Why families choose boarding

Parents and carers choose boarding schools based on several factors that are connected to the wellbeing and educational progression of their child and the lifestyle of the family. Many families choose boarding schools outside their own locality. Parents give the primary reasons their children board as:

• Access to education or education of higher quality
• Access to specialised subjects, extra-curricular activities and post-school options
• Geographical isolation of the family residence
• Consistency and stability of schooling
• Safety and security – offering a “home away from home”
• Opportunity for peer relationships and connection
• Supportive pastoral care
• Family ties to a particular Independent boarding school or community

The opportunity to access specific living arrangements (co-educational, dormitory, catering for additional needs, independent of family), are further reasons families choose boarding for their children.

The majority of parents/carers and educators agree that boarding school is a positive experience for most students with over two thirds identifying the main benefits as:

• Higher academic outcomes or increased opportunities
• Greater independence and self-reliance
• Increased opportunity for social interaction with peers.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander boarders

The Independent school sector is the major provider of boarding school education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders attending 121 Independent schools constituting an important and growing cohort of boarders. In 2023, there were 2,335 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders (15 per cent of all Independent school boarders) attending 121 boarding schools (87 per cent of Independent boarding schools).

Between 2014 and 2023, there was an approximate seven per cent growth in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders. In 2023, there were nine schools in the sector where all the students were boarding, and all were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders . Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from remote communities attend boarding schools in both metropolitan and regional and remote areas, and many attend boarding schools interstate.

Independent sector Indigenous enrolments

Also see page on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Funding boarding schools 

The viability, quality and sustainability of Independent boarding schools is dependent on adequate resourcing. Australian Government recurrent funding is only available to support the recurrent costs of education and not the costs associated with boarding although there are some limited targeted Australian Government and state/territory government grants.

There is also government assistance available for families through the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Study Assistance Scheme (ABSTUDY), some state allowances and privately through scholarships. These payments are available to eligible families to support the costs associated with boarding such as fees and transport.

All Independent boarding schools are therefore highly dependent on fee income.

Concerns exist over the adequacy of available funding to ensure boarding schools thrive, particularly for regional and remote and Indigenous boarding schools.

Challenges and opportunities for boarding schools

Independent boarding schools have identified several challenges for the sector, and all are connected to funding pressures:

• workforce including attracting, recruiting and training sufficient, high-quality staff
• student support including responding to student wellbeing and mental health issues; the online world; students with a disability; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders; and growing family and boarder expectations
• capital costs including new building works, upgrading, maintaining and refreshing infrastructure and the provision of equipment, information technology and furniture
• regional and remote boarding including covering the costs of goods, transport, technology and connections to family and culture, providing incentives to attract and retain a quality workforce and sourcing the capital to improve the living and learning environment.

There are, however, opportunities to take action to respond to the challenges.

• Opportunity 1: Review government policies and funding structures to direct resources to boarding schools to support disadvantaged students, improve infrastructure and engage a skilled workforce
• Opportunity 2: Reintroduce Fringe Benefit Tax benefits for Independent schools to support workforce attraction and retention
• Opportunity 3: Introduce incentives to improve the qualifications and skills of the boarding workforce
• Opportunity 4: Increase the number of scholarships available to regional, rural and remote students, disadvantaged groups and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to improve access to boarding
• Opportunity 5: Consider updating the Australia Boarding Standard to define and guide best practices in boarding care and delivery.

If these opportunities are pursued the future of boarding is promising.

Overseas boarders

In Independent schools, overseas boarders make up approximately 12 per cent of boarders and these students contribute significantly to both the boarding culture and the culture of the wider school community. Access to a globally-renowned education, excellent student outcomes, pathways to further study and a politically stable, safe, welcoming multicultural society are all reasons overseas families choose to send their children to an Independent boarding school in Australia.