An elite Melbourne private school offered parents fee discounts of 20% last year after it received nearly $20 million in JobKeeper subsidies.

A Guardian investigation reveals Wesley College, one of the most expensive private schools in Victoria, gave parents fee rebates, waived other costs and made a 5 million dollar transfer to its scholarship fund after it received $18.2 million in JobKeeper last year.

The school says JobKeeper payments were used to pay staff.