Melbourne, Australia
International schools in Melbourne: what families need to know
Melbourne has one of Australia's deepest independent school sectors alongside a strong government system enrolled by zone, and senior students take either the VCE or, at a smaller group of schools, the IB Diploma. The year runs late January to mid-December in four terms. This guide covers zones, visa-linked fees, curricula, the calendar, costs and where relocating families settle.
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What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Melbourne
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Melbourne in short
- Curricula available in Melbourne: Victorian curriculum leading to the VCE, plus the IB Diploma at some independent schools.
- The Melbourne school year runs Late January to mid-December, in four terms, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority; the Department of Education runs government schools.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Melbourne school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Melbourne schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Melbourne at a glance
The facts that shape a Melbourne school search
- Oversight
- Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority; the Department of Education runs government schools
- Main curricula
- Victorian curriculum leading to the VCE, plus the IB Diploma at some independent schools
- School year
- Late January to mid-December, in four terms
- Ages served
- Prep from age 5 through Year 12 at about 17 or 18
- Language
- English; English as an Additional Language support is well established
How admissions work in Melbourne
Most Melbourne schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Melbourne. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Melbourne
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Melbourne school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Melbourne fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Melbourne school year runs late January to mid-December, in four terms.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Melbourne
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Melbourne market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- AUD 21,000 – 35,000
- Secondary, per year
- AUD 27,000 – 45,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$14,000 – 29,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Melbourne schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Melbourne school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Melbourne
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Inner East: Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell
The traditional independent-school belt, leafy and well connected by tram and train, with strong government zones too.
Bayside: Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham
Beachside family suburbs with sought-after schools and a straightforward train line into the city.
Inner North: Carlton, Fitzroy, Brunswick
Urban, diverse and close to the universities, with good local schools and a shorter commute.
South East and Glen Waverley
Larger homes and highly regarded government schools, with large international communities and a longer trip to the centre.
Moving to Melbourne with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Melbourne.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Melbourne are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Melbourne
Government schools enrol by designated neighbourhood zone and are free for citizens and permanent residents; temporary visa holders generally pay a fee set by the department. Independent and Catholic schools set their own admissions and fees and are registered with the state regulator.
Zones decide government placement
Every address sits in a designated neighbourhood zone, and the local school must accept children living in it. Sought-after zones have measurable effects on rents and are worth checking on the state's official zone map before signing anything.
Out-of-zone applications are considered only where space remains, and at popular schools it usually does not.
The four-term year
Term 1 opens in late January or early February and the year closes in mid-December, with a six-week summer break over Christmas.
Arriving in the northern summer means starting in Term 3. Aim for a January arrival where the move allows; otherwise ask each school how it settles mid-year joiners.
VCE, VCE Vocational Major, or IB
Most senior students complete the VCE, which produces an ATAR for Australian university entry and is recognised abroad. A vocational stream exists alongside it.
The IB Diploma is offered at a smaller number of independent schools and is worth asking about if another international move may fall in Years 11 or 12.
Fees and first-year extras
Independent tuition is billed annually or per term, with an application fee and enrolment deposit, and long waiting lists at some schools for entry years.
Uniform, books, technology, camps, instrumental music and sport sit outside tuition. Government schools ask for voluntary contributions plus fees for temporary visa holders.
Weather, transport and daily rhythm
The weather changes quickly and schools plan around it; layered uniform and wet-weather kit are standard.
Trams, trains and buses cover the inner suburbs well and secondary students commonly travel independently. Peak traffic on the main arterials is the main constraint for cross-city runs.
What families get wrong in Melbourne
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Expecting a September start
The year runs late January to mid-December. A mid-year arrival is a Term 3 join.
Renting outside the school zone
Government enrolment follows the designated neighbourhood zone. Check the official map first.
Ignoring waiting lists at independent schools
Some schools take registrations years ahead. Ask about the actual entry year, not the school in general.
Forgetting visa-linked government school fees
Temporary visa holders usually pay a departmental fee. Confirm what applies to your subclass.
Budgeting tuition only
Uniform, camps, technology, music and sport add a meaningful amount in the first year.
Official Melbourne resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Melbourne
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Melbourne with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Melbourne
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Melbourne
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Melbourne that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Melbourne
Find international schools in Melbourne for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Melbourne
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Melbourne compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Melbourne information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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