Private School Usage in Australia 1975 - 2010: Evidence from the Household Expenditure Surveys

The use of private schools in Australia has increased greatly. This paper shows that most of the growth has been concentrated in using low-fee schools, while the growth in using high-fee schools has been modest. Furthermore, the increase has occurred for both two-parent and single-parent households and for households at all income levels. However, increasing income and changes household composition can account only for a small part of the trend.