Black shorts instead of navy, a plastic bag for a lunch box. It doesn't take much to feel different on the first day of school - which is why Stacey James tries hard to make sure her four daughters show up for class each year with everything they need.
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This time around it will cost the Canberra family more than $3000 to send all four girls back to school, once uniforms, shoes, backpacks, and school camps are included in the bill.
"It always comes around at the worst time, right after Christmas," Ms James said.
Thanks to support from charity The Smith Family and payment extensions at her daughters' public school, Ms James said she would manage to scrape by this year.
"There's no way we could afford it all otherwise," she said.
"There's a perception that public education is free, but it's far from the case. The schools have a fund to help out but when so many families are struggling, I can tell you it gets eaten up fast, I never want to ask."
Local charities say the James family are far from alone. This year, the Canberra arm of Givit has been inundated with a record number of requests for help through its annual back to school appeal, with almost $40,000 worth of items like stationery, uniforms and backpacks requested in the first 48 hours of the campaign. More than 2000 requests have since been received, compared to 700 last year and 1800 during its Christmas appeal.
The charity acts as "matchmaker" by pairing registered services supporting those in need of particular items with donations from generous Canberrans, many of which would have otherwise gone to landfill.
Among the requests this year were stationery, shoes, and a school bag for a single mother with seven children living in emergency housing and a girl's uniform for the child of an asylum seeker fleeing domestic violence.
"It's gone bananas!" ACT manager Caroline Odgers said.
"This is bigger than Christmas and we still have a month of the appeal to go. We've been blown away by the generosity of Canberrans too."
In Canberra, a city well known for its relative affluence, almost 9000 children are living below the poverty line.
A government spokeswoman said public schools could dip into a fund worth about half a million each year when supporting families in need. Extra cash was also handed out to schools based on their concentration of disadvantaged students from a fund of $200,000 set aside in each annual budget.
Schools were best placed to determine how to spend the money, the spokeswoman said, but it could cover items such as school uniforms, breakfast, book packs, stationery and excursions.
The surge in donation requests comes as the latest Planning for Education Index, developed by ASG and Monash University, estimates Canberra families will pay about $55,064 in total over the 13 years of schooling for a child starting at a public school in 2019.
Families sending their children to Catholic schools are predicted to pay $126,064 over that same period while a Canberra private education is forecast as $209,978 on average.
Compared to other Australian cities, that actually makes the capital one of the more affordable places to attend an independent school, though Canberra Catholic schools are the second most expensive in the country, behind Adelaide.
A public education in the ACT is moderately priced, the fourth most expensive in Australia, with incidentals like transport, sports gear and external tuition making up most of that cost.
Almost two-thirds of Australians surveyed by the Smith Family in December said they felt education costs were unaffordable for families.
Based off 2018 prices, the charity estimated it would cost families about $2430 per child once uniforms, excursions and laptops were all factored in.
Chief executive Lisa O'Brien said a deepening digital divide in Australian households was particularly concerning, as many students struggling to finish their homework went without computers or internet access at home.
Last year, the ACT government rolled out Chromebooks to more than 12,500 public school students as part of its new focus on equity in education.
Canberra students in years 7 to 10 from low income families can also apply for a lump sum payment of $750 a year from the territory.
To sponsor a disadvantaged child or support the Smith Family's back to school campaign visit thesmithfamily.com.au. To support Canberra children through GIVIT, visit givit.org.au.
