Processing enrolment forms and supporting documentation
For information and links to the application and enrolment forms, please refer to: Application and enrolment forms.
Schools collect personal information about students and their family as part of the enrolment process. This process requires parents/carers to complete an enrolment form and provide supporting documents. These documents are used to confirm student information and provide appropriate support when they start school. Schools then input this information into CASES21 as the department’s official system of record and request that parents/carers validate it twice a year.
Schools must:
- enrol eligible students who are new to the Victorian government school system using the name on their supporting documents (usually their birth certificate)
- sight all supporting documents and enter relevant student information into CASES21
- retain copies of documents, where this is required, for the minimum retention period specified in the school records retention guide
- securely dispose of supporting documents once student information is verified or following the document’s minimum retention period
- maintain and update student details obtained on enrolment
- provide new families with the privacy collection notice and keep all information secure and managed in accordance with the department’s privacy and Victorian privacy laws.
Supporting documents required at enrolment
Schools require supporting documents to verify a student’s name, date of birth, address, residency status, care arrangements and medical or health-related needs. For a comprehensive list of all supporting documents:
- schools should refer to the Enrolment documentation guide
- parents/carers should refer to the Enrolment documentation checklist .
Schools can make the enrolment documentation checklist available on their website and provide it to parents/carers along with the enrolment form.
Parents/carers are not required to provide original documents. Copies of original documents are sufficient and can be provided either in-person or digitally.
Specialist school enrolments are subject to additional evidence requirements. Refer to Enrolment in specialist schools for more information.
Documents to verify a student's name and date of birth
Schools must verify a student’s name and date of birth when enrolling in a Victorian government school for the first time. The student’s birth certificate is the preferred document to verify this information.
Where a birth certificate cannot be produced, other acceptable evidence of a student’s full name and date of birth may include a passport, citizenship documents, Australian Visa documents or Immicard.
Where no official documentation can be produced, the school must ask for other identifying documentation such as a general practitioner’s (GP) note attesting to a child's age and/or a Medicare card.
Schools must not keep copies of supporting documents used to verify a student’s name and date of birth. These documents must be securely disposed of after completing the ‘Birthdate proof sighted’ field in CASES21.
Documents to verify a student’s permanent residential address
Schools can choose to request evidence of a student’s permanent residential address before making an enrolment offer (refer to determining permanent residence). Secondary schools following the Year 6 to 7 placement process may only request proof of address directly from parents/carers after offers are made, in accordance with the annual timeline. Schools can use the 100 point Residential address checklist as a guide.
When requesting proof of address, schools should ensure enrolment practices do not unfairly disadvantage families of children who are unable to provide evidence because of their individual circumstances. This is particularly relevant to children experiencing homelessness, family violence or recently arrived immigrants or refugees. In these cases, school staff should seek advice from their regional office before rejecting an enrolment application on the basis that the family of the child is unable to provide proof of permanent residence.
Department policy does not prohibit schools listing the address of a specialist service, crisis or other temporary accommodation, or school address if required, for a child or young person experiencing family violence, to protect the child or young person from harm.
Schools must not keep copies of supporting documents used to verify a student’s address.
Documents to verify a student’s permanent or temporary residency status
If a student is an Australian citizen but was born overseas, schools must sight their Australian passport or citizenship certificate to verify their citizenship status and record the details in CASES21.
If a student is an Australian permanent resident and holds a permanent residency visa, schools must sight required documents and record details in CASES21.
Schools must also sight documents and record details used to verify an international student’s temporary residency visa or refugee status. For more information, refer to International Student Program.
Documents to support a student’s living or care arrangements
Schools must sight, record details and retain copies of any court orders, informal carers statutory declaration and/or care arrangement documents.
Documents to support a student’s health and medical needs
Primary schools must sight, record details and retain a copy of the Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register for all students. If a primary student transfers to another primary school, a copy can be sent to the receiving school and recorded in CASES21.
For more information on immunisation in schools, refer to the Immunisation policy, the Infectious Diseases policy and the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations . Schools can also refer to the Department of Health fact sheet Starting primary school .
Schools must also sight, record details and retain a copy of any health support forms or action plans as they apply to the student’s medical and health related needs. For more information, refer to Health Care Needs, Medication, Asthma, Allergies and Anaphylaxis.
Records management
Schools must manage supporting documents supplied for enrolment purposes in line with the Records Management – School Records Policy. Some document types (for example, court orders) have different retention periods. For more information, refer to the School records retention guide (staff login required).
Unless specified in the school records retention guide, schools must not keep copies of supporting documents provided by parents/carers.
Schools must securely dispose of copies of supporting documents either:
- once the relevant information has been verified and recorded at enrolment
- following the document’s minimum retention period (refer to the Records Management policy.
Incomplete or missing student information or documentation
Schools can make enrolment offers if documents are missing or if information is incomplete.
If required documents are still missing by the time the student intends to start school, schools must follow the steps outlined below.
Note: Students in out-of-home care must be enrolled without delay. Incomplete or missing information must not be used as a reason to defer their admission.
Step 1
The principal may defer admission of a student for up to 5 business days, provided they:
- request that the parents/carers provide the missing information or documentation
- advise the parents/carers they are legally responsible for ensuring a child of school age attends school.
Step 2
The principal must admit the student if the information is not provided after 5 business days where further delay is likely to adversely affect the student’s education and wellbeing.
This requires the principal to:
- record a notation on the student’s record about the missing information
- where practicable, advise both parents/carers in writing that the school will record that relevant information or documentation is missing but is still required.
Processing and maintaining enrolment information
CASES21 student information database
CASES21 is the student information database and includes enrolment forms, transfer information, the student register (in primary schools) and class lists. The section below describes how schools maintain student information in CASES21:
- Enrolment data is entered for students who are new to the Victorian government school system
- Data is:
- reviewed and confirmed by the parent/carer before students transfer
- updated when schools are informed of changes to student information
- reviewed half yearly, specifically parent/carer contact information (refer to CASES21 Administration User for guidance including processes for generating the Student Enrolment Information Form and Student Information Full Details Report)
- revised annually for state and Commonwealth reporting.
- Records are retained and disposed of in accordance with the School Records Retention and Disposal Authority. Refer to Records Management – School Records Policy
Schools enrolling international students must update CASES21 to confirm the student's commencement of study within 5 business days of commencement. Any changes to the student's enrolment must also be recorded in a timely manner. This will ensure an accurate disbursement of funds to the relevant school. Refer to the International Student Program (ISP).
Where students are moving from one government school to another government school, student data must be transferred using CASES21 and:
- parents/carers are not required to complete a new enrolment form if data is transferred using CASES21
- schools must not create a new student record in CASES21 – this will create a duplicate record
- schools are required to send a copy of the Student Enrolment Information Form to the parent/carer for checking, updating and signing to ensure student data is current and accurate.
For students who are new to the government system, schools must obtain a completed enrolment form before admitting a student.
Refer to the Transfers section of these guidelines for more information.
Changing enrolment name
Schools can change the name under which a student is enrolled if:
- new legal documentation with an amended name is provided, such as:
- officially amended birth certificate
- proof of adoption
- court order authorising another name
- supporting documentation, which was not originally available, differs from the name provided during enrolment.
Victorian Student Number
A Victorian Student Number (VSN) is allocated to students who are new to the Victorian government school system, in the name certified in enrolment documents. When students transfer between schools, the name will remain the same as that attached to the VSN unless new legal documentation with an amended name is provided. For more information on student numbers, visit the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority .
Maintaining Student Family Occupation and Education (SFOE) information
Funding for equity (Social Disadvantage) provides an individual loading for students from disadvantaged backgrounds that will increase with the density of disadvantage at the school. Increased funding for schools has proven to raise educational outcomes, particularly for these students. Schools use Social Disadvantage funding to deliver tailored educational programs to meet the needs of this cohort of students.
The Social Disadvantage loading allocates funding based on parental occupation, parental education and the level of concentration of disadvantage in a school. Students with the highest level of need are targeted with the most funding to ensure schools have the resources to support them.
Student Family Occupation and Education (SFOE) information that parents provide directly affects the level of Social Disadvantage funding that a school will receive. Therefore, it is essential that schools:
- ensure that their staff understand why SFOE data is needed and the benefits of ensuring there are no errors in data logged on CASES21
- clearly explain to parents the importance of correctly completing the parent information form
- have a process to ensure SFOE information is accurate and up-to-date
- contact parents when occupation and/or education data is missing, incomplete or unclear
- keep records to explain any changes or updates to data submitted by parents.
Reviewed 28 October 2024