Uniform costs have also increased. A basic Lowes primary school boys uniform of a short-sleeved shirt and shorts now costs $85,while standard Clarks lace-up school shoes retail for $110.
At the end of last year,aFinder report found the average annual cost of school supplies for a primary school student – including a uniform and electronic devices,split over years of use – was $684. The analysis was based on children attending public,Catholic and independent schools.
The average annual cost for a high school student was $1132,including $469 for a uniform,$300 for electronic devices and $278 on textbooks.
In its first budget,NSW Labor announced it would not repeat the previous government’s 2023 back-to-school voucher program,a cost-of-living assistance package that gave all parents three $50 vouchers to subsidise school supplies,uniforms and technology.
After previously considering axing Active and Creative Kids vouchers,it instead means-tested the children’s activity subsidy,limiting it to children whose families receive a Family Tax Benefit (approximately 600,000 of the 1.35 million school-aged children in the state) from February.
NSW Council of Social Service acting chief executive Ben McAlpine called for the $150 back-to-school voucher program to also be reinstated for low income earners.
He said families,particularly those on low incomes and living below the poverty line,were under incredible financial strain as cost of living pressures and rising interest rates squeeze budgets.