Brisbane’s most expensive schools outstrip inflation as fees soar past $35,000

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One year after Brisbane’s most expensive private school sailed past $35,000 in annual fees for the first time, two more schools have hit the same barrier.

Year 12 costs at Brisbane Boys’ College and Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) will rise by as much as 7.8 per cent to $36,492 and $36,232, respectively.

At Brisbane’s most expensive private school, Brisbane Grammar School, tuition fees and compulsory levies for a year 12 student exceeded $35,000 for the first time last year.

At the current rate, Brisbane Grammar School’s fees will exceed $40,000 by 2029.

In 2026, Brisbane Grammar’s fees were set to grow by another 4.2 per cent to just under $38,000 – an annual jump that, if continued, would see it exceed $40,000 before 2029.

Analysis of the charges from those private schools that have released their 2026 fees indicated dollar-amount increases averaged just over $1100 across two dozen schools.

Generally, increases equated to a 5.8 per cent rise on the schools’ 2025 rates, well above Brisbane’s current 2025 headline inflation of 4.7 per cent.

Industry body Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) released data in August, which indicated 86 per cent of independent-school parents paid the fees exclusively from their salaries.

A further 7 per cent relied on extended family members, while 6.4 per cent relied – at least in part – on a scholarship, bursary, or loan.

ISQ chief executive Chris Mountford said fees were driven by factors including families’ financial positions, the school itself, the broader economic environment, and public funding levels.

“Independent school boards are in the unenviable position of having to ensure their independent schools remain sustainable in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty and rising education costs, including staff wages,” he said.

“The reality of Queensland’s independent sector is that more than half of its 240 schools are small- to medium-sized schools, with the majority charging $5500 or less per year.”

Brisbane Times analysis earlier this year revealed the schools charging the most also attracted families with median household incomes more than three times the city’s average of $107,000.

Parents at Brisbane Girls’ Grammar, Brisbane Grammar, and Churchie had the highest median household incomes of those from any Brisbane private school, ranging from $295,000 to $343,000.

Associate Professor Emma Rowe, a leading researcher in education funding and school choice, said there was no cap on annual fee increases, and the general trend of Brisbane schools increasing costs above inflation was mirrored in other eastern capital cities.

“It’s increasing faster than most other consumer products – it’s increasing faster than rent,” she said.

“Even if you start saving when your kid is born, you’re going to need much more than that if you send them to high school 12 years later.”

Australian Taxation Office figures are used to calculate the capacity of families to contribute to their school, with funding delivered by state governments.

In Queensland, Brisbane’s inner-city private high schools received the smallest state funding packages this year, ranging from $2360 to $3370 per secondary student.

Brisbane Grammar School built a new STEAM precinct with university-standard facilities in 2024.

Brisbane Grammar, Brisbane Boys’ College, and Churchie received between $2375 and $2507 per student.

In 2020, the federal government changed the system used to calculate how much families could afford to contribute to fees, which led to some schools losing funding, although the cuts were set to be phased out in 2029.

Rowe said capital funding – managed by the federal government – was not affected by family incomes, and covered new facility costs, which the expensive private schools used as major draws for prospective families.

“I hear that through parents all the time, [that] it’s almost the number one thing that attracts them or impresses them,” she said.

“It’s just a real shame because we should actually be offering that in our public school system, not just an exclusive, really expensive system.”

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