Gold Coast Private School Fees 2026: 23 Schools Compared

Quick answer: The most expensive school on the Gold Coast is The Southport School: $27,216 for Year 7 in 2026, one all-inclusive fee with no extra levies. St Hilda's School ($26,349) and Somerset College ($24,344) are next. After those three, nothing charges more than $17,940. Half of the 20 schools with a 2026 schedule charge under $10,535 once compulsory levies are counted, and the five Catholic colleges sit at $5,300 to $7,742. We read every figure at each school's own fee schedule on 28 October 2026.

Key takeaways

• 23 Gold Coast private and Catholic secondary schools publish a Year 7 fee. 20 still show 2026; three have already replaced it with 2027. The 2026 compulsory totals run from $5,300 (St Joseph's College, Coomera) to $27,216 (The Southport School).
• Three schools, then a gap of $6,400. TSS, St Hilda's and Somerset all charge more than $24,000. The next is A.B. Paterson College at $17,940.
• Catholic tuition is not set centrally here. Year 7 tuition at the five Gold Coast Catholic colleges ranges 2.5 times, from $2,288 to $5,828. Add the levies and the full bills range only 1.5 times, from $5,300 to $7,742.
• Ranking by tuition gets the order wrong. All Saints Anglican School's tuition ($12,618) is lower than Emmanuel College's ($14,360), but its compulsory total is higher: $17,192 against $14,485.
• Six years cost $34,224 to $182,117. The Southport School's Year 7 to 12 bill is about 5.3 times St Joseph's College's.
• 2027 fees are already out at six schools. Their median Year 7 rise is about 4.5%.

Gold Coast fees at a glance (2026)

Every Gold Coast independent school with a published fee

Fees are for a first child in Year 7, domestic day student, before sibling or early-payment discounts. "Compulsory total" is tuition plus every levy all students pay, with family levies counted once. Where a school bills one all-in fee, that figure is the total. Rows marked 2027 are from schedules that have already replaced 2026 on the school's website.

Saint Stephen's bills year-level camps separately and publishes no amount for them. Rivermount bills secondary subject levies and Years 7 to 12 camps separately too. St Hilda's tuition covers outdoor education, excursions and sport, but not textbooks. Graceview Adventist College was Gold Coast Christian College. King's Christian College runs two campuses with different fees.

Every Gold Coast Catholic college

All five are Brisbane Catholic Education colleges. Assisi's total includes its $500 ICT levy, and St Michael's includes its $2,100 student levy, which covers compulsory camps and excursions.

Schools to ask directly

Mastery Schools Australia at Varsity Lakes, a special assistance school for Years 4 to 10, doesn't publish its fees, so ask the school. Other special assistance and flexible schools aren't in this comparison.

Catholic fees: five colleges, five different tuitions

In Cairns and Townsville the diocese sets one tuition figure for every Catholic college. The Gold Coast is different. Brisbane Catholic Education's enrolment terms say compulsory fees "are determined each year by the School", and each college publishes its own schedule.

The result is a wide tuition spread: $2,288 at St Joseph's, $2,392 at Assisi, $2,820 at St Michael's, $4,120 at Marymount and $5,828 at Aquinas. The levies then narrow the gap again:

At St Michael's, Assisi and St Joseph's, the levies are bigger than the tuition. They cover the things a family would pay for anyway: camps, excursions, textbook hire, a laptop and the building fund. So compare the compulsory total, and ask what it includes.

Tuition is not the bill

The independent schools split the same way. TSS, St Hilda's and Livingstone bill one all-inclusive fee. Emmanuel College adds only a $125 text hire charge, and A.B. Paterson $540 in building and parent levies. All Saints adds $4,574 in resource fees and levies to $12,618 of tuition, so tuition is only 73% of its bill. King's Christian College adds $2,844 in "consumables" at both campuses.

That is why All Saints sits above Coomera Anglican and Emmanuel on the real bill, despite having the lowest tuition of the three. If a school quotes you tuition, ask for the compulsory total.

The real six-year bill

We added each school's own 2026 year-by-year compulsory fees from Year 7 to Year 12. Only schools that publish a fee for every one of those years are included.

The Southport School's six years come to $182,117, because its fee rises every year from $27,216 in Year 7 to $31,773 in Year 12. St Hilda's totals $160,899 and Somerset $146,432. A.B. Paterson ($107,640), Coomera Anglican ($90,072) and Silkwood ($62,100) bill the same in every secondary year, so their budgets are the easiest to plan. King's Christian College bills Year 12 over three terms, which makes Year 12 its cheapest secondary year ($9,609 at Reedy Creek). Among the Catholic colleges, six years cost $34,224 at St Joseph's and $47,396 at Aquinas.

What 2027 will cost

Six schools have already published their 2027 fees on the same basis as 2026:

The median rise is about 4.5%. Livingstone is the exception, with its all-inclusive fee up 19.9%. If you are enrolling for 2027, budget roughly 4% to 6% above the 2026 figures in our tables, and ask each school for its 2027 schedule. Hillcrest, Trinity Lutheran and Rivermount have already swapped theirs in, so their 2027 figures appear in the tables above.

Boarding on the Gold Coast

Two schools in our tables board, each billed in addition to tuition:

A Year 7 boarder at TSS pays $55,284 a year in tuition and boarding. See our girls' boarding schools list for options across the country.

Help with costs

• Textbook and Resource Allowance: the Queensland Government pays $164 per student in Years 7 to 10 and $357 in Years 11 and 12 in 2026, to state and approved non-state schools. It goes to the school, not to you, and you don't need to claim it.
• Sibling and early-payment discounts: at TSS, a third and later son gets 15% off tuition, and paying each term by the due date takes 5% off. Coomera Anglican takes 5%, 10% and 20% off for a second, third and fourth child. Livingstone charges no tuition for a third and later child. Silkwood takes $550 a year off for each sibling. Ask every school before you assume the full fee.
• Sport and activity vouchers: see our state-by-state voucher guide for Queensland's current Play On! round.

What's around the schools

Fees are one half of the decision. The other is what your child can do after 3pm without a long drive. We counted the kids' activity providers listed on AroundSchools within 3 km of each campus:

Marymount, a Catholic college at $7,564, has more listed activities within 3 km than any other school here, including the two Southport schools billing more than three times as much. Schools in the northern growth corridor, from Coomera to Ormeau, have 20 to 57. Browse more on the City of Gold Coast council page, free kids' activities on the Gold Coast and our Kids' Activity Index. For the bigger move, see the most livable suburbs in Queensland and the Queensland school holiday dates.

What we don't rank

This post orders schools by fee and nothing else. We don't rank schools on NAPLAN, ATAR or reputation. For each school's details, start with its AroundSchools profile (linked in the tables) and the My School website, and browse all Gold Coast schools or the Gold Coast Catholic schools.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive school on the Gold Coast?

The Southport School (TSS), a boys' school in Southport: $27,216 for Year 7 in 2026, rising to $31,773 in Year 12. Its fee is all-inclusive, with no extra levies. St Hilda's School, the girls' school also in Southport, is second at $26,349.

How much are private schools on the Gold Coast?

For Year 7 in 2026, once compulsory levies are added, Gold Coast independent schools cost $6,320 to $27,216 and Catholic colleges $5,300 to $7,742. Half of the 20 schools with a 2026 schedule charge under $10,535. Only TSS, St Hilda's and Somerset charge more than $18,000.

How much are Catholic school fees on the Gold Coast?

Each college sets its own fees. For Year 7 in 2026, tuition is $2,288 to $5,828, and the compulsory total including levies is $5,300 (St Joseph's College, Coomera) to $7,742 (Aquinas College, Ashmore). Aquinas has published 2027: $8,092.

Which Gold Coast private schools are all-inclusive?

The Southport School, St Hilda's School and Livingstone Christian College each bill one fee that covers camps and excursions. Emmanuel College adds only a $125 text hire charge. Most other schools add separate resource, technology or capital levies, so their tuition figure understates the bill.

How much will Gold Coast school fees rise in 2027?

Among the six schools that have already published 2027 fees on the same basis, the median Year 7 rise is about 4.5%. Livingstone Christian College is the outlier at 19.9%. Plan on 4% to 6% and check each school's new schedule.

Are there boarding schools on the Gold Coast?

Yes. The Southport School boards boys and St Hilda's School boards girls. In 2026, TSS boarding is $28,068 a year for Years 7 to 11 and St Hilda's is $28,024 for Years 5 to 10, both in addition to tuition.

Related reading

• Brisbane private and Catholic school fees 2026 compared
• Sunshine Coast schools in 2026
• Townsville and Cairns private school fees 2026
• The most expensive schools in Australia in 2026
• Catholic vs independent school fees in Australia
• Private school scholarships in Brisbane
• Compare schools on the Queensland school fees page or browse Gold Coast independent schools

Written by the AroundSchools Research Team. Reviewed: October 2026.

How we checked: every fee is from the school's own published schedule (a PDF or fees page), read on 28 October 2026. Fees are annual, domestic, day student, first child, before discounts, with per-family levies counted once. Three schools (Hillcrest, Trinity Lutheran, Rivermount) now show only 2027 fees, labelled as such. Sources: each school's fee schedule, linked from its AroundSchools profile; Brisbane Catholic Education enrolment terms and conditions; Queensland Department of Education, Textbook and Resource Allowance. Fees change every year, so confirm with the school before you enrol. Corrections: hello@aroundschools.com.au