source : the age
With a flurry of new schools across the state and exploding enrollment leeches from state institutions, the sector’s separate schools are the fastest-growing of any business in the nation.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday, Queensland’s independent school enrollment increased by 4.7 % between 2024 and 2025, surpassing the 3.4 % average nationwide.
The country’s independent institutions have grown annually for seven years, according to Christopher Mountford, CEO of Independent Schools Queensland.
Kids want access to affordable, high-quality education options that reflect their beliefs and address the needs of their children, he said.
” Indie schools continue to provide that option for areas across Queensland.”
Mountford claimed that 240 of Queensland’s 240 independent institutions had annual fees that were less than$ 6,000, despite the fact that some of the country’s most expensive corporations had experienced steady increases.
St. Peter’s Lutheran College, Brisbane Grammar School, and Churchie, one of Brisbane’s three largest independent institutions, all increased student enrollment by up to 2.2 % between 2024 and 2025.
This increased by between 17 and 50 pupils, or about one to two schools, in true students.
Just over 7100 people were enrolled in private schools in Queensland, which means that 35 % of new students were still enrolled in independent schools.
This change was the largest raise any state has ever recorded in one sector on a national scale, and it was followed by Victorian independent schools, which increased by just over 6100 students.
In contrast, state school enrollment decreased by 0.6 %, or about 3200 students, to around 3200.
The industry’s nearly 1300 schools also account for two-thirds of all admissions, according to the Education Department, with the need for state schools “remains strong.”
A division spokesperson said the Queensland state is delivering 15 fresh schools in a report$ 1.09 billion investment, including six new main schools in Caloundra South and Ripley Valley, to give parents more options and help all individuals reach their potential.
The condition has constructed 17 new institutions in the last ten centuries, 11 of which are less than five years old.
Since 2016, the independent sector in Queensland has opened 14 fresh Catholic schools, compared to the separate sector’s 42 new schools.
