Going to school in Australia: free for PR families, expensive for whoever comes too early
With permanent residency you enrol your children like any Australian family: free, with voluntary contributions. But whoever travels ahead on a temporary visa pays thousands of dollars in school fees per child per year in some states — and that belongs in the planning, not in the surprise.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, your children can go to public school in Australia. With permanent residency (PR, permanent residence status) it's free. You then have the same conditions as Australian citizens, with voluntary contributions of a few hundred dollars a year.
What it costs without PR is the find in NSW's policy. Whoever travels ahead on a temporary visa pays in New South Wales up to about $ 7,400 per child per year in school fees for that same public school. So the pitfall is not the school but the intermediate step: one parent starting on a work visa while the PR application is pending. That sum belongs in the planning, not in the surprise.
Beyond that there's good news:
- Children without English are caught by the system.
- The school year starts in late January, exactly when many Dutch families land.
What do I pay with permanent residency?
First the reassurance, because for the skilled route it is the main rule: with permanent residency your children enrol at the public school of your neighbourhood under the same conditions as Australian citizens. That is free education, with the "voluntary contributions" that schools ask for but may not enforce. Count on a few hundred dollars a year in contributions, camp outings and uniforms, not on school fees.
Enrolment runs per state, and public schools work with catchment areas: fixed zones around each school. Your address determines the school, so choose your suburb on that. That includes your temporary rental address.
What does it cost if I come too early?
It's different when a family travels ahead on a temporary visa, for instance when one parent starts on a work visa while the PR application is pending. In New South Wales most temporary visa holders pay school fees for the public school, up to about $ 7,400 per child per year. Families on a 482 work visa in regional NSW have been exempt since 2025. Other states use their own rules and their own exemption lists: Victoria exempts different categories than NSW.
| Status of the family | Public school in NSW | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent resident (skilled route after the visa grant) | free; voluntary contributions of a few hundred dollars a year | enrol as a citizen, by address |
| Temporary visa (travelling ahead while the PR application is pending) | up to about $ 7,400 per child per year | families on a 482 work visa in regional NSW exempt since 2025; Victoria has other exemptions |
| Full international student | $ 16,000 to $ 22,000 a year (NSW and Victoria) | does not apply to emigrating families on the skilled route |
The lesson is not "never do it", but "work it out beforehand": school fees × children × years-until-PR can completely tip the sum of an early crossing. Check the scheme of your state and your visa subclass before you book the tickets. The difference is thousands of dollars a year, per child.
For reference: full international students pay $ 16,000 to $ 22,000 a year in NSW and Victoria. That rate doesn't apply to emigrating families on the skilled route, but it shows what the state charges once a child isn't "domestic". Whoever puts the sum next to the visa fees for a family quickly sees that waiting a year for the PR grant is often cheaper than a year of school fees for two children.
What if my child doesn't speak English yet?
Australia is an immigration country, and the schools are built for it. Children who don't speak English yet get EAL/D support (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) at the ordinary school. For teenagers Sydney has a network of Intensive English Centres. Newcomers get about three terms of intensive English there, before moving on to the ordinary high school. Enrolment belongs within six months of arrival. So put it in the same week as the school enrolment itself.
When does the school year start, and when do I step in?
Practically, finally:
- Schools allocate by home address. Your local school is a right, another school a request.
- The school year runs from late January to mid-December, in four terms.
- You can join at any time of year.
Whoever arrives in the Dutch autumn often lets the child calmly finish the current year and start fresh in January in the new one. That rhythm advantage is one of the underrated gifts of the southern calendar.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Before the tickets | check the school-fee scheme of your state and your visa subclass |
| When choosing a suburb | the catchment area of the local school — your address determines the school |
| First weeks after arrival | enrol at the local school, in the same week as TFN, bank and Medicare |
| Within 6 months of arrival | enrol for an Intensive English Centre (teenagers without English) |
| Late January | start of the school year; four terms until mid-December |
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Australia or go straight to step 5.7 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- NSW Department of Education — permanent residents enrol as citizens — education.nsw.gov.au
- DE International NSW — school fees for temporary visa holders — deinternational.nsw.edu.au
- Study Victoria — the rates per visa category (reference) — study.vic.gov.au
- NSW Department of Education — no more school fees for 482 families in regional NSW, from 2025 — education.nsw.gov.au
- NSW Department of Education — Intensive English Centres for new arrivals — education.nsw.gov.au
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