Sydney private-school families face fee rises as funding rules change

Families at some Sydney private schools face double-digit fee increases in 2027 as school leaders point to teacher pay, operating costs and changes in government funding. St Aloysius' College and Rosebank College have both announced 10 per cent increases, while St Aloysius' has also warned of further substantial rises in the following two years.

The announcements cover particular schools, not every private school in the city. Only a limited number have released next year's schedules so far. Among those published, most increases exceed the current 4.3 per cent consumer-price inflation rate.

Three-year increases and new camp charges

St Aloysius' College at Milsons Point told parents this month that its 10 per cent increase in 2027 would be followed by planned increases of 8 per cent in each of the next two years. The reported three-year estimate of 26 per cent does not match straightforward compounding of those annual rates, which gives about 28.3 per cent. Families should seek the written annual schedule rather than rely on that cumulative estimate. Year 12 tuition is to reach A$33,432 in 2027.

Parents were also told that annual camps would carry separate charges, moving away from a largely all-inclusive structure. The letter came from board chair Mark Lennon, rector Father Ross Jones and principal John Browne. Families therefore need to distinguish the headline tuition fee from the full amount payable once additional activities are included.

The college says falling government support per student is combining with higher staffing, utility and service costs. New facilities, including the Arrupe Building and Rozelle campus, have increased continuing financial commitments. A spokesman says the changes followed a detailed review of operations, spending and long-term sustainability, and a parent forum is planned.

The college's public payments page still lists Year 12 at A$15,196 per semester and says compulsory camps are included. It does not identify that as a 2027 schedule. That page should not be substituted for the new parent notice; families should confirm the applicable year and included charges in writing.

St Aloysius' is among roughly 300 NSW non-government schools facing adjustments because their government funding has exceeded their entitlement under the schooling resource standard arrangements. Those adjustments run to 2029. The standard, associated with the Gonski reforms, estimates the public funding needed to meet students' educational needs; the relevant entitlement for these schools is 80 per cent of that measure.

A different funding change at Rosebank

Rosebank College at Five Dock says a separate funding mechanism is behind a reduction of almost A$2 million in government support. Principal Iris Nastasi told families the loss would be significant in 2027. Year 12 fees are to increase 10 per cent to A$17,405.

The capacity-to-contribute model, fully introduced in 2022, uses parents' tax-office income information linked to the school their child attends. Funding depends on a score reflecting parental income. A higher score means a lower government contribution.

Changes were frozen in 2026, but that freeze ends next year. If a school's parental-income score has increased for both 2026 and 2027, it may have to absorb two years of reductions at once. Nastasi says operational efficiencies have offset part of Rosebank's reduction.

Schools cite costs, advocates point to unequal support

Independent Schools NSW chief executive Margery Evans says the two-year effect of changing capacity-to-contribute scores adds to salaries rising faster than funding indexation. She says schooling-resource-standard adjustments are also reducing support for almost 300 NSW schools through 2029.

Evans also points to technology spending as schools respond to increasing cyberattacks, with related back-office staffing costs. She argues independent schools lack the economies of scale available within larger school systems. These are the sector's explanations for the pressure, not a finding that every announced rise is unavoidable.

Public-school advocate and former Productivity Commission economist Trevor Cobbold offers a different view. He says funding above the 80 per cent entitlement cost taxpayers A$134.5 million this year. In his assessment, freezing parental-income scores gave private schools a 2026 funding bonus because rising family taxable income would otherwise have reduced their support.

Cobbold says public schools, by contrast, are underfunded by A$1.8 billion in 2026 and will remain underfunded until at least 2034 under current arrangements. His figures and criticism form part of the broader argument about distributing education funding, alongside the immediate budget decisions confronting fee-paying families.