Education cost calculator · NSW public schools · Sydney prices
The Real Cost of Staying in Education
Tell us where your children are at school and how you shop. The calculator adds up the basic costs of uniforms, shoes, stationery, laptops, camps, lunches and travel, from next year to the end of school or a degree. Every price links to its source.
Estimated total
$0
$0Cost of 2027
$0To set aside each week for 2027
-Most expensive year
Year by year
Where the money goes
The shopping list
What you are paying for
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How the numbers were built
- Two prices per item. The everyday price is the standard ticket price. The sales price is the cheapest we found for the same item during 2026. Where the school sets the price (uniforms, camps, contributions), the range is the spread across published NSW public school price lists instead.
- A basic kit. The list covers what a student needs to attend and take part in a NSW public school, including a sports uniform and runners for PE. Tutoring, formals and brand-name shoes are left out. Community sport and music lessons are optional extras you can add.
- Extra activities. Community sport uses a 2026 national study of 5,533 players: children's entry-level costs average $1,161, and the average full year is $4,567 once coaching, competitions and travel are counted (Eime and colleagues, Federation University, for the Australian Sports Commission). Music lessons assume 36 weekly 30-minute lessons at $35 to $60 each, which is our assumption based on typical Sydney rates. Families on Family Tax Benefit can claim two NSW Active and Creative Kids vouchers of $50 a year.
- Work placements. Year 10 work experience and VET placements in Years 11 and 12 are unpaid, and school travel passes do not cover them, so we count a week of child Opal fares each time. VET students also pay for gear such as a hospitality uniform or White Card course. Uni placements use the median cost students reported for their most recent placement: $1,500 for health students and $1,200 for teaching students (Lambert and colleagues, Australian Health Review, 2024). Students in teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work may be able to claim the Commonwealth Prac Payment of $338.60 a week, which is not taken off here because it is means-tested.
- TAFE. Fees come from the 2026 Smart and Skilled fee schedule: $240 concession, or $1,450 standard for a first Certificate III and $1,850 for a second qualification at Certificate IV. TAFE placements count a NSW Police check ($58.60) and about 16 days of Concession Opal travel. Working with Children Checks are free for students on placement.
- Replacement cycles. Uniforms are replaced every year. Primary students need two pairs of school shoes a year, because feet grow 1 to 2 sizes a year between ages 5 and 10 and shoes typically last 6 to 12 months (Shoes & Sox; Total Sports Podiatry). High school students need one pair. Students who walk to school get one extra pair a year for wear, which is our assumption rather than a measured figure. Backpacks every two years. A laptop in Years 7 and 10, and again in uni years 1 and 4.
- Contributions are voluntary. NSW public schools cannot require them and must not penalise families who do not pay. They are included because most families are asked.
- Travel. Without free school travel, the figure is the national average spend on getting to school (Finder, 2026). Uni and TAFE travel use Concession Opal caps.
- Prices. All prices were checked in October 2026 and are shown in 2026 dollars unless you allow for price rises. Treat every figure as a well-sourced estimate, not a quote.
Where the prices come from
Built by A Start in Life, a Sydney education charity supporting students aged 4 to 24 across NSW and the ACT since 1923.
Product links are for comparison only. A Start in Life has no commercial relationship with any retailer listed.
11 November 2026
