The significant costs of educating children in Australia are forcing parents to work more hours and families to cut back on holidays.
Australian families are reconsidering whether to have more children and rely on help from others to pay for education as the costs of schooling pile up.
For a child attending school in 2026, it will cost families in major cities $113,594 for government education, $247,174 for private education and $369,594 to send them to an independent school over a period of thirteen years.
In regional and remote areas, families pay $100,395 for government education, $223,874 for Catholic education and $230,144 for independent schools.
The research, conducted by school finance group Futurity, uses school fees data from the Australian Curriculum Authority and interviews 2,500 parents about their spending habits.
Melbourne topped capital cities for government school costs at $121,202, while parents from regional and remote Queensland face the highest education bill at $108,647.
The government school fees amounted to 13 percent for metro fees and 5 percent for regional fees, while the remaining amount went to additional costs including outside tutoring, transportation, school camps and uniforms.
Canberrans will spend the most on Catholic education, while regional and remote Queenslanders will pay the highest costs: $273,494.
Independent schools are the most expensive in Melbourne at $435,902, while Western Australia is the most expensive for regional and remote schools at $275,639.
Families value education, with nine in 10 saying education is important to their child’s development in life, says Sarah McAdie of Futurity.
“[They] are willing to make sacrifices so that their child can access the education that parents choose and value for their child,” she told the Australian Associated Press.
But parents are increasingly trying to save money by looking for second-hand school uniforms, making laptops last longer and spending less on musical instruments and camps.
A third of respondents said they have turned to credit debt, while others are taking fewer family vacations and working more to pay for quality education for their children.
More than half say they rely on others, including grandparents, to pay for their children’s education.
“Alarmingly, 45 percent of parents say they are now considering having fewer children due to the cost of raising a child today,” McAdie said.
Families have tightened their spending as concerns grow about fully funding Australian schools, according to the Australian Council of State School Organizations.
“When the household budget is under pressure, things like sports, camps and upgrades are the first things to be scaled back,” said interim chairman Peter Garrigan.
He said the real test is whether every child can fully participate without money being a barrier, as parents turn to the “bank of grandparents” for help.
“Australian society should be able to support everyone to do that,” Garrigan said.
In Australia, 63 percent of students go to government schools, followed by 20 percent to Catholic schools and 17 percent to independent schools, according to the statistics agency.
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