With the requirement to purchase items such as school shoes, books, uniforms, sporting and music equipment, and school lunches, this figure comes as no surprise. Generally, the highest costs are associated with the purchase of school books, and uniforms – averaging $117 and $167 respectively.
Victorian parents can expect to feel the pinch the most, with the average parent spending the highest amount per child than any other state, followed by Queensland.
Interestingly, it’s costing parents more to send boys back to school than it is girls – with an average of $11 difference between the two. The biggest impact is coming from extracurricular activities – with music and sporting equipment costing $12 more for boys, on average.
The good news is, there’s lots of ways you can help to keep back-to-school costs down. From saving on lunches, to teaching your kids the difference between needs and wants, we’ve got some great tips in our Saving & Budgeting hub to help get you through not only the back to school period, but the whole school year ahead.