How do you enrol children in public school in Australia in 2026?

Secure a residential address the school will accept as in-area evidence: How to rent a home and Update your address. myGov’s national checklist commonly lists birth certificate or identity evidence, immunisation history, health information, Medicare details when held, proof of address, and residency or visa documents for non-citizens: Enrol in Medicare and Create myGov.

NSW temporary-resident packs often ask for passport or travel documents, current and previous visas, and an Authority to Enrol when required. Western Australia publishes detailed visa-subclass tables that send some temporary and student-dependant children to overseas-fee pathways through TIWA rather than ordinary domestic enrolment. Always read the live state page for your subclass the week you apply: Apply for a visa.

Interstate moves use the national Interstate Student Data Transfer Note. The new school initiates sharing after parental consent so placement and support can use prior records. Bring recent reports and work samples from overseas schools even when English is strong: Children school without English.

Independent and international campuses sit outside this public path and charge tens of thousands of Australian dollars a year: International school costs. Before school age, price ECE separately: Childcare costs. Sequence the wider arrival file in Paperwork after moving.