Enrolment

Designated neighbourhood schools – school zones

A school zone defines an area’s designated neighbourhood government school (local school). Every Victorian student has a legislated right to enrol at their local school.

School zones are published on the Find my School website.

For children residing in metropolitan Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, their local school is usually the nearest government school in a straight line from the child's permanent address. In all other areas of Victoria, it is usually the nearest school by the shortest practical route, recognising the additional travel distances often experienced in regional settings.

A small number of school zones have been adjusted and these are referred to as non-standard zones. Non-standard school zones may be created to:

• improve school accessibility to align with geographical and structural barriers such as rivers and freeways (noting that a main road is not usually considered to be a barrier to accessing a school)
• support schools with very high local enrolment demand, to ensure that the needs of the school's local community are being met.

If a non-standard zone is in place, then the zones from surrounding schools are adjusted to ensure that all children are designated a local school.

The department reviews school zones annually. Zones may be adjusted to reflect the opening of new schools, changing provision at existing schools (for example, relocating a campus or changing year levels offered), improving school accessibility, or managing enrolment demand. The Minister for Education (or delegate) approves any changes to school zones.

Though all students are guaranteed a place at their local school, in some cases a school may not have sufficient accommodation to enrol all students from outside their zone. For more information about how these enrolments must be prioritised, refer to the Placement Policy.

Schools with specific enrolment criteria including English Language Schools and Select Entry Schools, do not have zones. For more information, refer to: Selective Entry and Other Specialism Schools and Programs.

Specialist schools do not have zones as they are not designated neighbourhood government schools under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. For more information, visit Enrolment in specialist schools.

Sample wording for school websites

Schools must include links to Find my School and the Placement Policy on their school website. Sample wording for use on school websites is:

Our school zone is available on findmyschool.vic.gov.au which hosts the most up-to-date information on school zones in Victoria.

Students residing within our school zone are guaranteed a place at our school, which is determined based on your permanent residential address.

Our school manages enrolments using the Placement Policy to ensure that students have access to their designated neighbourhood school and may enrol at another school, if there are available places.

For more information about our school zone, please contact our school. For answers to frequently asked questions about school zones and enrolling in Victorian government schools, visit School zones.