HOW AUSSIE PARENTS COULD SCORE $800 CASH BOOST UNDER NEW PROPOSAL TO HELP EASE SOARING SCHOOL COSTS
- Greens urge Labor to support proposal
The Greens have proposed an $800 cash boost to ease the financial burden on Aussie parents as new data reveals the staggering cost of sending a child to school.
As the new school year looms, parents will fork out an average $2,847 for each primary school-aged child in 2026.
The figure almost doubles to $5,310 for each high school-aged student, according to a new study unveiled by Finder this week.
Almost one third of parents will use a credit card to pay for school costs and save cash by buying second-hand items or opt out of non-essentials such as excursions, electronic devices and canteen lunches.
The Finder data is based on a new study released by school finance body Futurity Investment Group, which found that it will cost families in major cities $113,594 per child for 13 years of public education.
The amount rises to $247,174 for a private education, while sending a child to an independent school will set parents back an average $369,594.
The Greens have called on the Albanese government to adopt their pre-election $800 back-to-school bonus to provide much-needed cost-of-living relief to families.
'Back-to-school costs are just getting higher and higher every year because Labor and the Liberals are short-changing public schools by billions and shifting the costs onto parents,' Greens education spokesperson Senator Penny Allman-Payne said.
'Australian families should be able to expect a free public education, instead they have ever-higher fees and charges and extensive back-to-school shopping lists that can add up to thousands of dollars.
'With one in three big corporations paying no tax, and almost a million children in Australia living in poverty, something is seriously wrong.'
Ms Allman-Payne said she 'regularly' spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars from her own salary to give students the resources they need.
'If Labor wanted to stop families from having to pay thousands in school fees, they would implement full funding of schools now, and help struggling families with $800 direct cash back-to-school payments as the Greens plan has proposed,' she said.
'Every child deserves a free, world-class public education, and that's what the Greens are committed to delivering.'
While Labor is yet to respond to the proposal, there are some state-based bonuses that are available to parents, depending on where they live.
The Queensland government has introduced a Back to School Boost which provides $100 for every primary school student to assist families with costs.
In NSW, the state government's Back to School vouchers are worth $150 per child and are extended to all students from kindergarten to year 12.
In Victoria, payments, annual payments will increase from $154 for primary school students and $256 for secondary school students to $400, from 1 January,2026.
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