Victoria defines high-fee schools as those costing over $15,000 in tax war retreat

Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas (left) and minister for education Natalie Hutchins address the media in Melbourne on Thursday after the state government revisited its definition of a ‘high-fee school’. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Victorian private schools with annual fees over $15,000 will be stripped of their longstanding payroll tax exemption as part of the watering down of the Andrews government’s controversial budget measure.

Initially the government expected to make $420m in revenue over three years from the tax, announced last month, impacting 110 private schools with annual fees over $7,500.