What some parents pay for a year at public schools

While that outlay will hit family household budgets, at least back-to-school costs have not increased this year over 2017.

ARA director, Russell Zimmerman, said last week the cost of various items on the ARA back-to-school list are about the same in 2018.

“Most retailers are under a lot of pressure to offer discounts to attract customers, as the retail trading environment is a bit slower than it was this time last year,” he said.

“Retailers are continually struggling against significant cost pressures and low consumer confidence.”

The ARA list includes: shoes up to $120; socks $15; three summer uniforms at $60 each; two winter uniforms at $60 and three shirts about $25 each; sports uniform (shirt, trackpants and jacket, shorts) $145; jumper or zipper jacket $50; runners or joggers $100; backpack $50; school fees $200; parents and friends fees $80-$100; three excursions $90; stationery $100; and a bring your own pad/tablet device $300. 

But, parents with children starting school for the first time are lucky enough to avoid some of those costs.

New to the school system, Mrs Tammy Harper said she hasn’t found it too bad supplying for her daughter Ava’s first year of school.

“Supplying for a kindergarten, you just need some stationery, a lunchbox and a uniform. We are lucky we got her uniform on special too,” she said.

Mrs Harper said she knows it will become more expensive as Ava gets older. With the expenditure on laptops and iPad’s that becomes a financial burden on parents with children in secondary school.

“I’ll enjoy it while it’s cheap,” she said.

Owner of K.C Print in Dubbo, Cheryl Jacobson said schools have their own uniform shops, leaving locally-owned stores out of pocket and with no support.

“Parents use to go to somewhere affordable like Best and Less. They would buy a shirt and bring it in to us to get embroidered, but not anymore,” she said.

She said there is nowhere for Dubbo parents to buy an entire school uniform, other than from the schools.

“They have no choice, and we have no local support.”

School fees are on the rise, being the most increased household expenditure, up by 44 per cent according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Australian Scholarships Group has released an index with estimates of ‘how much could you expect to pay for your child’s schooling’.

According to the index, for regional NSW in 2018, the estimated cost would be $2,608 to send a child to a government primary school. The cost for a secondary student would be $3,435.

For children enrolled in faith-based education it would cost $6,226 for primary school and $10,045 for secondary.

In the private education system it would cost a hefty $10,764 to send a primary aged child to school and a whopping $19,188 for a child to complete their secondary education.

The estimates include school fees, extracurricular activities, clothing, necessities, travel and computers.