an average price of $260 and $173 respectively.

Stationery will set back families about $136 per child.

The research, based on 1003 parents, found families need to replace most supplies twice during the school year.

More than 80 per cent said they were concerned about the rising costs, particularly of technology.

On top of supplies, tuition for primary school pupils costs a whopping $7922 on average for independent schools, $1773 for Catholic schools, and $353 for government schools, new data from Finder shows.

Victorians will be forced to cough up the most across the country for uniforms and textbooks. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Fees for Victorian secondary schools cost on average $9222 for independent schools, $6780 for Catholic schools and $729 for government schools.

Hidden expenses include transport to and from school, costing $530 for primary pupils and $632 for secondary students, and camps, coming in at $323 and $458 respectively.

The research found tuition fees and voluntary school contributions were 39 per cent higher in cities compared with regional areas.

Head of consumer research at Finder Graham Cooke said the cost of paying for school supplies would cause “significant stress” for some families.

“It’s become increasingly challenging for parents to provide their children with all the supplies they need for the school year,” he said.

Mr Cooke recommended parents reuse whatever they could from previous years.

“Your kids don’t always need brand new things, and there are plenty of items like hats, stationery and school bags that should outlast the school year,” he said.

“Where you can, source second-hand items such as uniforms and textbooks – this can save you hundreds of dollars.”

Officeworks general manager of merchandise Jim Berndelis said the cost was “top of mind” for parents, particularly those with multiple children.

He said Black Friday and Cyber Monday had become increasingly popular for customers to get a headstart on their shopping, with parents expected to spend on average two hours per child preparing for the new school year.

“That’s a significant investment, particularly for families with multiple children, so it’s no surprise that families are looking for ways to save time, money and stress,” he said.

Melbourne mother of two Michelle Newport said she had noticed a “huge” increase in school supplies spending.

“My nine-year-old Amelie is heading into year 4 this year, and my eldest Riley, who is 12, is starting secondary school which has been a large increase in costs,” she said. However, the biggest cost was her son’s computer.

“He’s at a public secondary school, and we still had to purchase a school computer, a Chromebook, directly from the school,” she said.

“There’s an endless stream of things to pay for. I added up the costs, for things like books, uniform, a computer, all second hand, it’s minimum $1500. Whereas first hand is nearly double that. That’s without mentioning extra things like sports, excursions, incursions.”

Officeworks run programs School List Service, Bring Your Own Device purchasing assistance and Price Beat Guarantee to help parents shop around.