Is this the most expensive subject your child could pick?

September 8, 2026 — 5:00amExperts fear changes to the Queensland curriculum are turning families away from music studies, as the number of teachers falls, schools reduce the courses on offer, and those that remain have high out-of-pocket costs.Metropolitan schools retain music students through to high school more successfully than other creative arts subjects, partly because of extracurricular offerings such as school bands.However, not all families are prepared to pay.Kelvin Grove State College’s instrumental music program requires families to pay $175 each year to cover uniform costs, with additional instrument hire fees.Kelvin Grove State College / InstagramInstrumental music programs at some of Brisbane’s largest state high schools can cost families $175 each year, and more than $130 in instrument hiring costs, without factoring in private tuition.At private schools, the price can jump to more than $600.Meanwhile, curriculum changes in February whittled down the mandatory minimum number of creative arts subjects schools needed to offer and assess students on.Education consultant Kathleen Jenkins, who has a decade’s experience in schooling and previously worked in the music industry, finds the move concerning.“When it comes to the state system, their framework says that you just have to teach and assess the arts, and it doesn’t actually state which subjects,” she said.For instrumental music, Jenkins said, the state ran a program for selected students from year 3 onwards.“Selection for the music program is up to each school’s individual policy, with consideration given to the ensemble’s make-up, time available and whether the program is a good fit for the student.”The updated Queensland primary curriculum includes one semester of assessable learning every two years as the minimum requirement for creative arts subjects from years 1 to 6.Kathleen Jenkins on a music and education panel at Bigsound in Brisbane.Simon Gorman ClarkThe curriculum required students to have participated in all five arts subjects – dance, drama, media, music and visual arts – at least once by the end of year 6.If schools could employ a classroom music teacher, that teacher would teach each year level for between 30 and 40 minutes each week.Queensland Teachers’ Union vice-president Leah Olsson.Catherine StrohfeldtQueensland Teachers’ Union vice-president Leah Olsson said there were about 500 full-time equivalent classroom music teachers across more than 900 primary schools in the state.“Schools are now employing people as art specialists, where they deliver the whole spectrum of the arts,” Olsson said.“Previously, music was its own specialty area, and the classroom teacher would actually take on the responsibility to teaching [other creative arts].”The union formed a focus group for primary music education 11 years ago, after teachers noticed fewer students choosing music, particularly in the regions where music teachers often covered multiple schools.Jenkins said industry and external providers could fill the gaps in the public system, but funding was an issue.“We’ve got all sorts of sports grants – we’ve got the Play On vouchers that parents can apply for,” she said.“It’s awesome ... my kids are playing sport because of them, and I bet my kids would probably be learning more about music if we had them [for the creative arts].”When asked whether it had considered cost-of-living help for arts courses, an Education Department spokesperson said parents could speak to principals about fee waivers.The department’s Back to School Boost program – which will jump to $150 for each primary school child next year – can be applied to music-related costs if they are invoiced directly by the school.A department spokesperson said remote and regional schools could access travel grants and funding for creative arts incursions.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners