West Australian parents are spending thousands of dollars to secure their child’s spot at some of the state’s most expensive private schools as waitlists for the institutions continue to grow.
All but two of 12 Perth schools with some of the highest annual fees in the state increased their enrolment fees this year – a compulsory and non-refundable charge parents must pay – with three schools now charging more than $8000 and a further six schools charging more than $6000.
Other lower-fee private schools also require enrolment payments, but they are often under $1000. The cost is often set at a quarter of the amount the school charges annually for year 7 tuition.
But the fee does not go towards the tuition, and is often paid years in advance. Without payment, a student’s placement will not be confirmed.
It goes hand-in-hand with a fee parents pay to put in an application for their children, set between $150 and $200.
This fee has remained the same, or similar, at most of the schools compared to 2023, but the enrolment fees went up by an average of 5.6 per cent.
Perth College increased its fee the most – by more than 11 per cent to a maximum of $6680 for a first child.
The majority of schools on the list offer discounted enrolment fees to second and third children in families who attend.
Perth College principal Sarah McGarry said the school had suspended the enrolment fee in 2021 and 2022 to help ease financial pressures related to the pandemic.
Instead, they had introduced an enrolment deposit of $2821 and $3000, respectively, that was then credited to the student’s account.
This year was the first time since COVID that the school reinstated the enrolment fee at a rate which matched 25 per cent of the year 7 tuition, which was why there had been a significant jump.
McGarry said fees to confirm a student’s spot could be paid up to three years out from their starting date.
Hale School was one of the two on the list which chose not to increase its fee for 2024 – despite having one of the highest overall fees in the state.
A spokeswoman for the school said some parents registered their sons from birth.
However, she said the school had also now introduced entry testing for years 4 to 7 to provide “all prospective students an opportunity to join, regardless of when their parents had registered their interest”.
“We also hold places for scholarships, which are awarded the year before entry and allow talented boys an opportunity to join the school regardless of existing enrolment and ability to pay,” she said.
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