AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Press Release 996
PRIVATE SCHOOLS ACT LIKE BUSINESSES
NOT CHARITIES
AND SHOULD PAY THEIR SHARE OF TAX
Top private schools in Australia are charging parents up to $8000 just to enrol students – i.e. even before they ask for anything up to $40,000 a year in fees.
On September 18 2023 Nathan Schmidt of the Sydney Morning Herald and Holly Thompson of the West Australian revealed that parents are forking out extra payments of up to $8000 just to secure their children a spot in some of the country’s most elite private schools
The full stories and figures can be found at
and
There is nothing new about this information, shocking as it might seem in a so-called egalitarian society . But perhaps the most appropriate reactions came from the comments of readers in the Sydney Morning Herald. One private school parent wrote:
Rhino
The private schools all over the country need an overhaul. They charge unjust fees and are unwilling to break down a cost schedule.....just pay your fees.
During COVID we schooled our kids at home and still played full tuition fees, while the school pocketed $7M COVID relief from the government and did not pass it on to the clients...where is the government watch dog for these rip off merchants?
Private schools are a business now, not a school.
And a public school parent wrote:
Isaac
If these schools are charging that much in an enrolment fee, then they clearly don't need as much support from the government than they are getting.
There are very few private enterprises - yes private schools are private enterprises run for profit, that receive the level of public funding that they do!
The DOGS agree with both comments. They would however like to add that since private schools are businesses, not charities, they should not be exempt from taxes, but should pay their local rates; their payroll tax, their income tax, most particularly on their extensive endowments; and their GST.
And, of course, they should not be publicly funded.
LISTEN TO THE DOGS PROGRAM
855 ON THE AM DIAL: 12.00 NOON SATURDAYS http://www.3cr.org.au/dogs
