Apply to a school outside your area

Learn about the requirements for enrolling in an ACT public school that's outside your Priority Enrolment Area.

You can apply to enrol your child or young person in a school outside your Priority Enrolment Area (PEA). This is called an out of area enrolment application.

If you apply to an out of area school, there is no guarantee we will offer you a place. If you do not get offered the out of area school, we will offer you a place at a school within your PEA.

Category A and Category B schools

For enrolment purposes, public schools are grouped into Category A or Category B schools.

Category A schools are in high demand. They usually do not have places available to any students who live outside their PEA.

Category B schools usually have some places available for students outside their area.

List of Category A schools

Alfred Deakin High School
Amaroo High School
Amaroo Primary School
Aranda Primary School
Arawang Primary School
Belconnen High School
Canberra College
Charles Conder Primary School (including Tharwa Preschool)
Curtin Primary School
Evelyn Scott School (preschool to year 6)
Forrest Primary School
Franklin School
Fraser Primary School
Garran Primary School
Giralang Primary School
Gungahlin College
Hawker Primary School
Lyneham High School
Lyneham Primary School
Majura Primary School
Macgregor Primary School
Maribyrnong Primary School
Mawson Primary School (a)
Mount Rogers Primary School
Ngunnawal Primary School
North Ainslie Primary School
Red Hill Primary School
Taylor Primary School
Telopea Park High School (a)
Throsby School (preschool to year 6)

This school will accept students outside its area, who meet school-specific requirements, into the French Stream. This is only if the school has places available. Otherwise, this is considered a Category A school.

List of Category B schools

Ainslie School
Aunty Agnes Shea High School
Bonython Primary School
Calwell High School
Calwell Primary School
Campbell High School
Campbell Primary School
Canberra High School
Caroline Chisholm High School
Caroline Chisholm Primary School
Chapman Primary School
Charles Weston School
Charnwood-Dunlop School
Dickson College
Duffy Primary School
Erindale College
Evatt Primary School
Evelyn Scott School (years 7 to 10)
Fadden Primary School
Farrer Primary School
Florey Primary School
Gilmore Primary School
Gold Creek School (Preschool to Year 6)
Gold Creek School (Years 7 to 10)
Gordon Primary School
Gowrie Primary School
Harrison Primary School
Harrison High School
Hawker College
Hughes Primary School
Kaleen Primary School
Kingsford Smith High School
Kingsford Smith Primary School
Lake Tuggeranong College
Lanyon High School
Latham Primary School
Macquarie Primary School
Margaret Hendry School
Melba Copland Secondary School (Years 7 to 10)
Melba Copland College (Years 11 to 12)
Melrose High School
Miles Franklin Primary School
Mount Stromlo High School
Monash Primary School
Namadgi High School
Namadgi Primary School
Narrabundah College
Neville Bonner Primary School
Palmerston District Primary School
Richardson Primary School
Shirley Smith High School
Strathnairn Primary School
Theodore Primary School
Torrens Primary School
Turner School
UCSS College Lake Ginninderra
UC High School Kaleen
Wanniassa High School
Wanniassa Hills Primary School
Wanniassa Primary School
Weetangera Primary School
Yarralumla Primary School (b)

(b) This school will accept enrolments outside its area for the bilingual program under Criterion 4, subject to school-specific eligibility criteria, after all in-PEA demand has been met.

How we consider your application

Both Category A and Category B schools will consider your application based on the following criteria, in this order of priority:

There are legal considerations, where a Court Order identifies that a child or young person needs to attend a specific school (all schools, not subject to capacity).
There are individual circumstances, based on student wellbeing, which mean a child or young person cannot attend their PEA school, and should attend an out of area school to which they have applied (all schools, subject to cohort capacity under the Class Size Policy. The Directorate will facilitate placement at a suitable school where enrolling the child or young person would contravene Class Size Policy.
The child or young person has an ACT-resident sibling concurrently enrolled at that school, subject to capacity. This includes step/half and cultural siblings (recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship relationships).

Category B schools will also consider out of area applications on the following criteria, in this order of priority:

The child or young person is an ACT resident seeking to access a curriculum choice not available at their PEA school (not applicable to primary school; for high school language courses only; for college BSSS-approved courses or approved school-specific courses only)
The child or young person is an ACT resident from a designated high-demand PEA. This applies to all Gungahlin-region residents for year 11 and year 12 only (Gungahlin residents are guaranteed a place in their local school if that is their school of choice).
The child or young person lives in NSW and has a sibling who will be attending the non-NSW Pathway School at the same time (Category B schools only, subject to capacity).

The enrolment form will ask you to choose one criterion only when applying to an out of area school. In some cases, we may ask you for more information to help us better understand your child's needs.

Applications based on student wellbeing

If you are applying to a school outside your area for reasons of student wellbeing, we assess your application based on:

the reasons why it may not be in the best interests of your child to attend a school in their PEA
any compelling reasons why your child needs to attend your preferred out of area school.

If you would like to provide any documentation in support of your application, you can email it to education.enrolment@act.gov.au with your application reference number in the subject box.

The principal will make a decision guided by these points. They will also consider any evidence you provide as part of your application.

If your child's needs can be met at a school within your PEA, we will decline your request. When you get your Letter of Offer, if you wish to you can request a review or appeal of the enrolment decision.

Schools with different enrolment rules

Some schools are open to all ACT children but have other ways to make enrolment decisions, not based on the PEA.

Enrolment at these schools may depend on:

meeting their enrolment conditions
the school having places available.

If you do not get offered a place at one of these schools, you will get an offer from a school in your PEA.

Early childhood schools (preschool to year 2)

We assess applications to early childhood schools based on the following points, in this order of priority:

Individual circumstances, based on student wellbeing.
Child lives in the ACT and has a sibling attending the school.
Child lives in the ACT and attends the early childhood education and care program at the school (birth to age 4 years), except for the O'Connor Cooperative School.
Child lives in the same suburb as the school.
Child lives elsewhere in the ACT up to the limits of available places.

Where there are not enough places for all applicants, applications will be ranked by ‘proximity’, that is the distance in a straight line from where the child lives to the school.

Every child from kindergarten to year 2 continues to be guaranteed a place at their Priority Enrolment Area (PEA) public school.

Specialist preschools and schools

Specialist preschools and schools are for children diagnosed with an intellectual disability that is moderate, severe or profound.

Read about the requirements and how to enrol in a specialist preschool or specialist schools.

Specialist language schools

If you want to enrol your child in one of these language programs, choose the school as a preference when you apply to enrol in public school.

Mawson Primary School (kindergarten to year 6 – Mandarin): This school can accept out of area enrolments from ACT residents for the bilingual program. Otherwise, this is considered a Category A school.
Telopea Park School (kindergarten to year 6 – French): This school operates a bilingual French program. It can accept enrolments from students who live in the ACT and meet the program requirements to a high standard, if they have places available. Find out about Telopea Park kindergarten enrolment requirements.
Telopea Park High School (year 7 to 10 – French): This school can accept out of area enrolments from ACT residents for the bilingual program. This is only if the student meets the program requirements and there are places available.
Yarralumla Primary School (kindergarten to year 6 – Italian): This school can accept out of area enrolments from ACT residents for the bilingual program.

Jervis Bay School

Jervis Bay School is a small preschool to year 6 school in Booderee National Park, near the HMAS Creswell Naval College Grounds.

It will accept your enrolment if you live in Jervis Bay Territory. Otherwise, refer to the requirements under how we assess your application.

For more on enrolling in a school outside your area, read the ACT Public Schools Enrolment Procedure - Kindergarten to year 12 [PDF 517 KB].