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.Families on 457 and 482 visas can enrol their children in a South Australian government school in Adelaide by following these steps.
Don't follow this process if:
- you're enrolling your children at certain schools in country areas – for schools on the country schools exemption list (PDF 186 KB) contact the school directly
- you want to enrol your children in a non-government school – you must contact the school directly
- you or your children are on a subclass 500 visa – go to enrolments as dependents or international students
- you or your children are on a different subclass visa – look up your visa
- you're enrolling your children in preschool – follow the normal process to register to enrol in preschool.
Step 1 – approach a school
Contact your local school to find out if they have places available and how to enrol.
You can also ask about the cost of their yearly ‘materials and services’ fee. This fee is slightly different at each school.
Find a school zone or preschool catchment area to find the schools in your area.
About school zones
Most government schools are ‘zoned’. School zones are a set area of suburbs around the school that the school accepts students from. This means where your children will go to school will depend on where you live.
Some schools also accept student enrolment applications from families living outside the school zone. A placement will usually only be offered if they have additional spaces available.
Visit placement in school to learn more about school zones.
Step 2 – register online
Complete the 2024 student registration form.
The form will let you know if you need to upload proof of income with your registration. This is to check if you're eligible to pay a lower student fee.
Proof of income can be your:
- 3 most recent payslips
- employment contract showing annual salary and salary package arrangements or
- visa grant letter showing annual salary.
Find out how much you might need to pay on student fees for children of 457 and 482 visa holders.
Step 3 – pay the student fee
We’ll email you an invoice once we've processed your registration. You'll also get a hardcopy in the mail. Follow the payment instructions on the invoice.
If you have a partner, you and your partner are both equally responsible for paying the student fee.
You can choose whether to pay the fee:
- upfront for the whole school year
- in smaller payments (weekly, fortnightly, monthly or per term).
You can pay online via BPay or you can set up automatic, regular payments from your bank account (direct debit) if paying smaller amounts over the year.
If you enrol during the year, you’ll only need to pay for the number of school weeks remaining.
About employer payment
As the primary visa applicant of your family you can nominate your employer to pay the student fee on your behalf.
This can be attractive because education payments made for children of families on 457 or 482 visas may qualify for salary packaging benefits.
Talk to your employer to find out if you can access this benefit.
Step 4 – give the school all documents
Once you’ve completed the previous steps, you need to give the school:
- a copy of the confirmation of registration letter – we’ll email this to you once we’ve processed your registration and payment, if applicable
- any other enrolment forms the school asks you to complete.
You’ll also need to pay the ‘materials and services’ fee directly to the school. The school will give you an invoice showing the amount due and options for payment.
Renewing your registration every year
You need to renew your child's registration at a government school each year while you're on a 457 or 482 visa.
Use the annual registration renewal form.
Updating your information
Complete the change of details form to let us know about any changes.
You can use the form at any time to update:
- your address
- contact details
- visa status
- school details
- or to register another child later.
