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Families on 457 and 482 visas may need to pay a student contribution fee for their children to attend government schools. Find out if you need to pay and how to register and enrol your children.
Work out if the student fee applies to you
You’ll need to pay the student fee if:
- you're on a 457 or 482 visa
- your child or children attend government schools in the greater Adelaide region
- your family’s total income is over $74,000 per year (before tax).
You don’t have to pay the student fee for your children if:
- you're enrolling your children at certain schools in country areas of South Australia – see the country schools exemption list (PDF 186 KB) to find out if this applies to you and contact the school directly
- you want to enrol your children in a non-government (private) school – you must contact the school directly to find out about their fees
- you or your children are on a subclass 500 visa – go to enrolments as dependents or international students
- you or your children are on a different subclass visa – look up your visa to find out who to contact about enrolment and if any fees apply
- you're enrolling your children in preschool (also sometimes called kindergarten) – follow the normal process to register to enrol in preschool
- your family’s total income is $74,000 or less per year (before tax) – you'll still need to complete your registration to enrol your children at a school.
Cost of the student fee
The maximum fee you’ll pay for each student in 2025 is:
- $6600 for primary school
- $7800 for high school.
You may be eligible to pay a reduced fee, depending on the following:
Number of children you’re enrolling
You get a discount if enrolling more than 1 child in government schools.
The full student fee is charged for your eldest child. You then get a 10% discount for each additional child.
If you’re enrolling 4 or more children, you only need to pay student fees for the youngest 3 children. The full fee will be charged for the eldest of these 3 children. You’ll get 10% discount for the other 2 children.
When they’ll start at the school
If your children will be starting school part-way through the year, you’ll only pay for the school weeks left in that year. This is referred to as pro-rata.
Your family income
You won’t need to pay a fee if you and your partner’s combined income is less than $74,000 (before any tax is deducted) per year.
This income includes salary sacrifice amounts and overtime payments.
Your fee will be reduced if your combined income (before tax) per year is less than:
- $100,000 if enrolling 1 child at a government school
- $119,000 if enrolling 2 children at a government school
- $138,000 if enrolling 3 or more children at a government school.
Calculate your fee
- Use the 2024 student fee calculator to find out what you will pay in 2024.
- Use the 2025 student fee calculator to find out what you will pay in 2025.
How to enrol your children and pay your student fee
Step 1 – approach a school
Contact your local school to find out if they have places available and how to enrol.
You can also ask about the cost of their yearly ‘materials and services’ fee. This fee is slightly different at each school.
Find a school zone or preschool catchment area to find the schools in your area.
About school zones
Most government schools are ‘zoned’. School zones are a set area of suburbs around the school that the school accepts students from. This means where your children will go to school will depend on where you live.
Some schools also accept student enrolment applications from families living outside the school zone. A place will usually only be offered if they have additional spaces available.
Some schools have a very high demand for places and may not be able to give a place to your child even if you live in the school zone. These schools have a capacity management plan.
Visit placement in school to learn more about school zones and capacity management schools.
Step 2 – register online
Complete the registration form for the year when your child or children will start at the school:
The form will let you know how much you might need to pay and if you need to upload proof of income with your registration. This is to check if you're eligible to pay a lower student fee.
Proof of income can be your:
- 3 most recent payslips
- new employment contract showing annual salary and salary package arrangements
- visa grant letter showing annual salary if you have not yet received a payslip.
Step 3 – pay the student fee
We’ll email you an invoice once we've processed your registration. You'll also get a hardcopy in the mail. Follow the payment instructions on the invoice.
If you have a partner, you and your partner are both equally responsible for paying the student fee.
You can choose whether to pay the fee:
- upfront for the whole school year
- in smaller payments (weekly, fortnightly, monthly or per term instalments).
You can pay online via BPay or you can set up automatic, regular payments from your bank account (direct debit) to pay every month or term.
If your children enrol during the year, you’ll only need to pay for the number of school weeks remaining.
About employer payment
As the primary visa applicant of your family you can nominate your employer to pay the student fee on your behalf.
This can be attractive because education payments made for children of families on 457 or 482 visas may qualify for salary packaging benefits.
Talk to your employer to find out if you can access this benefit.
Step 4 – give the school all documents
Once you’ve completed the previous steps, you need to give the school:
- a copy of the confirmation of registration letter – we’ll email this to you once we’ve processed your registration and payment, if applicable
- any other enrolment forms the school asks you to complete.
You’ll also need to pay the ‘materials and services’ fee directly to the school. The school will give you an invoice showing the amount due and options for payment.
Tell us if your circumstances change
You only need to pay for the school weeks that your children attend a government school while you're on 457 or 482 visa. You could be eligible for a lower fee or may no longer need to pay the student fee if your circumstances change.
Use the change of details form to let us know if:
- your address or contact details change
- you want to add another child later
- your children leave the government school system
- your visa status changes
- your family income changes.
Once you submit the form, we’ll calculate your new student fee. We’ll also let you know if you’re eligible for a refund for payments you've already made.
Examples of changes of circumstances are:
Your children leave the government school system
You will only pay for the school weeks your children attend a government school.
You must:
- let the school know that your children will be leaving
- provide an enrolment acceptance letter from the new school.
You're granted a different visa
You will only pay the student fee for the school weeks your children attend while you hold an active 457 or 482 visa.
You must:
- let the school know that your visa has changed
- provide a copy of your new visa grant letters
You're earning less money
If your family income decreases you can request a review of your fee.
You must provide:
- your and your partner's 3 most recent pay slips
- income reported on your and your partner’s tax assessments from all employment in the last 12 months
- your 457 or 482 visa grant notice.
You’re unable to pay the fee because of financial hardship
You can request a review of your fee if there are unplanned changes to your financial situation that could impact on your ability to pay the fee.
These changes could include:
- serious illness
- unemployment
- change of employment conditions
- family breakdown
- death.
We consider these requests on a case-by-case basis. You’ll need to give evidence to support your request.
