Free Education, Uniforms Not So Much
Public education in Australia is free, but nobody warned me the uniform wouldn’t be. It depends a lot on the school. Some don’t actually require every single item to carry a logo, in which case you can grab generic pieces in the right colour from somewhere like Kmart and just get a badge ironed on. Most schools also run a second-hand uniform shop, and some of what turns up there is barely worn and very cheap. My daughter bought a full set in Year 7 and pretty much never bought another piece after that, she just wore whatever she liked once she hit the senior years and the dress code loosened up.
This Year’s Numbers
Prices don’t really differ that much between public and private, though some public schools are a lot more relaxed about what counts as “uniform.” Private schools tend to be stricter, right down to the socks and even the hair ties, which have to come from the actual uniform shop.
We’ve got one child at public school and one who’s just started Year 5 at a private school, uniform started this week. Both cost us around $1,000 each. The most expensive single item was the blazer for my son’s new private school, close to $500 on its own, and it comes with its own set of rules: no rain on it, dry clean only, and there’s a separate raincoat sold specifically so the blazer never gets wet. We’ve still got sports uniform to buy this week, and winter uniform whenever the weather turns.
Uniforms in Australia genuinely aren’t cheap, and on top of that, kids grow fast and primary schoolers wreck their clothes and shoes at a rate that would be funny if it wasn’t so expensive. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been precious about what my kids wear. My approach to parenting has always leaned toward letting them find their own way rather than fussing over the details, so uniforms are one area I try not to overthink. If that sounds too relaxed to you, that’s completely fair, we all land somewhere different on this.
Where We Actually Save Money
A few things that have genuinely helped us keep the cost down, based on what’s worked for our own family:
Public and religious schools quite often don’t require a logo on every single item, only that the colour matches the school’s requirements, things like pants, t-shirts, hats and scarves usually fall into this category. It’s worth asking your own school exactly what’s compulsory versus what just needs to be the right colour, since private schools are typically stricter about this. Where the school allows it, the plain versions from Big W, Kmart, Target or Best & Less come in a full range of sizes and colours, and cost noticeably less than the branded uniform shop equivalents.
We also don’t buy multiples of everything. Across a school week my kids wear the formal shirt three days and a sports t-shirt two days, and honestly one of each in the current size is enough unless your child is unusually hard on clothes. Everything gets washed a few times a week anyway, and if something’s dirty on the day, nobody at school seems to notice or care. Jackets get a name written inside so they’re easy to find if lost; the rest of it stays on their body most of the day so it rarely goes missing.
On sizing, we don’t stock up multiple sizes ahead either, just the next size up. You never know if you’ll move house, change schools, or if the uniform design changes altogether, so buying two years ahead feels like a gamble that isn’t worth it. If they’re in a size 6 now, I start keeping an eye out for size 8.
Whenever second-hand is available, we buy second-hand. If that’s not your thing, that’s genuinely fine, there’s no need to argue about it, we just all land in different places. Most schools run their own second-hand uniform sales, and there are often parent Facebook groups too. One of the teachers at our school actually set up a dedicated second-hand uniform Facebook group for parents, and it’s been genuinely useful.
Shoes are the last piece. Our school requires plain black shoes, and sneakers are fine, they don’t have to be leather. It has to be solid black though, including the sides, no other colours or patterns allowed anywhere on the shoe. I’m not particularly swayed by the marketing around leather school shoes, we tried a pair in the first year and they turned out stiffer, heavier and hotter than sneakers, with far less give. Sneakers, on the other hand, come in far more styles, cost less, and are actually comfortable and breathable for a kid running around all day. A pair from Kmart for a bit over $20 has lasted my child a full year. For sports days, our school doesn’t care about brand or style either, any sneaker will do.
The Bottom Line
Don’t rush into uniform shopping, and keep it practical rather than letting it turn into a bigger spend than it needs to be. If you want to check what financial support is available where you live, our guide to Back to School Vouchers covers what you can put toward uniforms, shoes and other essentials depending on your state. Hopefully some of this helps if you’re staring down your own uniform shopping list this year.