Australian private school FAQ

Year 12 tuition for Australian private schools in 2026 ranges from approximately $5,000 (Catholic systemic) to $58,000 (Geelong Grammar). Median Year 12 fee across our 215-school directory is approximately $28,000. Boarding adds $25-50k/year on top. Total cost of attendance is typically 8-15% above the published tuition (uniforms, levies, camps, IT). See fee inflation tracker for per-school history.

The ABS secondary-education sub-index (Cat 6401.0) has averaged 4.8% annual inflation 2020-2025 — well above general CPI. Drivers: teacher salary increases (~50% of operating cost), capital works (most major schools have $50M+ master plans on the go), declining federal per-student funding for high-ICSEA schools, and rising compliance costs (child safety, learning support, technology). Median Year 12 fee rose 42% over 2018-2026.

About 70% of independent schools offer some sibling discount — typically 5-10% off the 2nd child, 10-15% off the 3rd, 15-25% off the 4th. Catholic schools more often have flat 10% rates; the most academic schools (Sydney Grammar, MGS, Scotch) often offer no sibling discount. Use our sibling calculator to model your family.

Define "good" — but for ICSEA + ATAR profile per dollar, look at Catholic schools outside Sydney/Melbourne (St Aloysius Adelaide, Mercedes Adelaide, St Aidan's Brisbane), Lutheran schools in QLD + SA, and small Independents in regional VIC. Most run Year 12 fees under $20,000 with strong cohorts. Our affordability finder ranks them.

Boarding fees range $25,000 (regional schools) to $50,000+ (city marquee schools) per year on top of tuition. Median total annual cost (Y12 tuition + boarding) is approximately $70,000. See our boarding directory for the 99 boarding schools indexed.

Three steps: (1) Filter by hard constraints — city, fee budget, gender, day/boarding. Use our filter or affordability finder. (2) Narrow on what matters most — academic profile (ICSEA + ATAR), specialist programs (music, sport, IB), or values fit (sector, religion). The 60-second quiz ranks all 215 schools to your priorities. (3) Visit. Open day attendance + Year 5/6 transition tour are essential. Don't commit on website + brochure alone.

Year 7 entry: apply 18-24 months before the entry year (October of the year before Year 5 testing). Prep entry: apply 4-5 years ahead at top schools — birth waitlists are common. Year 11 IB or scholarship round: apply by May of the year before. See our open days guide for the full timing breakdown.

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) measures the cohort's socioeconomic + educational background — 1000 is the national average. ICSEA 1100+ indicates a strongly academic cohort. ICSEA 1180+ is the top decile nationally. Useful as a peer-quality proxy but doesn't measure school value-add. The right metric for "is the school adding value?" is Year 5→9 NAPLAN gain vs ICSEA-matched peers (visible on MySchool).

No empirical academic difference at the cohort level — top single-sex + top co-ed schools cluster similarly on ATAR. Single-sex offers more focused environment + less social distraction; co-ed offers broader social development + reflects post-school life. Most parents pick based on personal preference + sibling context (one school for multiple kids = co-ed simpler). Our girls + boys + co-ed lists give the academic comparison.

IB Diploma is internationally portable + better prep for international universities. State Year 12 (VCE/HSC etc.) is well-understood + typically achievable for any cohort. IB suits strong all-rounders who plan to study overseas or who want broader curriculum (6 subjects across 6 groups). State Year 12 suits students focused on specific Australian university courses with subject-prerequisite requirements. ~70 Australian schools offer IB — see our IB list.

Group of 8 Medicine: 99.95 (plus UCAT + interview). G8 Law combined degrees: 98-99.95. G8 Engineering selective programs: 95-99. G8 Commerce: 92-98. G8 Arts: 78-95. ATAR is a national rank — 95 means top 5% of cohort regardless of state. See our ATAR calculator for percentile lookup + study-score conversion.

By % ATAR 99+ (the entry threshold), Sydney Grammar leads at 33.7% — meaning 1 in 3 graduates eligible for direct-entry Medicine. Wilderness School Adelaide (21%), Brisbane Girls Grammar (20%), St Aloysius' Sydney (20%) follow. See our Medicine pipeline list.

On average private schools score 30-50 points higher per NAPLAN domain. But the gap is largely demographic — kids of bachelor-degree parents (who disproportionately attend private schools) score 80+ points higher than kids of Year 11-educated parents nationally, regardless of school type. The right value-add metric is gain between Year 5 and Year 9 vs ICSEA-matched peers, visible on MySchool. See our NAPLAN guide.

Geographic patterns dominate. Sydney private schools send ~70% of graduates to USYD or UNSW; Melbourne schools split between UMelb + Monash; UWA dominates WA; UQ dominates QLD. Top 10% of every cohort tends to flow cross-state to G8 schools regardless of state of origin. International placements (Oxbridge, Ivy League) are concentrated at IB-strong schools. See our destinations guide.

Varies enormously by school. Top schools (Sydney Grammar, Brisbane Girls Grammar, Wilderness, Pymble Ladies, Knox) routinely have 60-85% of cohort scoring ATAR 90+. Average independent school: ~30-40%. National average across all schools (state + private): ~10% (since ATAR 90 = top 10% by definition). Our outcomes leaderboard shows real per-school data for 47 schools.

Most academic + music scholarships use ACER's Co-operative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) — sit ONE test in February (Year 7 entry) or April (Year 9 entry), apply to multiple schools with one result. Music + sport scholarships require audition or trial. Apply via each school's admissions office — usually open February-May for the following year's entry. See our scholarships guide for full details on 10 scholarship types.

No. Common scholarship types: academic (ACER test), music (audition), sport (state/national level), all-rounder (combined), Indigenous (community endorsement), bursary (means-tested), faith-based (parish reference), STEM (portfolio), Year 11 entry, and Year 7 entry. Bursaries can knock 25-100% off fees + don't require academic excellence — just demonstrated need.

Academic + music + all-rounder scholarships typically 25-100% of tuition. Indigenous scholarships often cover full tuition + boarding. Bursaries are variable based on need. Sport scholarships 20-75%. Most schools offer 5-10 scholarships per year level — competition is intense at marquee schools.

Depends on family situation. Best fits: rural/regional families (most boarders), interstate families needing access to a particular school, parents with frequent travel/relocation, students wanting full immersion in school life. Boarding fees add $25-50k/year. Our boarding guide covers 99 boarding schools + the 9 questions parents should ask before applying.

Year 7 is the most common entry point for full boarding. Some students start Year 5 or 6 (especially at Anglican + Catholic boys schools with strong primary boarding traditions). Year 9 + Year 11 entry also common. Younger boarding (under Year 5) is rare in Australia.

Yes — Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme. Federal Government payments to families whose children are geographically isolated and need to board for secondary education. Up to ~$10,000/year per child. Apply via Services Australia. Many regional + interstate boarding families qualify.

Earlier is better. Some marquee schools (Sydney Grammar, MGS, Scotch) have waitlists from birth. For most schools: Year 5 (October-November) for Year 7 entry the following year. Smaller co-ed + Catholic systemic schools accept later applications. Each provider page on this site links to the school's registration form.

Yes — and you should. Most families apply to 3-5 schools to maximise chances. Each application requires its own fee (typically $200-500), but ACER's scholarship test is sat once + applies to all participating schools. Use our shortlist tool to compare your candidates side-by-side.

Typically $200-500 per school, non-refundable. Some schools waive for early applications or for Year 11 IB applicants. Enrolment confirmation deposits (paid after acceptance) are usually $3,000-10,000, applied to first term tuition.

Yes — schools must be CRICOS-registered to enrol overseas students. Most major Australian independents are. Visa subclass 500 (Student Visa) required, with welfare arrangement (parent on guardian visa, school-approved homestay, or school-approved guardian for under-18s). All-in cost typically $60-130k/year. See our international student guide.

Either directly with the school's international admissions team, or via a licensed education agent (most common from Greater China + South-East Asia). Agents typically charge no fee to families — commission is paid by the school (10-15% of Year 1 tuition). Verify any agent's credentials at PIER (pier.com.au) before committing.

Multiple sources, all documented. ICSEA from ACARA MySchool. Year 12 ATAR outcomes from Better Education state rankings. NAPLAN data from ACARA's annual national dataset. Fees from each school's published 2026 fee schedule. See our full methodology + the press kit for downloadable CSVs.

Yes — entirely free for parents. No sign-up, no email capture, no paid placements. We make money via display advertising + a (planned) premium provider profile tier where schools can add additional photos + content. Rankings are not for sale.

No. Compare Private Schools is operated by Boring Ventures Pty Ltd (ABN 67 671 943 758), an independent Australian company. We have no commercial relationship with any specific school. All ranking + comparison logic is published transparently in our methodology.

Fee schedules + cohort data: annually January. ATAR outcomes: annually after state results released (Jan-Feb). NAPLAN: annually August. ICSEA: annually after ACARA refresh. Verified fee history: continuous. See methodology for cadence per dataset.