The Brisbane private schools increasing fees the most in 2025

Brisbane private high school fees will increase by 7 per cent on average next year, with the cost of sending a child to an all-boys school rising the fastest.

The increase is well above Brisbane’s 1.8 per cent CPI increase over the past year.

Three girls schools tipped over the $30,000 mark in annual fees for the first time – Somerville House, St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School – joining Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie), Brisbane Boys’ College, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and Brisbane Grammar School.

Brisbane Grammar School, the city’s most expensive, will increase year 12 fees by 6.55 per cent in 2025.Credit:

The city’s most expensive private school, Brisbane Grammar, will charge parents of year 12 students $36,420 in 2025, up $2240 on 2024.

The school’s chief financial officer, Mark Corgat, said the board’s decision was made to ensure BGS continued to provide the highest-quality education, co-curricular programs, and pastoral care for students, as well as professional development opportunities for staff.

“BGS believes the 2025 fee increase of 6.5 per cent represents an appropriate balance between delivering our exceptional educational experience, implementing targeted cost containment efforts, and preserving the underlying financial sustainability of our school,” he said.

“BGS school fees are all-inclusive, which encourages students to participate in a wide variety of co-curricular activities, and of all the independent schools in Queensland, BGS receives the second-lowest level of government funding per student.”

In 2023, the school limited fee increases to 4.5 per cent, but they rose by 8 per cent in 2024.

Across Brisbane, boys’ school fees will increase by 7.61 per cent in 2025, on average, versus 6.60 per cent for co-ed, and 6.92 per cent for all-girls schools.

Single-sex Catholic schools St Rita’s College, St Laurence’s College and St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace will increase their fees by more than 10 per cent.

Six of the seven schools to increase their fees by less than 5 per cent were also Catholic – Mary MacKillop College, All Hallows’ School, Clairvaux MacKillop College, St Thomas More College, Our Lady’s College, and San Sisto College.

The biggest increases in dollar terms will be at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School (up $2695 next year to $30,468) and St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace (up $2390 to $24,202).

The most affordable private schools in 2025 are both Islamic schools – the Australian International Islamic College and Islamic College of Brisbane.

The next most affordable are Catholic schools – St Thomas More College, Our Lady’s College, Mary MacKillop College, and Clairvaux MacKillop College, which will all charge less than $7000 next year.

No boys’ schools make it into the top 10 most affordable private schools in Brisbane in 2025. The cheapest all-boys school is St Patrick’s College at Shorncliffe, with an annual fee of $12,355.

Boys’ schools across Brisbane were, on average, set to charge higher fees ($21,801) than girls’ schools ($18,863) or co-ed private schools ($13,220).

Brisbane Times’ analysis was based on published year 12 fees for private high schools in Brisbane, including tuition and all compulsory charges if schools listed these separately.

Discounts for multiple children or early payment were not included.

Four schools have not yet published their 2025 fees.

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