Enrol at a Western Australian school

Enrol at a Western Australian school

All children of compulsory school age must be enrolled at school and attend every day.

When to apply to enrol your child

You need to apply to enrol your child if they are:

  • starting Kindergarten at a school or community kindergarten – 4 years old by 30 June
  • starting Pre-primary and enrolling in their first year of compulsory schooling – 5 years old by 30 June
  • starting Year 7 – the first year of secondary schooling
  • changing schools
  • new to Western Australia.
If you do not want to enrol your child at a school, find out how to register as your child’s home educator. Refer to Home schooling.

Pre-compulsory schooling: Kindergarten

If your child will be 4 years old by 30 June they can go to Kindergarten at a school or a community kindergarten or some childcare services.
 
Immunisation requirements
Your child can only go to Kindergarten when they meet Western Australia’s immunisation laws and requirements. This helps to better protect our children and community from vaccine-preventable diseases. The same immunisation requirements apply to Kindergarten at a school, a community kindergarten and a childcare service. If you would like to know more about the Kindergarten immunisation requirements or immunisation services visit HealthyWA.

Find out:

Compulsory schooling

It is the law to enrol children of compulsory school age at school and ensure they attend every day. Compulsory schooling starts in Pre-primary when they turn 5 years old by 30 June and finishes at the end of Year 12. 


They must be enrolled at a school from Pre-primary until the end of Year 10. In Years 11 and 12 (the final 2 years of compulsory schooling) they can:

  • enrol at a school
  • be in approved training
  • be in employment
  • have a combination of school, training and employment.
Year 11 and 12 students may be approved to attend school part-time if they are also in approved training or employment. Find the alternatives to full-time schooling.

Find out how to enrol at a public school.

If you are not sure what year your child needs to start school, use our school-age calculator.

Local public schools

Children from Kindergarten to Year 12 have a local public school. Most children enrol at and attend their local public school. While your child has a guaranteed place in Kindergarten, it may not be at their local public school.

Most Pre-primary to Year 12 children have a guaranteed place at a public school. If your child lives in a public school’s local-intake area, this is their local school. If your child lives nearest to a public school without a local-intake area, this is their local school.

To discover the diverse learning environments available, refer to Choose a school.

Find out how to enrol at a public school.

If you are not sure what year your child needs to start school, use our school-age calculator.

Non-government schools

In Western Australia, there are 2 categories of non-government schools – Catholic schools and Independent schools.

To find information about choosing and enrolling in these schools, refer to Non-government schools.

Alternatives to full-time school

During the compulsory secondary education period​, you may consider that it is in your child's best interests to participate in education or training options other than full-time enrolment in a school. Find the alternatives to full-time schooling.

School Age Calculator

School Age Calculator

Use our calculator below to determine when your child can start school.

Please enter your child's date of birth:

Your child can start Kindergarten in

Your child will start Pre-primary in

Your child will start Year 1 in