Australia's most expensive private schools in 2024

The most expensive NSW school charged $49,825 for annual tuition with Kambala School, SCEGGS Darlinghurst and The Scots College ranking in the tops spots.

ACT private school students will see the largest jump in fees for any state or territory with average tuition fees rising more than ten per cent to $14,900. The highest tuition in the capital was more than $30,000 at Canberra Grammar School.

Tasmania's highest fees stood at $23,560 which was less than half the cost of the country's most expensive tuition, the analysis of 703 private and Catholic schools found.

The report said schools had minimised fee increases in 2023 but the average fees in 2024 had increased above inflation to 5.85 per cent.

Inflation was "continuing to cascade through to the cost of operations for schools," according to Edstart.

It was "increasing the price of expenses such as construction and maintenance, utilities, insurance and school supplies in turn forcing schools to adjust their fees to cover these costs".

School fee increases would be higher in cities compared to regions in 2024, the report found.

Fees at regional schools increased by an average of 5.08 per cent while metro tuition increased by 6.09 per cent in 2024.

The price differences between city and regional schools was stark. The median for non-government school fees in Sydney's east was a whopping $42,000 while parents in regional NSW paid $9,195.

The median inner city school fee in Melbourne was $37,476 while regionally based students were charged $7,353.

Schools charging less than $10,000 per year were experiencing the largest enrolment growth. In part this was because their tuition fees were not increasing at the pace of their more expensive counterparts, Edstart found.

Schools with tuition below $10,000 increased their prices by an average of 4.83 per cent per year while schools that charged $30,000 were bumping up prices by 7.03 per cent annually.

Low and middle fee schools were offering families more options for school fee payments, the report found.

Flexible payment options allowed parents to make weekly or fortnightly payments instead of charging lump sums annually or at the start of each term.

Almost 90 per cent of schools charging less than $10,000 per year offered these payment plans.

Only 20 per cent of schools with tuition above $30,000 offered these payment plans, the report found.

"With many households facing cost of living pressures, it is important for schools to offer as much payment flexibility as possible so that families are able to better manage and align school fees with their budget and income cycles," the report said.