Who Decides Where The Children Go To School?

Unless there are court orders that state otherwise, each parent has parental responsibility for their children. That is, each parent has the opportunity to participate in making decisions concerning the major long-term issues that affect their children, such as which school they attend. Any decision about school enrolment must be made jointly by both parents. Though, there is no requirement for school staff to independently establish that an enrolment into a particular school has been made by the parents jointly.

If a court has made orders for one parent to have sole parental responsibility for a child, or for a parent to have sole decision making in relation to matters concerning the child’s education, then that parent alone can decide where to enrol the child.

If parents cannot agree on which school their child should attend, the matter can be brought before the court. The court will then make a decision based on the best interests of the child, considering factors such as the child’s safety, developmental needs, and the practicality of the proposed schooling arrangements.

If there are parenting orders in place, it is important that parents provide a copy of those orders to the school.

In some circumstances a parent will attempt to enrol a child into another school following separation. This may be as a result of that parent relocating to another area. In basic terms and subject to each school’s policy, if a parent disagrees with the enrolment, the following may occur:

• If the principal is unaware of the dispute between parents – they may accept the enrolment application of the parent with whom the child is living;
• If the principal is aware of the dispute between parents and there are no court orders dealing with education– the primary consideration for the school will be to ensure that the child’s educational and welfare needs are met. The factors that may be considered in determining whether to proceed with the enrolment include whether the child was previously settled at their former school and if it is in the child’s educational interests to remain at their former school.

Which parent pays school fees?

Following separation, generally parents will agree between themselves as to who is going to be responsible for the payment of school fees. Such agreement may be documented by way of a Binding Child Support Agreement or parenting plan and may also provide for the payment of ancillary educational expenses such as books, school uniforms, excursions and extra-curricular activities. In the absence of any agreement or Court orders, both parents are legally obliged to pay for school fees.

If there is a child support assessment in place, the assessment will account for all of the child’s expenses, including school fees. However, the formula used to determine the cost of raising a child will be based on that child attending a government school, not a private school.  If a child attends a private school and the parents expect the child to remain being privately educated, the parent in receipt  of child support may request for their child support assessment to be varied so as to take into consideration the costs of the private education. The Registrar will consider the financial situation of both parents, however the fact that a payer has the financial means to pay the fees, is not in and of itself a reason for imposing a liability to contribute to school fees.

Are you currently in the midst of making decisions about your child’s education? Do you require advice from our experienced lawyers? Contact our Family Law Team today at 8525 2700, or click here to request an appointment.

Our experienced team of Family Law Solicitors include Riccarda Stock, Nicole Quirk, Shweta Kumar, Nikita Ward and Kirstin Attard.

Article by Kirstin Attard
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