The cost-of-living crisis is increasingly impacting Australian families as they face soaring back-to-school expenses, forcing many to make sacrifices to send their children to school.
New research reveals that despite these financial pressures, parents continue to prioritize education.
For the first time, Australian households in capital cities will spend at least $100,000 per child over 13 years of schooling in 2025, as the cost of education rises sharply.
Futurity Investment Group executive general manager, Sarah McAdie, reported a 33% increase in costs for government schools, with independent schools seeing a 10% rise.
Surprisingly, costs in Catholic schools decreased by 1%.
The main drivers of these increasing costs are ancillary items like uniforms, textbooks, stationery, camps, transport, and extra tuition or elective activities.
In terms of affordability, Brisbane emerges as the least expensive city for government education, where parents will spend $101,064 per child, while Sydney is the most expensive, with costs reaching $150,323 for 13 years of education.
Even in regional areas, such as Queensland, families will still spend $72,670 on schooling.
Despite the growing financial burden, households in government schools contribute only 8% of the total education costs.
