School fees out of our hands: Lanbroek Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek. Private school fees will rise and there is nothing the state government can do about it. Education minister John-Paul Langbroek said while the government was aware the cost of educating children at non-state schools was rising, it wasn't something it could control. Fees at Brisbane Grammar School rose 6 per cent, higher than inflation, for the 2014 year, taking tuition costs to just under $24,000, before uniform, book and associate costs. Brisbane Girls Grammar will set parents back $20,880, up 5 per cent from last year, double the inflation rate of 2.2 per cent. Mr Langbroek said he sympathised, but Queensland was still cheaper than its southern neighbours. "The government has no input [into fees]," He said. This is something that schools, through their own boards, set and this is a subject that people are very passionate about, but when we look at other states and other cities, fees here at the highest levels are not as high as they are in Sydney or in Melbourne. The main cost for schools is the cost of the labour - it is up to 70 per cent. Of course wages go up and no one is saying they shouldn't go up, but that is something that is reflected in their [independent schools] need to make sure they are not spending more than they are earning. They don't get as much government subsidies as state schools do, they then raise money from philanthropy and from parent's fees.