Schools in Sydney for American families

Short answer: your kids can almost certainly go to the local public school, but if you're on a temporary visa, you may have to pay tuition for it. Sort out your visa's school conditions before you sign a lease, because your address decides your school.

The short version

NSW public schools enroll by home address. Each school has a local enrollment area, and schools make sure there are enough places for local kids [1].
Most temporary resident students pay an application fee and annual tuition through the NSW Department of Education's Temporary Residents Program, run by DE International [2].
Exemptions exist, for example when a parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A newer 482 visa exemption only covers regional schools, not Sydney [2][3].
Selective high schools take students by an entrance test held in May of Year 6 for Year 7 entry [4].
For US college applications, the EducationUSA office at the US Consulate General in Sydney offers free advising [5].

How NSW schools are organized

The NSW school system will feel familiar, with a few renames:

NSW	Rough US equivalent	Notes
Kindergarten	Kindergarten	Full-day, the first year of primary school
Years 1–6	Grades 1–6	Primary school
Years 7–10	Grades 7–10	High school starts at Year 7, no middle school
Years 11–12	Grades 11–12	Study toward the HSC, the Higher School Certificate

The school year follows the calendar year. It starts in late January or early February and runs in four terms with short breaks in between, and the long summer vacation lands over Christmas and January. That means a kid moving from the States midyear may repeat or skip part of a grade. Talk to the school about placement rather than assuming they'll match the US grade.

Sydney students finishing Year 12 get an ATAR, a rank used for Australian university admission. US colleges don't use the ATAR directly, which matters for college applications (more below).

Public schools and catchments

Most NSW public primary and high schools have a designated local enrollment area, what Americans call a school zone or catchment. You enroll based on your home address, and the department says all public schools ensure there are enough places for students in their local enrollment area [1].

A few heads-ups for house hunters:

Your local school may not be the closest one. Use the department's School Finder tool, which shows schools on a map and lets you filter for before- and after-school care, opportunity classes and selective schools [1].
Boundaries change. The department warns that information may not be current and that you should check before relying on it for property decisions [1].
Out-of-area spots aren't guaranteed. Schools may accept out-of-area students if places are available, under their own selection criteria. If local demand fills the school, out-of-area enrollments aren't offered [1].

In popular neighborhoods, rents near sought-after schools carry a premium, much like in good school districts back home. Ask the school directly before you sign a lease.

Fees for temporary visa holders

This is the big surprise for many American families. Australian citizens and permanent residents attend public school without tuition. Many temporary residents don't.

The NSW Department of Education runs the Temporary Residents Program through DE International. According to DE International, most temporary resident students pay an application fee and a tuition fee, and you apply through its Online Application Portal before your child can enroll [2]. The amounts are in DE International's tuition fee fact sheet, and they differ for primary, junior high and senior high years. Fees are set per year and can change, so check the current sheet before budgeting; for high school they can run to many thousands of Australian dollars a year.

Whether you pay depends on your visa subclass. DE International publishes a list of visa subclasses and their enrollment conditions, and it names these exemptions [2][3]:

A parent or step-parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The student may be exempt [2].
482 visa, regional only. From the start of the 2025 school year, students on a subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa can be exempt if they live with the primary visa holder in an eligible regional NSW postal code and attend a regional public school. Sydney postal codes aren't on the list, and the application fee isn't covered [3].
Low income. Families can apply to a review panel for an exemption from the tuition fee [2].

A pro-rata refund may apply if your visa changes to a fee-exempt category, for example when you get permanent residency [2]. Keep that in mind if your PR application is already moving.

If your partner is Australian, your kids may be Australian citizens too, which can change both the fee picture and their paperwork. Our sister site ExpatCooee covers schooling Australian kids abroad and coming home.

Getting enrolled, step by step

Check your visa subclass against DE International's enrollment conditions list [2].
Lock in an address and confirm the local school with School Finder [1].
Apply through the DE International portal if your visa requires it, and pay any application fee [2].
Gather documents: passports, visa grant, proof of address, immunization records and recent US report cards.
Contact the school to arrange enrollment, uniform and a start date.

Note the uniforms: nearly every Sydney public school has one, usually sold through the school's uniform shop.

Selective schools and opportunity classes

NSW runs fully and partially selective public high schools for academically gifted students, plus opportunity classes in some primary schools for Years 5 and 6. Places are competitive.

For Year 7 entry, the department's High Performing Students Unit runs an entrance test in May of Year 6, and families apply while the child is in Year 5 [4]. Students and families must be living in NSW by the start of the school year of entry, and conditions may apply to students who aren't Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents [4]. If you're on a temporary visa, check those conditions before your kid starts test prep.

Private and international schools

Sydney has a large private sector, from low-fee religious schools to expensive independent schools, and some offer the International Baccalaureate alongside or instead of the HSC. Fees vary enormously and many schools have long waitlists, so apply early and get every fee in writing. Ask each school whether temporary residents pay the same as locals and whether there's an application or enrollment deposit.

We don't list individual schools or fees here because they change every year. Look for the school's most recent fee schedule on its own website.

US college applications from Sydney

American kids in Sydney apply to US colleges all the time, but the calendar mismatch takes planning. Year 12 in NSW wraps up with HSC exams in the Australian spring, around the time early US applications are due.

What helps:

EducationUSA. The US Consulate General in Sydney hosts an EducationUSA advising office covering NSW and several other states and territories, with virtual drop-in sessions, webinars and pre-departure orientation [5].
Transcripts. Your kid's school counselor sends predicted or actual results plus a school profile that explains the HSC or IB to US admissions officers.
Testing. Check the College Board and ACT websites for test dates and centers in Sydney if the colleges on your list want scores.
Financial aid. US citizens living abroad can still file the FAFSA, and your US tax return feeds into it, so keep filing.
Residency and in-state tuition. Living abroad can cost you in-state status at public universities. Check each state university's rules early.

Parents compare notes on catchments, fees and HSC versus IB in our community group for Americans in Australia.

Schools in Sydney: catchments, visa fees and the road to a US college