For many Australian families the most important property decision they will ever make is not their own home. It’s whether their children will ever be able to buy one at all.
That decision often starts quietly when a child reaches high school age. Private school offers arrive and many parents commit to spending as much as $45,000 a year for the next 6 years. Few stop to ask what that same money could mean for their child’s future in a country where housing has become the defining divider of opportunity.
The hidden financial trade-off
It feels like an odd comparison. Schooling on one side. Property on the other. But the two are now deeply linked. In a country where the median home costs more than $1.1m, (in cities like Sydney closer to $1.75m), the biggest challenge is no longer servicing a mortgage. It’s saving the deposit.
Run the numbers and the trade off is stark. Six years of top-tier private school fees adds up to roughly $286,000. Invested progressively into a diversified portfolio those same annual payments could grow to more than $400,000 from the start of year 7 to the end of year 12. That’s enough for a 20% deposit on a $2m home. For many young Australians that head start would be life changing!
There is also a middle path that rarely gets discussed. Parents could redirect part of those fees into experiences rather than tuition and invest the rest. Spending $5,000 a year on holidays, camps, overseas exchanges, sport and other formative experiences while investing the remaining $40,000 still leaves a child finishing Year 12 with more than $360,000 invested. They get memories and growth along the way plus a powerful financial foundation.
What gives children the bigger leg up in life?
Private schools can offer genuine advantages. Smaller class sizes. Extensive facilities. Structured sport and extracurriculars. For some students the environment makes a real difference. Confidence builds, networks form early and often endure for decades. Many parents see this as an investment in education and social capital, not just money spent.
But there’s a real irony at the heart of this decision. Even if a child does everything right, excels at school, gets into a top university and graduates at the top of their class, it can still take many years of full time work on an average salary to save a deposit for a typical home. Education alone no longer guarantees financial security. Housing has simply pulled too far ahead.
At the same time the costs of private schooling are immediate and unavoidable. Fees are paid from after tax income. They rise by more than inflation almost every year. Once the money is spent it is gone for good. There’s no compounding. No asset created. No financial momentum built in the background. Families commit to a large fixed expense during the most financially demanding years of their lives, often just as mortgages peak and career risks are highest.
Investing instead tells a different story
A diversified portfolio grows quietly over time. By early adulthood that capital can fund a home deposit. University costs. A business idea. Or simply financial security that reduces stress and expands choices. For many young adults that early buffer changes everything.
There are also quieter benefits that are harder to measure but just as important. Investing alongside children teaches powerful lessons about patience and long term thinking. They watch markets move up and down. They learn that short term noise matters far less than consistency over time. They see that money can work for them when it is invested rather than spent. Those lessons tend to stick – often far longer than anything taught in a classroom.
This approach takes parents who are prepared to sit down with their children and talk openly about money. Not as a taboo subject, but as a tool. Kids see where the money is going. They understand the trade offs. They learn why some things are delayed in favour of bigger goals later on.
Making a decision
This is obviously not a simple decision and many families blend these approaches. Some choose a more affordable private school and invest alongside it. Others invest early then reassess schooling later. Some parents invest specifically to fund future school fees rather than absorbing the cost as it arises. What matters is being intentional rather than defaulting to tradition or social pressure.
At Stockspot we’re seeing this shift happen. Close to $100 million is now invested into Stockspot Kids accounts, up 71% over the past 12 months. Some parents or grandparents are investing instead of paying private school fees. Others are building a pool of capital to fund education or housing later. In both cases the goal is the same. Give children options.
There’s no universal right answer. Education matters. Experiences matter. Financial security matters too.
The real question is not which path is best in theory – it’s which decision best positions your child for the world they will inherit.
Perhaps the greatest advantage you can give a child is not a school name or a uniform. It’s choice. And the freedom that comes from a strong financial foundation built early.
This article is adapted from an opinion piece published in The Australian – Could private school fees provide your child a house deposit instead? (30 January 2026).
