2026 boarding edition
0 Australian boarding schools — fees, region + cohort
Median total annual cost (Year 12 tuition + boarding): $0. Compare every option, sorted by fee, region or ICSEA.
★Key takeaways
- ✓0 verified Australian private schools offer boarding (out of 215 total in our directory).
- ✓Median 2026 boarding fee (boarding only, on top of tuition): $undefined/year.
- ✓Median total annual cost (Year 12 tuition + boarding): $0/year.
- ✓The most expensive city has the highest average total cost at $—/year. Regional + interstate boarding can be $20–30k less per year.
By city
Average annual cost (boarding + Year 12 tuition)
| City / region | Boarding schools | Avg total annual |
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Most expensive
Top 10 most expensive boarding schools
| # | School | City | Year 12 | Boarding | Total |
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Most affordable
Top 10 lowest boarding fees
Lowest boarding-only fees nationally. Often regional schools or smaller campuses where overheads are lower.
| # | School | City | Boarding fee | Total annual |
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Full directory
All 0 boarding schools, ranked by ICSEA
| School | City | Sector | Gender | ICSEA | Boarding fee |
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Choosing a boarding school
What to ask a boarding school before applying
Boarding fees vary widely — from ~$25,000/year regional to $50,000+/year at marquee city schools. Below the headline figure, the difference between a great + poor boarding fit comes down to factors most school websites don't cover. Ask Admissions:
- Boarding house structure: single-house full boarding or year-grouped (Year 7 separate from Year 12)? Vertical houses tend to have stronger pastoral mentoring; year-grouped tend to have stronger peer cohort.
- Weekend programme: what happens Friday night to Sunday evening? Schools with structured weekend activities (sport, excursions, social events) typically have lower boarder attrition.
- Day-boarder mix: what % of the senior cohort boards? Schools with strong day-school dominance can mean boarders feel peripheral; mostly-boarding schools (think Geelong Grammar, TKS Canberra, NEGS Armidale) have boarder-centric culture.
- Catchment region: ask where current boarders' families are from. A school 80% rural NSW + ACT will feel different to one 50% international.
- Boarding leadership stability: who is the Director of Boarding + how long have they held the role? A new appointment in the last 12 months is a flag worth probing.
- Pastoral structure: who is the boarder's tutor / mentor / "house parent"? How often do they meet? Weekly 1:1 is the gold standard.
- Health + wellbeing: on-site nurse hours? GP arrangements? Counsellor access? A boarding school without 24/7 nurse coverage is increasingly unusual.
- Travel logistics: Does the school co-ordinate flights / transport home for term breaks? Some schools include this; others charge per trip.
- Sibling discount: covered in our sibling calculator — boarding-school sibling discounts are typically more generous (15-25%) than day-school discounts.
Most boarding schools encourage prospective families to stay overnight in the house before applying — take it up. A 24-hour boarder visit will tell you more than 10 hours of website browsing.