Private school fees soar in comparison between government, independent and Catholic schools

Adding to ongoing discussion about the cost of education in Australia, figures released by the Australian Scholarships Group this week have highlighted the increasing cost of private schooling in comparison to government and Catholic schooling.

According to the figures, children born in 2013, who go on to attend a school in the independent sector, are expected to cost nearly half a million dollars to educate by the time they graduate from secondary school.

The data refers to total schooling costs, per child, in the government, Catholic and independent sectors, including tuition fees from kindergarten to secondary school and extra costs such as extracurricular activities, uniforms, and computer and internet costs.

On average, parents can expect to spend the following amounts on their child’s education:

• Government sector:       $47,290–60,836
• Catholic sector:               $160,331–218,077
• Independent sector:       $294,439–448,034

The following table gives the average cost for each school sector nationally and in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

_{Note: This table was reproduced using data obtained from The Age online. For full details, including costs in other states and territories, please see the article link below.}

Overall, the difference between government and independent education (based on national figures for metropolitan areas) is around $390,000 — and in some states, the difference is as high as $470,000. With an average cost of $218,077 in metropolitan areas, Catholic education presents somewhat of a middle ground.

It should also be noted that these costs vary greatly from state to state. For example, private schooling in metropolitan New South Wales and Victoria far exceeds the national averages. Within each state, there is also a substantial difference in schooling costs between metropolitan and regional areas, particularly in the independent sector. Nationally, while parents will spend close to $450,000 for independent schooling in metropolitan areas, this falls to less than $300,000 in regional parts of the country.

What do you think about the cost of education? Have your say on the Parents Forum.
 

Useful links

• Private fees mount as education costs soar — The Age, 24 January 2013
• Education costs calculator — Australian Scholarships Group
• Financing your child’s education — Good Schools Guide
• Saving for a private education — Good Schools Guide