Schooling System in Australia
Coming to Australia as a student with kids? Or do you want to enrol in a local secondary school before applying to a university?
Then, this article is for you.
If you come to Australia as an international student with kids, you will need to pay for their school regardless of whether it’s a private or public school. If you study in an Australian secondary school before proceeding to a university, you will also need to cover tuition fees.
However, some territories offer a tuition fee waiver for the kids of international students. Read more on the Study in Australia website.
The Australian school education can be divided into 3 groups:
1. Primary school
7-8 years, starting at Foundation (also called kindergarten/preparatory/pre-school) through to School Year 6 or 7
2. Secondary school
From School Years 7 or 8 to 10
3. Senior secondary school
from School Years 11 to 12
NOTE : The Australian academic year begins in late January to early February and runs until mid-December. Most schools have 3-4 terms a year.
School Types
There are 3 school types in Australia:
- Government schools: state and territory government responsibilities in relation to the regulation of school education and the administration and funding of them. They are almost or completely free of charge for local kids.
- Independent schools: self-funded. They have their own curriculum, set up tuition fees and have a selection process for student enrolment.
- Catholic schools: funded mainly by state and federal governments and have low fees.
Number and proportion of all students enrolled in schools by school level and school sector, Australia 2020
| Government | Catholic | Independent | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | % | No | % | No | % | No | % | |
| Primary | 1,597,052 | 70.4 | 403,784 | 17.8 | 268,055 | 11.8 | 2,268,891 | 100.0 |
| Junior Secondary | 736,615 | 59.8 | 265,148 | 21.5 | 229,576 | 18.6 | 1,231,339 | 100.0 |
| Senior Secondary | 295,476 | 58.3 | 109,673 | 21.6 | 101,595 | 20.0 | 506,744 | 100.0 |
| Total Secondary | 1,032,091 | 59.4 | 374,821 | 21.6 | 331,171 | 19.1 | 1,738,083 | 100.0 |
| Total | 2,629,143 | 65.6 | 778,605 | 19.4 | 599,226 | 15.0 | 4,006,974 | 100.0 |