How to read a private school fee schedule
Private school fee schedules can look simple until you try to compare two schools. The aim is to turn the schedule into one parent-useful question: what is compulsory for my child in this year level, and what might be billed separately?
One schedule may show annual tuition. Another may split tuition, levies, capital charges, discounts, payment options, and optional extras across several pages. Read the schedule in a consistent order before comparing schools.
1. Find the right year level
Start with the year your child will actually enter. The first year of school has different names across Australia, so match the school's wording carefully: Reception, Prep, Kindergarten, Pre-primary, Transition, or another first-year label.
For secondary entry, check whether the school lists Years 7 to 12 individually or groups them into bands such as Years 7-9 and Years 10-12. If the school uses bands, use the band that includes your child's year level.
2. Separate compulsory charges from optional charges
Look for the amount a family must pay for enrolment in that year level. This may include tuition plus compulsory levies. Common labels include fee schedule, fees and charges, tuition and levies, school fees, capital levy, building levy, resource levy, activity levy, or technology levy.
| Schedule item | How to handle it |
|---|---|
| Tuition | Use it as the base, but check whether compulsory levies sit elsewhere. |
| Capital, building, technology, activity, or resource levy | Include it when the schedule says it is compulsory. |
| Application, enrolment, confirmation fee, or bond | Treat it as a separate first-year or one-off cash-flow item. |
| Sport, music, transport, boarding, camps, or device programs | List separately unless the school clearly includes it in compulsory fees. |
3. Check the billing basis
Fee schedules may present amounts annually, per term, monthly, or after an early-payment discount. For comparison, convert everything to an annual amount before you compare schools. Start with the standard compulsory fee, then apply discounts only if your family is likely to qualify.
4. Read sibling discounts carefully
- Some schools discount tuition only, not levies.
- Some apply the discount to the younger child, lower-fee child, or second and subsequent children.
- Some require children to attend the same school at the same time.
- Some do not publish a sibling discount policy at all.
Planner example
Imagine one school lists Year 7 tuition only and another lists Year 7 tuition plus compulsory levies. Convert both to the same annual compulsory basis, then model each Year 7 to Year 12 pathway in SchoolCost. If you have a second child entering later, add that child too so overlapping years and any available sibling policy are reflected in the family view.
Caveats for parents
The current fee schedule is the best source for an enrolment decision, but it is still a snapshot. Schools can change inclusions, billing timing, discounts, and future fees. If a number looks inconsistent with a school's latest document, submit a correction so it can be checked. This guide is general information, not financial advice.
Test the numbers for your family
Use the planner to compare schools and pathways with the same assumptions.