How to enrol your child in an Australian school

Every state education department publishes a school finder that maps a residential address to its designated local school. You have a right to enrol at that school; enrolling anywhere else is by application and subject to capacity.

Zones are enforced, and enforcement has tightened as inner-city schools have filled. Departments verify addresses with leases, rates notices and utility bills, and some investigate suspected false addresses. Using a relative's address is a genuine risk, not a technicality.

Out-of-zone applications are considered on published criteria — usually siblings already at the school, proximity, and specific programs — and often go to a waiting list. Apply early and apply to more than one.

Selective and specialist schools exist in several states, with entry by examination, audition or portfolio and application deadlines up to a year in advance. If this is relevant, the timeline is the constraint, not the preparation.

You will generally need: the child's birth certificate or passport; proof of your residential address, usually two documents such as a lease or rates notice plus a utility bill; an immunisation history statement from the Australian Immunisation Register, obtainable through myGov; and any court orders relating to parenting arrangements.

For a child who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you also need the visa grant notice for both the child and the visa holder. Which visa the family holds determines both eligibility and whether fees apply.

If the child has been at another Australian school, bring the most recent report and any learning support documentation. If the child has additional needs, raise it during enrolment rather than after — funding and support allocation runs on annual cycles and late notice means a delayed start.

Where documents are not in English, translations by an accredited translator are usually required.

Public schools do not charge tuition fees for Australian citizens and permanent residents. They do request voluntary contributions, and they charge for specific items — excursions, camps, elective materials, uniforms, devices and sometimes subject levies. These add up to a real amount, and they are the source of most confusion about 'free' schooling.

Voluntary contributions are genuinely voluntary and a child cannot be excluded from the standard curriculum for non-payment. Charges for optional activities are different and can be enforced by not providing the optional activity.

Catholic systemic schools charge modest fees, typically far below independent schools, and generally accept students from outside the Catholic community subject to places.

Independent schools range enormously, from modest religious and community schools to high-fee institutions. All non-government schools receive substantial government funding alongside their fees.

Every state runs some form of assistance for low-income families — a schoolkids bonus, camps and excursions fund, uniform assistance or textbook subsidy under various names. These are means-tested, applied for through the school, and significantly under-claimed.

Eligibility and fees depend on the visa. Children of permanent residents and most humanitarian visa holders attend public schools on the same basis as citizens. Children of temporary visa holders may be charged an international student fee, may be exempt, or may be conditionally exempt depending on the state and the parent's visa subclass.

New Zealand citizens on Special Category visas are generally treated as domestic students. Children of temporary skilled visa holders are charged in some states and not others, and the rules change.

Because this differs meaningfully between states and by subclass, check with the specific state education department's international division rather than relying on general guidance — including this page.

Students on a student visa in their own right enrol through a registered provider under the CRICOS system, with their own welfare and accommodation requirements for under-18s.