Good to know
Good to Know
- Perth genuinely has only one purpose-built 'international school' in the classic sense — the International School of Western Australia (ISWA) — a source describes it as Australia's only school with a dedicated International Baccalaureate identity in this way; everything else offering IB in Perth is a mainstream Australian independent school that layers IB onto (or alongside) the standard WACE/Australian Curriculum pathway.
- If you need a true German, French, or other native-language bilingual immersion day school for your kids, Perth isn't the city for it — those programmes exist in Sydney and Melbourne, not WA.
- Published tuition figures almost never include uniforms, laptops/devices, camps, excursions, or music tuition — budget an extra few thousand AUD per year on top of the headline tuition figure.
- Fees jump sharply at Year 7 (move into Senior School) at schools like ISWA — plan for a large step-up in cost when a child transitions from primary to secondary years.
- Enrolment/confirming fees at popular schools are non-refundable and can run into the thousands of AUD — factor this into a mid-year relocation budget, and ask early about waitlists since some of these schools enrol years in advance for Year 7 entry.
- For private/independent Perth schools, register interest well over a year in advance for popular intake years (Pre-Primary, Year 4, Year 7 are the classic 'squeeze points') — some schools are effectively booking three years out.
- Overseas immunisation records are not accepted on their own for school enrolment in WA — budget time after arrival to get an Australian provider to log doses on the Australian Immunisation Register before the school will finalise enrolment.
- If you're on a student, 457/482, or similar visa, don't assume 'public school' means free — a per-family tuition fee applies unless you hold specific scholarship or visa exemptions, and the fee is managed directly by TAFE International WA.
- Homeschooling in WA is a fully legal, well-established path, but it is one of the more paperwork-heavy states in Australia — expect a documented learning plan, an initial moderator visit within about three months, and recurring annual visits, not a one-time light-touch registration.
Schools And Curricula
- Summary
- Perth has very few schools that are 'international schools' in the standalone sense — most of what shows up in international-school directories are actually well-established Australian independent (private) schools that additionally run an IB programme alongside the mainstream WA/Australian Curriculum and WACE pathway. There is no dedicated German, French, or Japanese bilingual day school based in Perth itself (Germany's equivalent schools in Australia are in Sydney and Melbourne, not Perth).
- Excluded Due To Distance
- John Wollaston Anglican Community School (Camillo) and St Brigid's College also run IB-affiliated programmes but are located well outside the CBD/inner-western-suburb catchment relevant to most nomads, so detailed tuition data was not compiled for them here.
Schools
International School of Western Australia (ISWA)
- Type
- Independent, non-denominational, co-educational day school
- Age Range
- Kindergarten to Year 12
- Curricula
- International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) in Years 11–12 alongside US College Board Advanced Placement (AP); Western Australian Curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 10.
- Neighbourhood
- Doubleview / Town of Cambridge, inner western suburbs
- Curriculum Detail
- International School of Western Australia (ISWA) is an independent, non‑denominational international school in Perth, established in 2005 with Chevron's support, and is an IB World School accredited provider of the Diploma Programme alongside US College Board Advanced Placement.
Tuition
- One Off Confirming Fee First Child
- A$4,260
- Note
- There is also a separate, higher 'company-funded' fee schedule for families whose tuition is paid or reimbursed by an employer, and a distinct CRICOS schedule for student-visa holders. Sibling discounts (5% for a second child, 10% for third and subsequent) apply.
Self Funded Annual
Kindergarten
- Kindergarten
- A$15,570
Pre-Primary / Year 1-2
- Pre Primary / Year 1 2
- A$17,210
Year 3
- Year 3
- A$18,200
Year 4
- Year 4
- A$18,700
Year 5
- Year 5
- A$20,470
Year 7-9
- Year 7 9
- A$34,400
Year 10-12
- Year 10 12
- A$36,960
Cricos International Student Annual
Year 1 (CRICOS Visa-holder Rate)
- Year 1 (CRICOS Visa Holder Rate)
- A$29,990
Penrhos College
- Type
- Independent girls' day and boarding school
- Age Range
- Age 3 to 18
- Curricula
- IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) combined with the Australian Curriculum in Early Learning through Year 6; Senior School (Years 7–12) follows the Australian/WA Curriculum with a dedicated Pastoral Curriculum rather than the IB Diploma.
- Neighbourhood
- Como, on the south side of the Swan River, close to the CBD
- Curriculum Detail
- Penrhos College is an independent girls' day and boarding school in Como, Perth, educating students from age 3 to 18, and the curriculum combines the IB Primary Years Programme with the Australian Curriculum.
Tuition
- Note
- No official published fee schedule was found at the time of research. Independent day schools of this tier in the Perth market are generally reported in the AUD 25,000–38,000/year range for senior years, but this figure is a general market range, not Penrhos's confirmed published fee — treat as indicative only.
Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC) Perth
- Type
- Independent girls' day and boarding school
- Founded
- 1915
- Age Range
- Age 2 to 18
- Curricula
- Three pathways: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and IB Diploma Programme (DP), plus the Australian Curriculum and full WACE (ATAR, General/VET, or IBDP tracks).
- Neighbourhood
- Peppermint Grove, riverside western suburb
- Curriculum Detail
- Presbyterian Ladies' College Perth is a day and boarding school that welcomes students from ages 2 to 18, offering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme and Diploma Programme, plus the Australian Curriculum, with three WACE pathways — ATAR, General/VET, and IBDP.
Tuition
- Note
- No official published fee schedule was found at the time of research. As an elite Peppermint Grove independent school it likely sits at the higher end of the Perth private-school market (broadly AUD 25,000-55,000/year for senior years depending on tier), but this is a general market estimate, not a confirmed PLC-specific figure.
Scotch College Perth
- Type
- Independent boys' day and boarding school
- Founded
- 1897
- Age Range
- Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12
- Curricula
- Full IB continuum — Primary Years Programme (PYP) in Junior School, Middle Years Programme (MYP), and IB Diploma Programme (DP) in Senior School — blended with the WA and Australian Curricula; Senior School students can pursue DP, WACE, or VET pathways.
- Neighbourhood
- Swanbourne, roughly 8 km from the Perth CBD
- Curriculum Detail
- Scotch College Perth is an independent day and boarding school for boys from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, set on a 22-hectare campus in Swanbourne, eight kilometres from Perth CBD, blending the WA and Australian Curricula with the IB across PYP, MYP and DP stages.
Tuition
- Note
- Scotch College is cited as an example of a Perth 'elite independent' school with Year 12 fees in this range; boarding adds a further AUD 25,000-45,000/year on top of day tuition.
Year 12 Indicative
- Amount USD Low
- 27300
- Currency Local
- AUD
- Amount USD High
- 35750
- Amount Local Low
- 42000
- Amount Local High
- 55000
Homeschooling
- Legality
- Fully legal and regulated
- Legal Basis
- Home education is a legally recognised alternative to school enrolment in Western Australia under the School Education Act 1999 and School Education Regulations 2000.
- Who Must Register
- Registration is mandatory, not optional, for any child in the compulsory education period who is being taught at home rather than enrolled in a school or approved distance-education provider.
- Compulsory Age Range
- From the beginning of the year a child turns 5 years and 6 months, until the end of the year they turn 17 years and 6 months (or age 18, whichever is first).
- Curriculum Flexibility
- There is no single mandated homeschool curriculum or teaching method — Montessori, Charlotte Mason, unschooling and other approaches are accepted — as long as the program is documented and covers the WA Curriculum's key learning areas. No teaching qualification is required of the parent.
- Health Access Note
- Registered home-educated students in WA remain entitled to access the school medical and school dental services provided by the Department of Health, on presentation of evidence of registration.
- Regional Comparison Note
- Western Australia sits in a more closely regulated band nationally (alongside NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory), requiring formal curriculum alignment and mandatory annual home-education moderator visits, unlike some other Australian states.
Local Community
- Name
- Home Education Association (HEA) Australia — Western Australia chapter
- Caveat
- This is a national association with a WA-specific resource page rather than a single dedicated Perth city co-op; families should treat it as a starting point for finding informal local homeschool meet-up groups rather than an exhaustive directory.
- Exists
- Yes
- Description
- HEA Australia is a support and advocacy body for home educators with a dedicated Western Australia page providing state-specific registration guidance, NAPLAN/OLNA participation information for home-educated students, and appeal support if a registration is not approved.
Registration Process
- Notify the Department of Education of intent to home educate; if withdrawing a child already enrolled in school, parents must inform the school in writing and register within 14 days of removal (or within 14 days of when the child would have started school).
- Contact your local Education Regional Office, where a Home Education Moderator is assigned to assist.
- Submit an application form plus supporting documents (child's birth certificate, education history, and proof of legal guardianship if not the biological/adoptive parent).
- Develop an educational program aligned with the Western Australian Curriculum, covering the required learning areas (English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies, The Arts, and Languages).
- A moderator visit occurs within roughly the first three months to review the setup and learning plan; ongoing annual moderator visits and reporting are then required to keep registration active.
- On approval, a Certificate of Registration is issued; this does not expire on its own and remains valid for the compulsory schooling period unless the family re-enrols the child in school or registration is cancelled.
International School Enrollment
- Overview
- Perth's 'international student' pathway covers both government (public) schools and private/independent schools (e.g. PLC Perth, Perth College, Scotch College). Government-school placements for visa-holding families are centrally managed by TAFE International Western Australia (TIWA); private schools run their own admissions but still require visa and welfare documentation.
- Waitlist Reality
- For sought-after independent schools, waitlisting for a full year level is common, and there is no fixed waitlist review period — some schools reassess as vacancies open through student departures. Families who defer an offer typically keep their place in the queue with their original application date preserved rather than losing priority.
Fees Examples
- Note
- Fees vary widely by school; the figures below are illustrative one-off charges reported by specific Perth schools, not full tuition.
Examples
Perth College — Non-refundable Enrolment Application Charge
- Perth College — Non Refundable Enrolment Application Charge
- A$150
AUD
AUD
Practical Notes
- Public schools must, wherever possible, offer places to students living in the local intake area, so a Perth address (or at minimum a long-term residential/tenancy agreement) matters for placement chances even for fee-paying overseas students.
- A Confirmation of Placement letter from TIWA is required before you can apply for your dependant's visa, but it does not itself guarantee a public-school enrolment.
- Choosing multiple preferred schools (StudyPerth recommends up to four) improves the odds of a timely placement rather than fixating on one school.
Typical Timeline
- Government (public) school placement: after submitting an application, minimum processing time for an outcome is 8 to 12 weeks before a Confirmation of School Placement is issued.
- Private/independent schools: register interest as early as possible; some schools such as Scotch College make offers for major intake years (Pre-Primary, Year 4, Year 7) up to three years in advance, and unsuccessful applicants go onto an open-ended waitlist reviewed as places become available.
- Student visa (subclass 500) can only be lodged after the school issues a signed letter of offer / Confirmation of Enrolment, so visa processing time is additional on top of school admissions time.
- Students should arrive in Western Australia only a few days before term starts and not before the date listed on their letter of offer.
Required Documents General
- Completed school/TIWA online enrolment application
- Student's most recent education results and school transcripts (translated into English if needed)
- Passport and, once issued, student visa details
- Birth certificate (translated copy if not in English)
- Immunisation history — for public schools this must ultimately be recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR); overseas immunisation records alone are not accepted and must be re-verified with an Australian provider
- Evidence of welfare/accommodation arrangements (boarding, homestay, or a nominated local guardian/carer who is at least 25 years old and a permanent Perth metropolitan resident, for boarding-eligible private schools)
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) confirmation
- English-language proficiency evidence; some private schools also require an AEAS (Australian Education Assessment Services) entrance test, sat in the home country where possible
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.