How much do Australian Private Schools Cost?

Private school tuition fees vary considerably across Australia; however you may expect to pay anywhere between $18,000 and $41,000 for a Year 12 day student attending an established, well regarded metropolitan private school in 2019 - with boarding fees in addition. Most schools do, however, provide a discount of some form for families where multiple children attend the same school.

Fee Comparisons

To provide some additional detail, the table below provides an indication of school fees payable at some well-known colleges across Australia for Year 12 students. These are generally prestigious schools and their fees are at the very top end of the range - Catholic schools are usually appreciably less expensive. The table illustrates that fees charged in both Melbourne and Sydney are now basically comparable and remain ahead of other mainland state capitals, although the difference seems to be narrowing. Compulsory levies have been included in fee comparisons where identifiable and possible - IT and "Tablet" levies are currently almost universal. It is now also becoming more common to see schools including "voluntary, tax deductible donations" within fee invoices - at this stage we will flag these situations rather than include them in direct comparisons.

The trend over recent years has been for the increase in private school fees to significantly exceed wage and wider inflation; with compound increases of over 6% being common amongst the better known schools over the last five years, effectively doubling the cost of private education every decade. 2019 shows some signs of a continuing, and welcome, moderation in fee increases although they continue to exceed background inflation.

In any event, the cost of private school fees continues to outpace general inflation and the sustainability of the approach remains questionable, with enrolments beginning to soften. However, they need to be very carefully considered within your financial planning if you are committed to the private school system - in many situations the cost of sending two children through an Australian private school will easily exceed AUD700K.

STATE/SCHOOL	2017	2018	2019	Last Increase
ACT
Canberra Grammar	22,700	23,800	24,800	4.2%
Canberra Girls Grammar	21,600*	22,500*	23,700*	5.3%
NSW
PLC Sydney	32,580**	33,880**	34,980**	3.2%
SCEGGS Darlinghurst	36,896	38,032	38,964	2.5%
Sydney Grammar School	33,918	35,241	36,615**	3.9%
Scots College	34,995	36,220	36,220	?
QUEENSLAND
Brisbane Grammar School	26,115**	27,085**	27,925**	3.1%
Brisbane Girls Grammar	23,312	24,125	24,910	3.3%
Anglican Church Grammar	23,064*	23,668*	24,446*	3.3%
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Prince Alfred College	25,430**	26,160**	26,820**	2.5%
Walford	25,190**	25,950**	26,730**	3.0%
Pulteney Grammar	23,900**	24,600**	25,350**	3.0%
VICTORIA
Geelong Grammar	38,460	39,900	41,544***	4.1%
Melbourne Girls Grammar	33,996	35,288	36,276	2.8%
Haileybury College	29,830	31,025	32,580	5.0%
Trinity Grammar	32,040	33,604	33,612	0.0%
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Hale School	25,080*	25,770*	26,400*	2.4%
Christ Church Grammar	26,960	27,620	28,320	2.5%
TASMANIA
Fahan School	16,880	17,560	18,260	4.0%
Hutchins School	17,060	17,660	18,345	3.9%

*	Excludes additional (unavoidable) charges, such as textbook and notebook hire, art, and sport participation.
	School did not make fees public - any figures provided are unconfirmed and may not include ancillary costs.
**	Additional voluntary contributions to building or scholarship funds suggested
***	Includes lunch and dinner (day boarding)
x	Awaiting fee publication

It may seem pointless to include schools in the comparison who do not make their fees public. However, we believe that a school's acceptance of any level of public funding should be contingent on a minimum level of transparency, including fees charged and their enrolment policies. For the moment, there seems to be a very clear and direct relationship between the absolute level of fees and the apparent unwillingness of schools such as Sydney's Scots College to make them public.

We also can't overstress the importance of ensuring, beyond the issue of school fees, that there is a "fit" between your child and the school chosen. For expat children bought up within a secular, multi-racial International school system some of the traditional Australian private schools, almost all of whom have close church affiliations, can present as very conservative environments.

Non- Residents: Private School Costs

The difference between private school fees for resident and a non-residents can be very substantial; the figures below are those applying in relation to an Anglican Church Grammar Year 12 boarder in 2019, and they are fairly representative:

Additional Costs

Apart from the cost of school fees, the cost of attendance at an Australian private school includes a range of potential additional costs.  A summarised, and by no means exhaustive, list of costs split into non-recurring and recurring costs appears below:

Non – Recurring

• Application Fee – circa $100 to $500
• Enrolment or Admission Fee – circa $500 to $2,500 and may be higher. For example, Hale and Christ Church, both located in Perth, currently (2019) charge non-refundable/non-tax deductible fees of $8,100 and $7,080 respectively upon the admission of a first child in Year 1 to 9.
• Non Interest Bearing Loans – may increase as a child progresses through the school

Recurring

• Building Levies – Compulsory or Voluntary
• Compulsory purchase of IT equipment - laptops and tablets
• International Baccalaureate levies - often $2000+ per annum
• Additional subject costs eg. music, language, sports tuition
• Special Programme costs
• School Camps and Trips
• Uniforms
• Musical equipment hire
• School bus services
• Book charges
• Pre and After-school care costs
• Fundraising support (voluntary)

Some Comments on Funding Education Costs

1. Australian expats looking to fund future education costs in Australia need to seek specific financial advice - the "best" approach may be very dependent on your location. For example, for expats based in low or no tax regimes it is unlikely that Australian based investment solutions will be competitive with products or services available offshore.

2. Expats in Australia on temporary resident visas with children in private schools (in Australia or overseas) or resident in states which charge for access to public schooling should seek specific tax advice regarding the advantages of salary sacrificing these costs within their remuneration package.

3. We are unconvinced that the current Education or Scholarship funds available in Australia to fund primary, secondary and University schooling always represent "good value" from a cost or flexibility perspective. We would rather see this sort of funding integrated within a family's overall financial plan; unless participation is simply seen as a budgetting tool.