A Catholic school education in Adelaide is more expensive than in any other Australian city, the Australian Scholarship Group says.
ASG tallies the median cost of an R-12 Catholic education in Adelaide at $131,498, including expenses such as fees, uniforms and computers.
That is 3.5 per cent above the national figure for metro Catholic schools of $127,027.
A public education in Adelaide is costed at $54,938, well below the national median of $68,727. Adelaide is also reasonably affordable for an independent school education at $221,415, compared with the national metro figure of $298,689.
ASG chief executive Ross Higgins said education costs across Australia had risen at more than double the inflation rate over the past decade.
“Education costs, including tuition costs, uniforms, transport and devices are demanding a far greater share of the family budget than in the past,” he said.
Regional SA fares well compared to national regional figures. A country Catholic education costs $95,349 (national $109,877), public $51,615 (national $57,994) and independent $159,009 (national $201,210).
Summary of total forecast education costs (median) for a child starting school in 2019 over a 13-year period.
Metropolitan
| Government | Catholic | Independent | |
| National | $68,727 | $127,028 | $298,689 |
| ACT | $55,061 | $126,064 | $209,978 |
| NSW | $66,470 | $114,531 | $461,999 |
| NT | $42,628 | $96,061 | $140,916 |
| QLD | $75,601 | $115,034 | $209,608 |
| SA | $54,938 | $131,498 | $221,415 |
| TAS | $48,241 | $96,290 | $276,338 |
| VIC | $70,604 | $121,547 | $438,390 |
| WA | $54,134 | $109,097 | $208,080 |
Regional
| Government | Catholic | Independent | |
| National | $57,994 | $109,877 | $201,210 |
| NSW | $73,808 | $112,248 | $203,654 |
| QLD | $65,410 | $113,211 | $186,226 |
| SA | $51,615 | $95,349 | $159,009 |
| TAS | $40,489 | $86,694 | $131,673 |
| VIC | $47,224 | $88,581 | $248,543 |
| WA | $53,094 | $101,137 | $114,410 |
ASG is a member-owned organisation offering financial products for parents to invest in their kids’ education.
Private school sectors have consistently criticised its annual costs index for overstating the impost of school fees on most parents by skewing towards high-fee schools.
But ASG argued this year its data was more robust because it had focused on median fees and partnered with Monash University on the data analysis. Fee information from The Good Schools Guide and the federal MySchool website has been combined with a survey of 2300 ASG member families on ancillary school costs.
It’s no surprise that the most expensive education is for the independent sector in Sydney, where the median is $461,999, followed by Melbourne at $438,390.
The priciest place for a public education is Brisbane at $75,601, followed by regional NSW on $73,808.
Catholic Education SA boss Neil McGoran declined a request for comment. CESA has previously blamed higher costs on lower funding compared to other states.
This article originally appeared in The Advertiser – Catholic school education more expensive in Adelaide than any other Australian city, Australian Scholarship Group says
Related article: Estimated total cost of a government, Catholic and independent education revealed
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