ACARA report reveals SA parents paying highest school fees in Australia at public, Catholic and private schools
A new report has found the same thing in the public, private and Catholic education systems.
SA News
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South Australian parents are paying among the highest school fees in the country, new data shows.
Families already under pressure from the soaring cost of living were asked to pay an average of $646 per child at public schools, $4928 at Catholic campuses and $9385 at independent colleges.
Across all school sectors, the average fee was $3172 in SA.
The only mainland states where that figure was higher were NSW and Victoria.
The amounts are based on 2023 data collected by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and published online in the latest National Report on Schooling.
The impost on parents across all school sectors rose from 2022, when public school fees averaged $548.
Catholic school contributions rose $201 and independent fees jumped $372.
Parent contributions can also include payments for camps, after-school care, specialist subjects like music or sports and international student fees.
The ACARA report, released on Wednesday, also shows each SA school student attracted an average $17,738 in federal and state government funding in 2023.
When broken down by sector, public school students received $18,921 each towards their schooling, while pupils at non-government sites received $15,824.
Parents at SA public schools pay a materials and services charge, which is this year at $300 per child in primary school and $396 in high school.
Schools can poll parents to gain approval to charge more.
Education Minister Blair Boyer said parents would receive a $200 rebate when they paid the materials and services charge in 2025. In 2023 the rebate was $100.
An education department spokesman said the rebate “on top of there being no materials and services charge for students on school card, free laptops for school card high school students in years 7 and 10, and an average 15 per cent discount on devices (purchased) through the Education Department’s portal is making SA one of the most affordable public education systems in the country”.
He said a recently struck new national funding agreement “will mean our public schools will be fully funded for the first time”.
Originally published as ACARA report reveals SA parents paying highest school fees in Australia at public, Catholic and private schools
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