Victoria private school fee rises will see some families paying thousands of dollars more in 2027, with several high-fee all-girls schools increasing year 12 charges by well above Melbourne’s average rise of 6.3 per cent.
Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School has announced the biggest increase among the schools analysed, lifting fees for years 11 and 12 by 15.1 per cent to $41,900.
Genazzano FCJ College in Kew has raised its year 12 fees by 9.6 per cent to $45,500, while Mentone Girls Grammar School will charge $43,000 for years 11 and 12 after an 8.2 per cent increase. Camberwell Girls’ Grammar School has lifted fees by 7.9 per cent to $45,595.
Emma Rowe, an education policy expert at Deakin University, said private school parents were effectively “locked in” to annual fee rises that were not capped.
“It’s like a runaway train at the moment, and it’s really unsustainable,” she said.
Schools point to wages and rising costs
Ivanhoe began construction in 2025 on a $37 million, four-storey building due to open next year, featuring a cafe and specialist technology facilities including audio recording and studio spaces.
The project cost more than the school’s total expenditure of $34.63 million in 2025. Its annual report showed that $24 million of that spending went on staff salaries.
Some families have criticised the project online, alleging that fees were being increased to fund what they described as an unnecessary building and programme. The school did not respond to a request for comment.
Genazzano has sold prime real estate for $1.98 million to reduce debt after enrolments fell by 35 per cent since 2020, from 834 students to 609 this year.
Its principal, Loretta Wholley, said the school’s fees remained below those of other independent schools in Kew and reflected investment in teaching and learning.
Camberwell principal Debbie Dunwoody said the school council had considered economic conditions, educational priorities and the investment needed to maintain the quality of education and the student experience.
Independent Schools Victoria said staff costs accounted for about 70 per cent of school operating expenses, while schools were also facing higher insurance and utility bills as well as Victoria’s payroll tax.
Its chief executive, Rachel Holthouse, said Victoria was the only state to charge payroll tax on independent schools and that the cost affected schools serving ordinary families.
The Liberal Party has pledged to repeal payroll tax for government and non-government schools if it wins office later this month. Holthouse said more than half of new independent school enrolments since 2019 had been at schools charging less than $7,500 a year.
Cost increases extend beyond high-fee schools
Families at Catholic schools are also facing higher charges. Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools said fees at its nearly 300 schools would generally rise by between 5 and 9 per cent, with some exceptions.
Catholic schools have warned that matching Victorian public school teachers’ historic 28 per cent pay increase could lead to higher fees and cuts to programmes.
De La Salle College in Malvern has increased its year 12 fee by 9 per cent to $17,593. Enrolments have fallen by 22.5 per cent since 2020, although principal Michael Ilot said more families were moving from higher-fee schools because they recognised the college’s academic value.
“You don’t need to pay the highest fees to achieve the best results,” he said.
University of New South Wales economist Richard Holden said private schools were competing for teachers in the same labour market as public schools, making it difficult to avoid matching substantial pay rises.
He said schools were also paying more for energy, education technology and facilities, but cautioned that any reduction in payroll tax would not necessarily be passed fully to parents through lower fee increases.
At the top end of the market, Geelong Grammar will charge $58,320 next year for years 10 to 12 at its Corio campus. Its Timbertop campus, where year 9 pupils board for four terms, will cost $99,756 before extras including skiing costs and birthday cakes.
The combined cost of attending Geelong Grammar from prep to year 12 will be $606,700 in 2027. If fees continue rising by 5 per cent, that figure is projected to reach $702,331 by 2030.
Several high-fee schools, including Xavier College, Melbourne Grammar, Camberwell Grammar, Strathcona Girls, Geelong College and Jewish schools, had not published their 2027 fees with only weeks remaining in the school year.
Rowe said linking government funding to the fees charged by independent schools could restrain annual increases and make private education more affordable.
“You can’t expect public funding but no public regulation,” she said. “It’s not OK to have publicly funded schools that keep raising their tuition fees.”
