Revealed: Massive cost of getting children back to school in 2025

Preparing for the start of the school year is always a financial stretch, but now the true cost for Queensland families has been revealed.

Richard Gray of the Grange with daughter Phoebe Gray, 15, with school supplies, Wilson. Picture: Liam Kidston

Parents are feeling the pinch of back-to-school costs, with new research showing Queensland families will spend an on average $12,600 this year.

From books to uniforms to stationery and annual tuition, experts say families will experience “financial stress” as costs continue to rise.

Research from iSelect showed Queensland also had the highest percentage of families attending public schools at 71 per cent.

Teacher’s Professional Association Queensland President Scott Stanford said the major difference between public and private schooling was the cost in tuition.

“So state schools now still require a uniform but that might be a polo and shorts instead of a shirt and tie,” he said.

Richard Gray of the Grange with daughter Phoebe Gray, 15, with school supplies, Wilson. Picture: Liam Kidston

“For a lot of the lower socio-economic families that is just as expensive for them as it would be for a more well-off family,” he said.

Mr Stanford said many families were deciding between sending their child to a private school or putting food on the table.

“In the last two years this has increased because the financial costs are really starting to pinch people now,” he said.

“It’s more what is cost effective, you know like ‘my child is still going to get a good education, maybe not as good as a private, but it’s going to be damn close’,” he said.

Grange father Richard Gray said he and daughter Phoebe, 15, had gone through what she needed and didn’t need to save costs this year.

“We just went through and checked out all the stuff that we already had from last year and then had a bit of an audit to deal with the gaps,” Mr Gray said.

“For me it was about looking at the best value between multipacks, so you know a pack of two pencils versus five pencils.”

Mr Gray said it had added up between uniform costs, extra-curricular sports and even a scientific calculator that had come to about $350.

“When it comes to uniforms we just go on marketplace to see if there are any selling for cheaper,” he said.

Separate Finder research showed this year uniforms had come at the highest cost for Australian families, with primary and secondary school outfits at an average of $249 and $477, closely followed by electronic devices at $243 and $299.

iSelect comparison expert Sophie Ryan said many Aussies might be feeling hopeless or stressed about their finances.

“Unfortunately, many are now facing the extra costs that come with sending children to school,” she said.

“We know this time of the year can be extremely busy, and the last thing Aussies have time for right now is to compare household expenses, but it’s something that could really ease the budget pressure.”

Originally published as Revealed: Massive cost of getting children back to school in 2025