The cost of education must be paid by governments and no Australian should be charged to send their child to a public school, the Queensland Teachers' Union says.
President Kevin Bates said it was not up to families to subsidise education after reports the federal government is considering charging rich parents for using public schools.
"Education is a public good, education is something that governments should be paying for," Mr Bates said on Monday.
"It is our very firm view that any move to attempt to charge people for attending a state school has to be rejected by the community."
Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne has been quick to rule out charging parents who send their kids to public schools but Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the question of how much parents should pay is up to states and territories.
Other options canvassed in the federation green paper include the Commonwealth withdrawing from school funding completely or adjusting the balance of which jurisdiction contributes to which education sector.
Mr Bates said the states couldn't fund education on their own when the Commonwealth collected the funds.
"We would expect the federal government to stump up for its share of the cost and also to play a role in coordinating national policy around education," he said.
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