australian school zones — find your catchment by state
this guide links to each state and territory's official catchment finder. addresses, zones and tools change — always confirm with the department before you commit to a property purchase or rental.
every Australian state runs its own school zone system, with its own name, its own tool, and its own rules for who gets in when a school is full. if you're moving suburbs (or interstate) and your kids go to public school, the address you sign on dictates which school takes them. this is the unified directory — the official tool for each state, how each system works, and what to do if the local school is at capacity.
three things are consistent across all states: zones only apply to government schools (private and Catholic schools have no legal catchment), the local school must enrol kids who live in zone, and out-of-zone places are at the school's discretion subject to capacity. everything else — the tool name, what they call the area, how priorities are ranked when over-subscribed — varies. that's the part this guide untangles.
official catchment tools — at a glance
| state | official tool | what it shows |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | School Finder | your designated local public primary and high school by residential address |
| VIC | Find My School | your zoned government primary and secondary school plus a map of the zone |
| QLD | School catchment areas (EdMap) | the catchment for any state school — search by school or address |
| WA | Schools Online | local-intake area public school for your address (primary and secondary) |
| SA | Find a school zone or preschool catchment | your zoned government school and preschool catchment by address |
| TAS | Find your local school | intake area for your address — primary and high school listed separately |
| ACT | Find a school in your Priority Enrolment Area | your Priority Enrolment Area (PEA) school for primary, high and college |
| NT | Student Enrolment policy + NT Schools directory | Local Intake Area rules. school directory at directory.ntschools.net |
tools verified May 2026. links open at the relevant state department.
new south wales
every NSW residential address has a designated local public school — usually one primary and one high school. the local school is required to enrol you if you live in the catchment.
official tool: NSW School Finder (NSW Department of Education).
out-of-zone:non-local enrolments are accepted only when there's capacity. you'll fill in a non-local application, list reasons (siblings already enrolled, OOSH care, medical, safety) and the school's placement panel will decide.
gotcha — selective high schools, agricultural high schools and specialist arts/sport schools are not catchment-based. they have their own entry processes (NSW selective test, audition, trial). also — NSW catchments don't always follow suburb boundaries. streets on opposite sides of the same road can sit in different zones, especially in inner Sydney. always check the address itself, not the suburb.
victoria
VIC is the cleanest of the bunch. type your address into findmyschool.vic.gov.au and you get your zoned government primary and secondary school plus a map of the zone. covers every state school in Victoria.
out-of-zone:schools accept non-local students by priority order set out in the Department of Education's Placement Policy — siblings first, then on capacity. apply directly to the school.
gotcha — Victoria's zones can change with new schools opening, especially in growth corridors. recheck the tool if you're comparing addresses across Wyndham, Casey, Mitchell or Whittlesea. VIC also runs select-entry high schools (Mac.Robertson, Melbourne High, Nossal) and government language and arts schools — these ignore zones entirely.
queensland
QLD calls them catchment areas. not every state school has one — only schools where enrolment management is needed get a defined catchment. for those, only kids living in the catchment have a guaranteed place.
official tool: QLD school catchment areas (qld.gov.au) — links through to EdMap, the interactive map.
out-of-zone:non-catchment families can apply but schools with an Enrolment Management Plan can only enrol you if there's capacity. Department of Education sets priority order: siblings, then medical/safety, then proximity.
gotcha — QLD prep starts the year before NSW kindergarten. if you're moving from NSW, check the year level your child should sit before signing a lease.
western australia
WA calls them local-intake areas. each public school has one. live inside it and you're entitled to enrol — the school can't refuse a local-area child.
official tool: Schools Online (WA Department of Education). type the address, you get your local primary and secondary school.
out-of-zone:non-local enrolment is at the principal's discretion based on capacity. complete a non-local enrolment application — the school has set criteria to rank applicants when they're over-subscribed.
gotcha — some WA secondary schools have specialist programs (gifted and talented, languages, sport) that override local intake — kids outside the area get in via the program test instead.
south australia
SA runs school zonesfor most metropolitan and high-demand schools. live in zone, you're guaranteed a place. live out of zone, you go on the waiting list.
official tool: Find a school zone or preschool catchment (Department for Education SA). includes preschool catchments too, which is useful in SA where preschool sits with the public system.
out-of-zone: a Capacity Management Plan covers over-subscribed schools — priority is local first, then siblings, then proximity, then specialist programs.
gotcha — country and regional SA schools mostly don't have defined zones. anyone can enrol provided there's a place.
tasmania
TAS calls them intake areas. every government primary and high school has one defined by suburb or postcode. the local intake school is obligated to enrol kids living in the area.
official tool: Find your local school (Department for Education, Children and Young People). primary and high school listed on separate pages.
out-of-zone:apply for an out-of-area placement direct to the school. schools at capacity publish on the DECYP 'at-capacity schools' list and can only take siblings of currently enrolled students.
gotcha — TAS Years 11 and 12 are mostly run through extension schools and colleges (Hobart College, Rosny College, Don College) that don't use intake areas — kids choose where to go.
australian capital territory
ACT uses Priority Enrolment Areas (PEAs). each public school has a PEA and kids living inside it have priority for enrolment. PEAs apply at primary, high school, and college (Years 11–12) level.
official tool: Find a school in your Priority Enrolment Area (ACT Government).
out-of-PEA: the ACT Education Directorate runs a centralised enrolment system. priority order is: PEA siblings, other PEA, sibling out-of-PEA, then other out-of-PEA. you can list preferences but the school decides based on capacity.
gotcha — ACT colleges (Years 11–12) don't have hard PEAs in the same way. Year 10 students in any ACT public high school can apply to any college, with PEA used to break ties.
northern territory
NT uses Local Intake Areas— each public school has one and the school must enrol kids living within it. the rules sit inside the NT Department of Education's Student Enrolment policy.
official reference: NT Student Enrolment policy. school directory at directory.ntschools.net.
NT doesn't publish a public address-based map tool the way VIC and QLD do — to find your Local Intake Area, contact the nearest school directly, or call the Department of Education on 1800 138 656.
out-of-area: apply directly to the school. taken only on capacity. remote and homeland schools have different rules and Aboriginal-language schools may give cultural priority.
do private and Catholic schools have zones?
- •no — independent and Catholic schools have no legal catchment. they set their own enrolment criteria.
- •Catholic systemic schools usually prefer parish families and siblings of current students, but it's a preference not a right.
- •many private schools take applications at birth — waiting lists run 5–10 years for the most popular Sydney and Melbourne schools.
- •private schools can refuse enrolment for almost any reason. public schools cannot refuse a local-area child.
- •if you're property-shopping for a public school zone and a Catholic school is your fallback, double-check waiting list status before settling.
proof of residence — what departments will ask for
every state requires you to prove the address before they zone you into the local school. you usually need two documents from this list:
- •current driver's licence with the address
- •council rates notice (owners) or signed tenancy agreement (renters)
- •utility bill in the parent's name (electricity, gas, water — usually within 3 months)
- •Medicare or Centrelink letter at the address
- •contract of sale (if moving in)
schools take address fraud seriously — fake leases or short-term rentals signed just to access a zone can result in the enrolment being cancelled and the family removed mid-year. departments do audit.
frequently asked questions
do private and Catholic schools have catchment zones?
no. zones only apply to government public schools. independent and Catholic schools set their own rules — they often prefer local or parish families but they have no legal catchment.
can I get my child into an out-of-zone public school?
sometimes — subject to capacity. every state has a non-local application process. siblings of current students get priority almost everywhere; medical and safety reasons next; proximity last. schools at or near full reject most non-local applications.
does my catchment change if I rent versus own?
no. zones are address-based, not tenure-based. renters and owners both qualify for the local school — you just need to prove the address is the child's principal place of residence.
do Catholic schools have parish zones?
technically no — there's no legal Catholic zone. in practice, systemic Catholic schools prioritise parish families and siblings. independent Catholic schools (Loreto, Xavier, Riverview, Loyola) ignore parish boundaries.
what if I'm moving and don't have the new address yet?
most departments accept a contract of sale or signed tenancy agreement to start the conversation. you generally can't finalise enrolment until you can prove residency. for interstate moves, the system in your new state may work differently — check the official finder for that state first.
do school zones change?
yes, but rarely. growth corridors and new schools trigger boundary reviews — Wyndham, Hume, Mitchell (VIC), South West Sydney, Logan and Ipswich (QLD) and Gungahlin (ACT) have all seen recent zone changes. always recheck the official tool before you sign on a property.
related guides
school starting age australia
cutoff dates and compulsory ages, state by state.
school term dates 2026
term and holiday dates for every state.
free kinder and preschool by state
funded hours, eligibility and cutoff ages.
moving states with kids
CCS transfers, school enrolment, preschool funding differences.
sources — NSW Department of Education (education.nsw.gov.au), VIC Department of Education (findmyschool.vic.gov.au), QLD Department of Education (qld.gov.au), WA Department of Education (det.wa.edu.au), Department for Education SA (education.sa.gov.au), Department for Education, Children and Young People TAS (decyp.tas.gov.au), ACT Education Directorate (act.gov.au) and NT Department of Education (education.nt.gov.au). links last verified May 2026 — recheck before relying on a zone for a property decision.