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Guide · State schools

Out of catchment? How Brisbane state high schools decide

At a state school with an enrolment management plan, living in the catchment guarantees a place. Outside it, it depends on the school. Here is each school's rule, from its plan and its own enrolment pages.

  • 43 schools
  • 35 enforce their catchment
  • Checked 26 Oct 2026

Look up a school

Which catchment are you in?Check your exact address on EdMap ↗

Five ways schools handle out-of-catchment families

Every school in this guide fits one of these. Tap a box to see its schools.

Buying or renting to get in? Check these first

  1. Check the exact address, not the suburb. Catchment lines follow property boundaries, so neighbours can be in different catchments. Use EdMap ↗.
  2. Check again the year before your child starts. The Government reviews every catchment each year. 14 schools here have negotiated catchments, which can be redrawn, including Brisbane State High, Mansfield SHS, Indooroopilly SHS and Kelvin Grove SC.
  3. You must live there when you apply. Under the Department's rules, the address has to be your child's principal place of residence at the time of the application, not a future one.
  4. Expect to prove it. The standard is one main document (a current lease, rates notice or unconditional contract of sale) and a utility bill in a parent's name at the same address. Some schools ask for more: Alexandra Hills SHS, Aviation High, Balmoral SHS, Brisbane State High, Kelvin Grove SC, MacGregor SHS and Stretton SC want things like an RTA bond receipt, a lease from a real estate agency or a statutory declaration.
  5. Schools check it's your real home. Brisbane State High's plan lists where your child sleeps and eats, your power and gas use, where your furniture is, and whether your insurance and loan are an owner-occupier's or an investor's. False information can be reported to police and the enrolment cancelled.
  6. Siblings usually follow. A younger brother or sister of a current student can generally enrol as if local, if their years at the school overlap. Not if the older child came in through a program from outside the catchment, and not automatically at Brisbane State High, Kelvin Grove SC and Mansfield SHS.

Every school's rule

How out-of-catchment families can apply, when, and what it costs. Tap a school for the details and the school's own words.

QASMT and QACI have no catchment: anyone in Queensland can apply, and entry is on merit. See the selective schools guide.

How the out-of-catchment waitlist works

The Department's rules behind every enrolment management plan.

From the Department's enrolment management plans page ↗ and EMP procedure ↗, read 26 October 2026.

Email me when 2028 out-of-catchment dates are out

Most schools open Year 7 applications in Term 1 or 2 of Year 6. We'll send you one email when the schools on this page have published their dates for 2028.

We'll only use your email for this one message.

Questions parents ask

What is an enrolment management plan?

A legal plan the Department of Education puts in place when a state school is getting full (from about 80% of its capacity). It sets the school's catchment and says when, if ever, students from outside it can enrol. 35 of the 43 schools in this guide have one. The Department lists every plan on its website.

Does living in the catchment guarantee a place?

At a school with an enrolment management plan, yes: a student whose principal place of residence is in the catchment is entitled to enrol. You need to prove the address, and you must live there when you apply. Schools also hold places for families who move into the catchment during the year.

Which schools are hardest to get into from outside the catchment?

Brisbane South SSC, Brisbane State High, Kelvin Grove SC and Victoria Point SHS only take out-of-catchment students through a program or selective entry. Forest Lake SHS and Glenala SHS publish no out-of-catchment process at all. Brisbane State High also has the strictest proof-of-address rules we found.

Can we rent in the catchment just to get in?

The address has to be your child's real principal place of residence when you apply, and schools check. Brisbane State High's plan, for example, looks at where your child sleeps and eats, your power and gas use, whether your furniture is there, and whether your insurance and loan are for an owner-occupier or an investor. It only accepts commercially drawn leases signed at least three months before you apply and running 12 months past the start date. False information can be reported to police and the enrolment cancelled.

What happens if we move out of the catchment after our child starts?

The plans we read deal with getting in. Brisbane State High asks families to report a change of address within 14 days and can review a place before the child starts. The Gap can review the enrolment of an out-of-catchment student who leaves the program they came in through. If you're planning a move, ask the school.

Do younger brothers and sisters get in?

Usually, yes. Under the Department's rules, a sibling of a current student can enrol as if they live in the catchment, as long as their time at the school overlaps. The exceptions: siblings of students who came in through a program from outside the catchment, and schools whose own rules say no, such as Brisbane State High, Kelvin Grove SC and Mansfield SHS.

How do I find out which catchment we're in?

Put your exact address into EdMap, the Queensland Government's school catchment map. Check the address, not the suburb: catchment lines follow property boundaries, and the Government reviews them every year.

Are QASMT and QACI catchment schools?

No. They are selective academies with their own eligibility plans, and anyone in Queensland can apply. Entry is on merit. See our selective schools guide for their tests and dates.

How we put this together

We read the Department of Education's list of schools with an enrolment management plan, each plan, and the Department's procedure behind them, then the enrolment pages of all 43 state secondary schools we cover, last on 26 October 2026. We only use these official pages, not search results or second-hand lists. Capacity, catchment type and program places come from each school's plan. How to apply, dates and fees come from the school's own pages, and each card quotes the school's own words with a link. 8 schools aren't on the Department's list, so their catchment isn't enforced. Schools change their rules and dates, so confirm with the school before you rely on anything here. This guide isn't legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@schoolinsights.com.au with a link.

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