The cost of education in Australia has soared 61 per cent in the past decade, dwarfing the 34 per cent rise in wage growth in the same period, new research shows.
The ASG Planning for Education Index found that for a child born in 2018, the estimated cost of a private education across metropolitan Australia is $475,342. The cost for a faith-based education is estimated at $240,679 per child, and a government education at $66,320.
The ASG Planning for Education Index showed that Sydney ($547,414) is the most expensive city in Australia to educate a child in the private school system, 15 per cent above the national metropolitan average.
However, an expert in education has questioned the reliability of the findings.
The estimated cost of a private education in metropolitan Australia has skyrocketed 61 per cent, or $180,128, in the past 10 years, the data shows. The cost of a faith-based education has jumped 54 per cent and of a government education by 23 per cent.
Melbourne ($75,263) is Australia’s most expensive city for a government education according to the ASG research, 13 per cent above the national metropolitan average.
The index showed Victoria is Australia’s most expensive regional area to educate a child in the private school system, with parents forecast to spend $381,184, 10 per cent above the national regional average.
Regional Queensland has Australia’s most expensive faith-based regional school system, with parents forecast to spend $198,012 or $21,458 more than the national regional average of $176,554.
New South Wales ($52,369) is home to the most expensive regional government education, $8,089 more expensive than Australia’s most affordable region, Western Australia ($44,280) and $1,728 more than the national regional average ($50,641) according to the research.
School fees continue to be a major education expense, but many parents fail to appreciate the additional expenses associated with funding a child’s education. This includes extracurricular activities, computers, travel expenses, uniforms, school excursions and camps.
Dr David Zyngier, a senior lecturer in Education at Monash University, said the figures may or may not reflect actual fees as they are only parents’ estimates of the costs.
“This is methodologically suspect as there is no demographic information provided about the respondents. Additionally, it is unclear from their methodology how the total cost per child is calculated over 13 years,” he said.
ASG member Daven Timms said by the time his three children finished high school he would have easily spent around $156,000 just on their extracurricular activities.
“Our children (Eve, Year 11), (Eden, Year 9) and (Sierra, Year 6) all attended public primary schools, which offered an excellent education. But when we moved Eve and Eden over to Barker College in Hornsby, there was a significant cost increase in fees in addition to the continuing cost of extracurricular activities.”
ASG COO Bruce Hawkins said the cost of education has risen at more than double the rate of inflation over the past 10 years and outstripped the growth in wages over the same period.
“This means that education costs are demanding a far greater share of the family wallet than in the past, placing more burden on the average family, already challenged by the rising cost of living.
“The index also debunks the myth, a government education is a free education, with the latest figures showing Australian families could spend on average $66,320 per child on a so-called, free education,” he said.
