Parents with children starting at Melbourne public schools this year could be facing costs surpassing $100,000 across the next 13 years of schooling, according to new analysis from the Futurity Investment Group. It found that parents in cities across Australia are facing higher education costs than in regional and remote areas, with Sydney home to the most expensive education in the country.
Why the cost?
The findings took into account the costs parents pay for their child’s education. For public schools, this cost includes money spent on school camps, co-curricular activities (such as music or sports programs), electronic devices, transport and external tuition. It also includes voluntary financial contributions made by parents to public schools. For non-government schools (independent and Catholic), this is the cost of the fees charged to parents, plus the price of uniforms, textbooks, and other additional costs.
Public schools
| Capital city | Regional and remote areas |
| Victoria | $102,807 |
| New South Wales | $89,500 |
| Western Australia | $85,701 |
| South Australia | $83,306 |
| Queensland | $80,419 |
| ACT | $77,002 |
| N/A |
Catholic schools
| Capital city | Regional and remote areas |
| ACT | $197,667 |
| Queensland | $193,235 |
| Western Australia | $191,397 |
| South Australia | $186,350 |
| Victoria | $184,366 |
| New South Wales | $178,478 |
| $158,553 |
Independent schools
| Capital city | Regional and remote areas |
| New South Wales | $357,931 |
| Victoria | $307,508 |
| ACT | $275,486 |
| South Australia | $273,435 |
| Queensland | $262,531 |
| Western Australia | $213,889 |
| $198,507 |
The study
The findings come from Futurity Investment Group, an independent financial institution. Data collection was undertaken by an external company. The survey was answered by over 2,200 Australian parents with school-aged children. Information on Tasmania and the Northern Territory wasn’t included, as there wasn’t sufficient data gathered.
