Families say they are struggling to pay school fees – why are so many still choosing private schools?

Australian families are caught in a squeeze: private school fees are climbing faster than inflation, yet more families keep choosing private education despite the financial pain. The Conversation reports that in a survey of over fifteen hundred parents with kids in independent schools, three-quarters adjusted their household budget in the past year to stay enrolled, and more than half said they're struggling. Nearly a third cut back on essentials—medicine, groceries, transport—to make payments. The shift is real: between two thousand six and twenty twenty-five, private school enrollment grew from thirteen to seventeen percent of Australian students, while public school attendance fell from sixty-seven to sixty-three percent. The explanation, per The Conversation's reporting: public schools face chronic underfunding and lack basic infrastructure like heating or disability access, while private schools charge some of the OECD's highest tuition with no regulatory caps. When the Australia Institute surveyed parents, thirty-eight percent with kids in private schools said they'd switch to public if their local public school was better funded. The article notes that countries like Canada and the UK tie private school government funding to tuition caps, keeping independent education more affordable.

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