Grandparents help with private school fees as family costs rise
More than half of families whose children attend or are considering enrolling them in private schools say they are under significant cost pressure, according to new research by the industry’s peak body; According to these studies, most save for at least three years to cover the fees.
The data, released on Monday by Independent Schools Australia, surveyed 629 families with children attending independent schools and a national sample of 879 families considering the option, surveyed between March and April this year.
It found 53 per cent of families were under significant financial pressure, with 57 per cent saving for wages for three or more years and 10 per cent saving for more than a decade.
Three-quarters of respondents said they had adjusted their household budgets to accommodate this, with almost half saying they had done so by reducing holiday spending and cutting non-essential spending. A smaller 28 percent were also reducing basic needs, with 18 percent of respondents reducing housing costs.
“These are real trade-offs that affect how families live, save and plan. The evidence shows how much families value the school they choose. It also shows that financial commitment to education is not unlimited,” the ISA report says.
New figures show Victorian grandparents financially helped one in 10 families pay for their children’s education, including state schools for costs including camps and uniforms. Resolve Strategic research, commissioned by education bonds firm Futurity Investment Group, found that grandparents in public schools contribute $1234 annually, while those in the Catholic sector contribute $1676 and those in the private sector contribute $5593.
Separate research by Independent Schools Australia earlier this year found that one in five families in private schools receive help from other family members in exchange for fees.
An analysis by this imprint in Victoria found schools are increasing fees increased by 5 percent in the private sector and many Catholic schools increased their fees at even higher rates.
Xavier College principal Lee MacMaster said anecdotally the school is aware of grandparents in the school community helping out with fees.
“But we do not keep data on this,” he said. “We are so grateful for the grandparents’ support in supporting their grandchildren’s continued education at college.”
Sandra Masel, 83, pays for her grandchild to attend a private school in Melbourne’s inner east. Masel attended a private school; So were their children, who now faced higher living costs and different employment situations for their age.
“I thought my grandchild should have the same opportunity, and I can afford it, but they can’t. So it’s really simple. I wanted to give them the choice,” Masel said. “I think whoever has more money should contribute. There is no point in keeping your children waiting, they take the money when they no longer need it. They always say you should give with a warm hand, not a cold hand.”
Masel said he did not pay for any school camps or extra activities, and that it was entirely up to his son’s family to decide which school he would send his child to.
She said there was no doubt that families faced a higher cost of living relative to wages than when she and her late husband paid their children’s fees themselves. “There’s no doubt about it. After taxes, how can a working couple, if they have three children, pay $50,000 a year for each child? That doesn’t add up.”
But Grandparents Australia director Anne McLeish said there was a worrying trend in older people feeling pressure to pay for activities such as camps, especially at state schools. He was concerned that grandparents might put themselves under too much pressure to contribute to private school fees.
“I think they need to think very carefully about the sacrifices they make in their quality of life to support education funding,” McLeish said.
“Grandparents get the idea that kids need the best quality education and that it’s expensive. It doesn’t have to be expensive at all. The best quality education can be determined by looking at school options and matching the school culture with the family culture.”
According to the latest data from the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority, families paid $410.3 million to Victorian public schools in voluntary fees, charges and contributions in 2024; The largest of this amount was in Australia.
Eighty-two-year-old Jan Dods has a daughter, a son and seven grandchildren. His son sends his children to private schools with a partial scholarship, and his daughter’s children go to public schools.
Dods’ daughter is a single mother, and Dods occasionally contributed to the grandchildren’s education on that side of the family, including paying for uniforms and higher costs such as educational trips to China, a junior leader trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and an art trip to New York City.
It will fund her youngest grandchild, Calypso, to go to a school ski camp at Mount Hotham this term.
“I decided that I would try to fill in the gaps so that these children have as many opportunities as possible to promote their educational experience,” Dods said.
He believed this could last longer than physical gifts. “Education is something that’s in your head and everything else can go away,” Dods said.
“I don’t intend to have a lot of money when I die. Now I want to give it to them. They may not need it, I may not need it either. I may not have enough money, but I am very frugal.”
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Jackson Graham is an education correspondent for The Age. He previously worked as an explanatory reporter.Connect via email.
