'Thousands': Parents foot hefty bill for back to school costs

But it's a process that comes with a hefty price tag. Ms Olsen's bill for school supplies has, so far, come to around $4000.

"A lot of it is because she's going into year 7," she said.

"She'll catch the bus for the first time. She's never done that and they don't have payphones anymore like when we were kids, so ... I had to buy her phone ...and then they have to have a laptop."

It comes as new research finds Australians are preparing to spend $2.5 billion on back to school buys.

The data, which comes from the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan, reveals that some 5 million Australians will fork out an average of $512 each on school purchases.

But 14 per cent of those surveyed said they will spend more than $1000 while 10 per cent said they will spend less than a $100.

Nearly half of those surveyed said they will be spending more than they did last year.

Data showed the more than 50 per cent of respondents would be spending on stationery, school uniforms and footwear, followed by books and lunchboxes or water bottles.

With the rising cost of living and the price of school supplies and attire, some are turning to second hand shops and groups to cut down on costs.

Ms Olsen said she was able to save on uniform costs by buying second hand from Facebook groups. She purchased two summer dresses and a tracksuit jacket at half price, totalling $150.

But there were also winter uniform costs, which she planned to put off until later.

"Just the blazer is $250," she said. "It's compulsory in term two and three, so I'm going to wait a bit into term one ... because they grow so fast ... and so I can put that cost off," she said.

On the lesser end were stationery costs, which came to $80.

"Before we went stationery shopping, we had a look around at home, so we didn't buy things that we had," she said.

Ms Olsen, who works as a contractor, said she had a good job but the family nevertheless had to make some sacrifices to cover the back to school costs.

"We've done less social events over the last few weeks to make sure I have the money available, going to the movies less and stuff like that," she said.

Ms Olsen also went back to work earlier so she could pay for all the supplies.

But she considers herself lucky as many other families struggle with the costs of school gear.

According to The Smith Family, who surveyed more than 2200 families supported by the charity, nearly nine out of 10 people were worried about how they would be able to afford their children's school supplies.

Nearly half of the respondents, 45.6 per cent, said they feared their children were likely to miss out on basics like uniforms and shoes. Those figures have risen from 29.7 percent in 2023.

Chief executive Doug Taylor said this was reflective of the impact of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

"The families we support make impossible decisions every day about how to prioritise the limited resources they have," he said.

Fen Fen Li, who owns Chilada, a store that stocks school uniforms and children's clothing, said even though her suppliers had raised prices, she hasn't changed hers.

By keeping prices down, she hopes to draw in more customers looking for a bargain.

"Everyone's on a budget at the moment," she said.

"Most people going to a private school have a budget as well because as well because the mortgage goes up."

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She said school hats, tops and jumpers were among the most popular items parents bought during back to school shopping.

She said parents spent on average between $100 and $400, depending on what school their child attended.

Shopping at Chilada on Friday was mum of three Karen White, who was expecting her fourth child this year.

She was purchasing shirts for her son Alex, who would be attending kindergarten, but said the rest of the supplies would come from Best and Less or Big W.

She said costs of supplies were rising but the family was able to "carry through a lot of the things from last year".