By Eryk Bagshaw
NSW parents can expect to pay up $250,000 to cover the cost of a child's private education, a new survey has revealed.
The figure, which includes tuition fees from pre-school to year 12, comes as private school fees surged by up to 8 per cent in private Victorian and NSW high schools in the past two years, according to data from the Australian Scholarships Group, an education fund manager.
The research, which is due to be released on Tuesday, shows that a private school educated child who is born in NSW in 2016 can expect to pay more than $5000 in a year in pre-school fees, $13,000 annually in primary school fees and $23,000 a year in high school fees by the time they graduate in 2034.
Victoria was not much cheaper, with the cost of a high school private education in Melbourne rising by more than $2000 over the past two years to $22,568.
Private school fees continue to rise Credit: Louie Douvis
The survey took into account responses from 12,000 families across the country and accounted for predicted rises in the consumer price index over the next two decades.
ASG CEO John Velegrinis​ said the cost of education continued to rise at more than twice the rate of inflation over the past decade.
"We're very fortunate in Australia to have a variety of excellent government, systemic and private schools. If you have two or three children, the cost of a private education in Sydney could be higher than the purchase price of the family home," he said.
Forecasting statistician, Charlie Nelson, warned that in a low-wage growth economy, any fee jump hurts family incomes.
"A sudden increase in education costs would certainly be painful in the current low income growth environment," he said,
While private education costs continue to rise, low-cost systemic schools, such as those in the Catholic sector continue to offer the majority of private sector places.
Analysis from student placement website School Places shows that while 11 per cent of year 12 fees in NSW are above $25,000, 41 per cent of fees remain in the lower-cost private sector where fees are below $5000.
The majority of Victoria's year 12 school fees fell between the $5,000-$10,000 range, while 12 per cent of its school fees were above $25,000.