By Noel Towell
Record numbers of Victorian families are seeking help with the soaring cost of sending their children back to school this year.
As the state’s 1600 government schools prepare to reopen on January 29, not-for-profit agency State Schools’ Relief says it has never been busier, as financial pressures and the rising cost of living push back-to-school costs beyond the reach of many families.
Charlotte Alilech is struggling to meet the cost of sending her children (from left) Yasin, 17, Sanaa, 10, and Salma, 12, back to school this year.Credit: Wayne Taylor
The not-for-profit group says requests for help from families in November and December were up 40 per cent on the same period the previous year, and that demand had not even begun to peak for this year’s school intake.
It is part of a broader long-term trend. State Schools’ Relief received 56,000 applications for help with school uniforms, shoes and even socks and underwear in 2018. In 2024, the figure had risen by nearly 70 per cent to more than 94,000.
Other relief agencies, charities and the public school teachers’ union have spoken out this year about the ballooning cost of education basics. Comparison website Finder says a fresh set of school supplies – textbooks, stationery and uniforms – will cost $694 on average this year for a primary school child and $1149 for a secondary student.
State Schools’ Relief acting chief executive Anshika Spooner said the agency was busier than it had ever been, even before the peak demand period – the start of term 1 – had begun.
“This financial year, 2025, we’ve seen about 40 per cent growth in applications in general, with November and December probably the busiest we’ve ever had,” she said.
“We’ve definitely seen a sharp increase in terms of financial disadvantage, and I think a lot of families who might have just gotten by previously, with the current cost-of-living pressures, are struggling.”
Spooner said a greater awareness of her service – which is accessed through schools and increasingly promoted by teachers and support staff – was also driving demand.
The state government’s school saving bonus, granting parents $400 per child to spend on school supplies, is designed to ease pressure on families. Education Minister Ben Carroll said on Thursday that about $20 million had already been spent under the scheme.
State Schools’ Relief acting chief executive Anshika Spooner says the not-for-profit school uniform provider is experiencing record demand.Credit: Penny Stephens
Spooner said the schools bonus policy had had a noticeable effect.
“After the launch of the school savings bonus [last year], we saw a sharp increase in applications from secondary school students,” she said.
“Families who are struggling financially can get their uniform, shoes and basics through us, then use their savings bonus for textbooks, because those secondary school textbooks cost a small fortune.”
Carroll said further relief to education costs pressure – in the shape of a policy shift on uniform guidelines – would be announced within weeks.
The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program helps support about 15,000 Victorian schoolchildren through their education, and the charity’s chief executive, Doug Taylor, said on Thursday there was much demand for the thousands of additional places it hoped to fund through its back-to-school appeal.
He said the requirement for laptop computers and other electronic devices had heaped further pressure on struggling families at back-to-school time.
“That’s one of the new expenditure items. It wasn’t there when I was going to school, and that really stretches families,” Taylor said.
“Schools will have in-school programs where kids can borrow a laptop at school, which is great.
“The issue is more about what happens at home, and not just for doing homework, but building digital skills, which they’ll need for the workforce.”
Charlotte Alilech is one of many parents confronted by the need for a laptop as she prepares to send her two youngest, Sanaa, 10, and Salma, 12, to primary and high school respectively at the end of the month.
After paying for uniforms and textbooks – $500 for Salma’s books – the mother of five from Roxburgh Park said she could not afford electronic devices.
“I didn’t have any money to buy one, so I’m trying to find places where they are happy to donate me a laptop,” she said.
“I can save up, but by the time school starts, my high school daughter needs a laptop.”
The Victorian Council of Social Services is also worried about back-to-school costs. The peak body’s chief executive, Juanita Pope, said on Thursday that laptops and devices had emerged as a particular concern.
“It’s one of those items which is not discretionary education, especially in secondary school, and further [state government] support to make sure that everyone can access a digital device would be welcomed for sure,” Pope said.
Carroll said on Thursday the government had considered including devices in the bonus payment scheme, but after consultation decided to limit the program to uniforms, books, materials and excursions.
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