Review or appeal an enrolment decision

If you applied to enrol at a school and were not offered a place, you can request a review of this decision.

If you do not receive an offer after the review, you can request an appeal.

Why schools decline applications

A school may decline your application to enrol if you applied:

• to a school outside your Priority Enrolment Area (PEA) and your application did not meet the requirements for enrolling in a school outside your area.
• to a preschool that did not have enough places for everyone who applied.

If you applied for a school outside your PEA, the school considers the reasons why you:

• do not want your child to attend a school in your PEA
• want your child to attend their school in particular.

The out of area school you applied to gets this information from your enrolment form.

Check if you can request a review

You can request a review if you are not happy with your enrolment offer for a public:

• preschool
• school or college (kindergarten to year 12)
• early childhood school (preschool to year 2)
• specialist bilingual program offered at Telopea Park School, Mawson and Yarralumla Primary Schools
• specialist school
• NSW pathway school.

How to request a review

You can request a review using the Review Request Form. The school principal will review your application and make a decision.

You can only request a review based on the out of area criteria you chose in your original application. If you wish to apply based on different criteria, you will need to submit a new enrolment application.

The review is an opportunity to provide further information to support your application. The type of document depends on the reasons you’re applying under.

For example, supporting documents might include:

• a parent statement about why your child cannot attend a school in your PEA, or their NSW pathway school, and why they should attend this particular school
• supporting statements or reports from a medical professional
• police reports or protection orders suggesting a safety risk for the child
• legal documents or court orders suggesting the child should be enrolled at a particular school.

After you request a review

We aim to complete reviews within 10 working days. It may take longer during peak times or if the request is sent to us during school holidays.

After the review, the school will email you with the decision. If the school has:

• changed their decision, the school will email you a Letter of Offer
• not changed their decision, you can:
  • complete your enrolment at the school you were originally offered or apply to another school
  • request an appeal of the review decision.

Check if you can request an appeal

You can request an appeal if you:

• have been through the review process
• are not satisfied with the outcome of the review.

How to request an appeal

You can request an appeal using the Appeal Request Form.

You can only request a review based on the out of area criteria you chose in your original application. If you wish to apply based on different criteria, you will need to submit a new enrolment application.

The Appeals Panel will consider your appeal based on the enrolment criteria. It has a representative from clinical practice, an Executive Education Leader and a principal that was not involved in the review decision.

If possible, provide any further information that supports your application. This is in addition to any information or documents you provided for the review process.

If you don't have any other information, the Appeals Panel will consider the documents you supplied for the review.

After you request an appeal

We work with the Appeals Panel to provide a decision within 6 weeks. It may take longer during peak times or if the request is sent to us during school holidays.

If the Appeals Panel has:

• changed the enrolment decision, your preferred school will send you a Letter of Offer
• not changed the enrolment decision, you can complete your enrolment at the school you were originally offered or apply to another school.