bex04 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Myself and partner will be migrating from the UK to ACT hopefully by the end of 2016. We will have, by then, a two year old who we will need to start introducing to kindi/education. I have no idea about how schooling works in Australia and want to be fully prepared for our daughter's future: kindergarten fees, school fees, subsidies, starting age, location catchment etc... Any advice and information would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 (edited) Are you going on a permanent visa of a temporary one - that makes a difference in ACT fees-wise. Kids are entitled to part time school starting in Jan of the year they have turned 4 before 30 April. ACT has pretty good preschool coverage and as long as you put her name down the year before she should get a place in her local preschool. Preschool is free. State schools are free and full time school starts the year she is 5 or will turn 5 before 30 April. All schools levy a "voluntary contribution" which around $100 a term and isn't really voluntary! Plus there will be incidentals for uniforms, stationery, visiting events, trips etc etcIf you want her to go to private school like Girls Grammar or Radford get her name on the list now. No idea what fees are these days but you wont get much change from around $12k pa I should think (but you can check their websites for fees). Catholic schools are cheaper - probably around the $3-5k pa mark at a guess. Before preschool you're going to have to pay for childcare if you plan on working. Going rate over $100 per day now but if you are PR then there will probably be a subsidy to help you cover that. Good child care is hard to find and there's a huge pressure on places. There are some organisational child care places but that rather depends on where you will be working. Child care before school can be a big headache. All state schools have a catchment area so choose your house for where will suit you work-wise, amenities-wise and budget-wise and the local school is obliged to find a place but you'll have a few years before school becomes an issue. If you're going on a temp visa then state school fees start at around $10k pa unless your occupation is on SOL in which case they waive them (well, they used to, they may still do but you'd need to check). Catholic schools work out cheaper! http://www.det.act.gov.au/school_education/enrolling_in_an_act_public_school/about_our_schools Is a good starting point Edited June 23, 2015 by Quoll bah! ipad mucks up formatting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bex04 Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 Quoll, cheers for the info, some great stuff there. We're coming over as PRs Visa 190. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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