Guides
Short, sourced explanations of how school systems actually work, written for parents choosing a school rather than for policy people.
Across Australia
- How to read your child's NAPLAN results
A plain-English guide to NAPLAN scaled scores and proficiency levels, and why one test result rarely tells the whole story.
Updated 27 September 2026 - What is ICSEA, and what does it actually tell you?
What the Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage measures, how a value of 1000 is worked out, and its real limits.
Updated 27 September 2026 - Primary school starting age by state and territory
The cut-off date for starting primary school in each Australian state and territory, and what the first year is called locally.
Updated 27 September 2026 - Public vs Catholic vs independent schools, compared
A neutral look at fees, sector differences, and how to compare results across public, Catholic and independent schools using ICSEA.
Updated 27 September 2026
By state
- NSWNSW opportunity classes explained
How NSW opportunity classes work in Years 5 and 6, how the placement test and equity places work, and where to find one.
Updated 27 September 2026 - NSWNSW selective high schools explained
The difference between fully and partially selective schools, agricultural high schools, Aurora College and how the Year 7 test works.
Updated 27 September 2026 - NSWNSW public school catchments and intake areas explained
How NSW local enrolment areas work, when out-of-area applications are possible, and what proof of address you'll need.
Updated 27 September 2026 - VICVictoria school zones and selective entry high schools explained
How Find My School zoning works, the designated neighbourhood school rule, and Victoria's four selective-entry high schools.
Updated 27 September 2026 - QLDQueensland state school catchments and academies explained
How Queensland catchments and enrolment management plans work, and what the Queensland Academies and Brisbane State High offer.
Updated 27 September 2026 - WAWA local intake areas and GATE explained
How Western Australian local-intake areas guarantee a place, and how the GATE academic, arts and languages programs work.
Updated 27 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How do I find which public school my address is zoned for?
- Use the official tool for your state, because catchment boundaries follow capacity and road networks rather than simple distance: School Finder in NSW, Find My School in Victoria, EdMap in Queensland and Schools Online in Western Australia. Boundaries are reviewed regularly, so check again close to when you enrol. Catchments explained
- What is the difference between public, selective and private schools?
- Public (government) schools are run by state and territory education departments, charge no tuition fees for Australian citizens and permanent residents, and mostly enrol by local catchment. Selective schools are public high schools that admit students through an academic entry test; NSW runs fully and partially selective schools, and Victoria has four selective-entry high schools. Private schools are Catholic or independent: they charge fees and set their own enrolment rules. Public vs Catholic vs independent
- What is ICSEA?
- ICSEA is the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage, calculated by ACARA from parents' occupation and education, remoteness and Indigenous enrolment. The national average is 1000; higher values mean a more advantaged school community. It describes the families a school serves, not how well the school teaches, which is why SchoolList AU shows it beside every result. What is ICSEA?
- Where does SchoolList AU's data come from?
- School lists, locations, enrolments and contact details come from state and territory open-data portals under Creative Commons licences. ACARA's Australian Schools List and School Profile fill gaps where a state does not publish a figure, and senior results come from the state curriculum authorities. Every field is traced to its dataset and licence on the data sources page. Data sources and licences
- How up to date is the information?
- School lists are rebuilt from the latest published files each term, and senior results are added when each authority publishes them, usually between December and February. Published datasets can lag a school by a year or more, so confirm enrolment rules, fees and boundaries with the school or department before acting on them. Disclaimer