$87,000 to pay for a kid’s ‘free’ education

Parents will have to pay $87,000 to send each child to a ‘free’ public school, as the cost of laptops, uniforms and tutors chews through family budgets.

A family with three children will spend nearly $1 million on a private school education.​

Parents will have to pay $87,000 to send each child to a “free’’ public school, as the cost of laptops, uniforms and tutors chews through family budgets.

And a family with three children will fork out nearly $1m to educate them in a private school.

New research by the Futurity Investment Group reveals Victoria, which brands itself “The Education State’’, is the most expensive for families to send kids to a government school, while Canberra is the cheapest city for a public education,

Compulsory school fees make up only 4 per cent of the cost of a public school education, but ancillary costs such as laptops, uniforms, school camps and tutoring means families will spend an average of $87,528 for each child over 13 years of education.

The costings will ignite debate over equity in education, as low-income families struggle to pay basic bills amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Futurity Investment Group’s report warns that the total cost of education has risen at nearly double the rate of inflation over the past decade.

“School fees, outside tuition, school camps, transport, uniforms, electronic devices and sports equipment are demanding a far greater share of the family budget than in the past,’’ the company’s group executive, Kate Hill, said on Tuesday.

“More than ever, the costs associated with education are placing more of a burden on Australian families, who are already stretched by the spiralling cost of living and rising interest rates.

“With less discretionary money to spend, it’s going to be a challenge for some families to pay for education.’’

The cost of public schooling is highest in Melbourne, totalling $102,807 per child.

Families will spend $77,002 in Canberra, $89,500 in Sydney, $80,419 in Brisbane, $83,306 in Adelaide and $85,701 in Perth.

 

But a Catholic education will cost twice as much, averaging $184,545 for each child.

Private school fees will average $300,233 per child – enough to buy an apartment or even a house for a family with three children.

Sydney has the nation’s highest private school fees, averaging $357,931 for each child.

The data is based on the actual expenses of 1525 Australian parents surveyed about how much they spend on education.

It forecasts that school fees will make up 23 per cent of the cost of a Catholic education, and 55 per cent of the cost of a private school education, for a child starting school this year.

A separate analysis of private school fees, by Edstart, shows that fees rose an average of 4.49 per cent this year – up from 2.9 per cent in 2022 but still well below the rate of inflation.

“Bigger fee increases from previous years were expected with inflation running above 7 per cent,’’ Edstart chief executive Jack Stevens said.

He said schools had absorbed “significant increases’’ to teacher wages, maintenance and construction costs.