Hi Dawn and Mick
A website you may find useful is:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/index.html
Lots of info about schools here and we have found the Board of Studies to be very helpful in answering questions. Not sure about the 'year behind' thing, but it could be due to the age of the child and the different start date to the year (January as opposed to September) that gave rise to such a comment. We spent time with friends in Sydney in Australia, and I was impressed with the standard of their girls education in a public (ie state) high school in Sydney.
Good luck with everything.
Kate :D