Free Calculator · Updated 18 May 2026
Price your tutoring or music-lesson packages with confidence, from primary literacy to HSC, VCE, QCE and AMEB exam prep. Adjust hourly rate, lesson length, group size and sibling discounts to see per-lesson, per-term and annual fees instantly.
Typical AU hourly range: $50 to $80 · Default lesson: 60 min
AU public-school terms typically run 9 to 11 weeks.
1-on-1, full rate.
How to Use
Choose Primary, Lower Secondary, HSC/VCE/QCE, Tertiary, Music, AMEB or ESL. The tier sets a sensible hourly-rate band and lesson length you can fine-tune from there.
Default is 1 lesson × 10 weeks. Bump to 2 lessons/week for exam-prep intensives, or shorten to 8 weeks for short-term catch-up packages around school holidays.
Group lessons reduce the per-student rate but boost hourly revenue. Sibling discount (10% per extra child by default) and prepay savings (5% for full-year upfront) help close sales.
Most tutors stay under the $75k threshold and leave GST off. If you're registered, the breakdown shows the GST line separately so you can put it straight on your invoice.
Practical Tips
Track turnover on a rolling 12-month basis, not financial year. As soon as you forecast going over $75,000, register within 21 days, and immediately add 10% GST to every new invoice (you can't retro-charge clients).
Full-term prepay is the gold standard, it locks the schedule and removes weekly invoicing admin. For new families, a 25 to 50% deposit at booking plus the balance in Week 1 lowers the commitment hurdle without giving up income certainty.
Term packages skip public holidays and school holiday weeks by default. Spell out in your T&Cs which weeks are billed, whether you offer make-up lessons for student absences, and how rollovers work, most parent disputes start here.
A 4-student HSC group at $45/head earns $180/hr vs. $80/hr solo, but only if the room and prep time are already paid for. Run groups for high-demand subjects (Maths Ext, English Adv, Chemistry) where you can fill 4+ slots reliably.
Per-term (or per-package) pricing is the AU industry norm for tutors and music teachers because it stabilises income, reduces no-show losses, and signals commitment. Per-lesson is fine for ad-hoc HSC exam crammers, but for ongoing students bill the full term upfront with a make-up policy for legitimate cancellations.
When your tutoring turnover hits $75,000 over any rolling 12-month period (not financial year), you must register within 21 days and add 10% GST to every invoice. Most sole-trader tutors sit below this threshold and don't charge GST, but track turnover monthly so you don't get caught out mid-year.
Common AU tutor policy: prepaid terms are non-refundable, but unused lessons can be credited to the next term if cancellation is given 7+ days before the term end. For genuine medical reasons or family emergencies, offer a pro-rata refund or rollover. Publish the policy in your terms and have parents sign before the first paid term.
10% off the second child and 15 to 20% off the third is typical. It rewards multi-child families while protecting your hourly margin, they're still adding teaching time, just slightly discounted per head. Some tutors do 'flat $X per family per hour' for back-to-back sibling lessons since the travel and admin overhead is fixed.
Per-student rate drops but total revenue per hour rises. A solo $80/hr tutor running a 4-student group at ~$45 per student per hour earns $180/hr, more than double, while each family pays less than 1-on-1. Group works best for HSC subjects, exam prep, and ensemble music. Cap at 4 to 6 students to keep individual attention meaningful.
Once a year, ideally at the start of Term 1 with 6 to 8 weeks notice. Raise by 5 to 10% to cover wage inflation and your growing expertise. Existing families are far more price-tolerant than you expect provided you give notice, most attrition comes from poor communication, not the increase itself. Always grandfather mid-package rates.
OneBookPlus is the all-in-one platform for AU tutors and music teachers, term invoicing, recurring schedules, sibling discounts, parent portals and GST-ready receipts. Free to start.
Last reviewed and updated: by Bishal Shrestha
About the author
Founder & CEO, OneBookPlus
Bishal spent a decade running digital projects for Australian small businesses before founding OneBookPlus. Bishal has reviewed term-fee and pack-pricing models with AU tutors and music teachers.
Read the founder bioMore in this guide
8-step founder guide, ABN, GST, WWCC, lesson pricing, insurance, software stack, finding first 10 students.
Read Start a Tutoring Business →ComplianceWWCC requirements per state, application process, renewal cycle, exemptions for teachers and parents.
Read Working with Children Check by State →ReferenceHourly rates for AU tutors and music teachers across primary, secondary, and tertiary, by subject and city.
Read Lesson Pricing Benchmarks →From the blog
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