Alternative schools are carving out a growing niche as increasing numbers of students look for a place outside of the government and Catholic education systems – and for commercial real estate agents looking to boost sales and lease agreements, that means a powerful marketing opportunity.
The past four years has seen a sea change in the schooling system with numerous independent alternative schools opening across south-east Queensland and providing opportunities for students struggling to integrate in the traditional school system.
Beyond supporting the educational needs of students struggling to integrate, demand for premises to deliver alternative schools is also growing, with Principal at REALSpecialists Commercial, Brad Duncalfe describing alternative schools as the next “gold-plated property asset”.
He is currently marketing the sale of the Mastery Schools-occupied premises at 16/105 Scarborough Street in Southport and says there is strong demand for new premises from alternative schools.
“The market isn’t understood that well because it is still very new,” Duncalfe says.
“Alternative non-state schools are similar, if not better, than childcare centres as they too are
underpinned by government funding, and, unlike childcare centres, are easily adapted to a multitude
of uses such as commercial offices. Indeed, much of the recent premises leased to these schools were offices, which had been transformed.”
Duncalfe says it’s particularly relevant to areas in Queensland, with a high percentage of vacant offices in the CBD.
“In these cases, these schools are providing a real boost to occupancy rates.”
Fresh options for frustrated families
Recent additions to the alternative education space include the Men of Business Academy in Southport, catering for Year 11 and 12 boys looking for an alternative learning environment to mainstream schooling, as well as Arethusa College, which provides educational and vocational pathways to students from year seven to 12, across multiple campuses in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Springwood.
Then there’s the BUSY School in Southport, which bills itself as providing an inclusive and supportive educational environment for girls, and those that identify as female, who may have become disengaged, to complete their Year 11 and Year 12 education. Another recent player in the space is Mastery Schools Australia, which offers education for students at risk of disengaging from mainstream schooling from year four to 10, with schools in Varsity Lakes, Southport, Coolangatta and Springfield.
Independent education analyst Ross Elliot said these schools are part of the independent or non-
government, non-Catholic school sector, which was the fastest growing part of the schools’ sector in Australia.
“This is because there are plenty of students who don’t fit into the ‘sausage factory’ of the state or
Catholic school sector,” Elliot says.
“Thirty years ago, there wasn’t much support for students with learning difficulties but now there are
more and more emerging with demand far outstripping supply.”
Men of Business (MoB) Academy CEO Jason Sessargo says the schooling system in Australia was largely
unchanged from 70 years ago.
“We started Men of Business because we recognised boys were disengaging from school as they
lacked purpose in their lives and couldn’t see the point in attending,” he says.
“A majority have learnt poor behaviour traits from either social media, or a lack of a role model in
the home, and that leads them to act out. They come from a variety of family situations with some couch surfing, some living independently and others from wealthy families so it’s a really broad range. Some can’t read after 10 years of schooling so there are big challenges we’re facing.”
Sessargo says MoB focuses on showing boys they do have a future by teaching them critical life
skills and putting them on pathways for further education or entry level jobs or traineeships.
“So, for example, we have a driving school to teach them to drive, we have reading coaches so boys
can get up to speed with their reading,” he says.
“We work hard to identify their capabilities and then match them with the right job or traineeship. This is the hard part because it’s about not only setting their expectations about what to get out of a job or traineeship, but also those of their employer.”
Although he acknowledges MoB has received “significant support” – not just from the community but also the Queensland Government, Sessargo says more help is needed to help alternatives to the traditional education sector cater to increasing demand from families keen for other options.
“The schooling system has enabled schools like us to operate to create a model that supports those
students that don’t fit into the mainstream environment,” he says.
“There is growing demand because we’re providing a service that mainstream schools either can’t or
won’t provide.”

Commercial real estate specialist Duncalfe says the core ingredients of an ideal commercial property for an alternative school in Queensland include “office buildings located in the correct zoning for Education Establishments” that can be “easily or cost-effectively upgraded to obtain a 9b Certification (required for Education Establishments)”.
“[Buildings] in close proximity to public sporting amenities (i.e. sports fields, swimming pools, basketball courts) for student recreation building with a minimum floor plate of 600m2 to cater for approx. 60 students (usually the initial intake of students) up to 1000m2+ to cater for the school to grow to 120 students,” he told EducationDaily, adding that buildings with a drop-off zone for students and public transport close by are also ideal.
“This sector is growing very quickly, particularly in Queensland, with three main independent schools dominating this growth being Mastery Schools Australia, The Busy Schools and Arethusa College all opening schools in multiple locations.”
