Tuesday 6 October 2026
Evening EditionRSS
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
SydneyDeveloping

Four Sydney private schools pass $500,000 median parent income, tax data reveals

Cranbrook incomes jump $83,000 in two years as 14 schools record gains of $50,000 or more

By LineZotpaper
Published
Updated
Read Time2 min
Sources4 outlets
Parents at four Sydney private schools now have a median annual household income above $500,000, with new tax office data also showing income surges at 14 elite schools over the past two years, including a $83,000 jump at Cranbrook.

Tax office records show Wenona, Queenwood, SCEGGS and Mosman Church of England Preparatory School were the first schools to join the $500,000 club after median parent incomes crossed that threshold last year.

At Cranbrook, the median parent income rose by $83,000 over two years, or 9 per cent annually, to $485,000, outpacing recent fee increases. Year 12 fees at the school now stand at $52,000.

Across 14 schools, median parent income jumped by $50,000 or more between 2023 and 2025, including at Shore, Monte Sant' Angelo and St Catherine's. Other schools with significant rises included St Vincent's, St Ignatius and Stella Maris colleges.

Not all high-fee schools are in that bracket. At King's, the median parent income is $260,000, at Pymble Ladies' College it is $235,000 and at Trinity it is $265,000.

The federal government has collected data on parent salaries using tax office records since 2022 under its Direct Measure of Income method, which ranks schools by parents' income to determine how much government funding each school receives.

Independent Schools Australia chief executive Graham Catt defended the funding model, saying it was based on needs-based support for every student. "It is more accurate to think of funding for students, not institutions," he said, noting governments spend about $26,140 per student in government schools and $13,550 per student in independent schools.

"Students at the highest capacity-to-contribute independent schools attract considerably less again, and the parent-income data you are examining is already built into the funding."

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The data shows how sharply parent incomes diverge between Sydney's most expensive private schools and the rest of the school system.
  • Because the Direct Measure of Income determines government funding, rising parent incomes at these schools will reduce the public funding they receive.
  • The figures illustrate the broader affordability gap in private education and may fuel debate about school funding equity.

Background

The federal government introduced the Direct Measure of Income in 2022 as a way of ranking schools based on parents' taxable income. The measure replaced earlier proxy methods and is used to distribute government funding to non-government schools on a needs basis. The latest tax office data covers incomes between 2023 and 2025 and is the first to show multiple schools crossing the $500,000 median threshold.

Key Perspectives

Independent Schools Australia: Chief executive Graham Catt argues the funding model is working as intended, directing less public money to families with the greatest capacity to contribute while maintaining needs-based support for students across the system. Critics of school funding arrangements: The widening gap between wealthy schools and the rest is likely to raise questions about whether the federal school funding formula adequately targets disadvantage, and whether students at the wealthiest schools need public subsidies at all. Families at lower-income private schools: Schools such as King's, Pymble Ladies' College and Trinity have median parent incomes in the $235,000 to $265,000 range, far below the $500,000 club. Their funding levels will continue to be shaped by the same income data, but they remain well above the median Australian household income.

What to Watch

  • The next Direct Measure of Income release will show whether more schools join the $500,000 club and how far Cranbrook's median income rises.
  • Any government review of school funding formulas will test whether the income measure becomes more or less central to how money is distributed.
  • Public debate may intensify around annual fee increases at schools where parent incomes are growing faster than fees.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workReport an errorSubscribe