Do School Zones Change? What Victoria Redrew for 2027
14 September 2026
Yes. Victoria's school zones change every year, because the Department of Education reviews them annually. We compared the official 2026 and 2027 zone maps to see how much actually moves. For 2027, 18 of the state's 1,268 primary school zones were redrawn (1.4%), and one new zone appeared. A year earlier, when 19 new schools opened, 117 existing primary zones moved (9.3%).
If your child is already enrolled, a zone change doesn't move them. It can change which school a younger sibling, or your next address, is zoned for.
Zone maps: DataVic "Victorian Government School Zones" for 2025, 2026 and 2027 (CC BY 4.0), compared by AroundSchools on 14 September 2026. Policy wording checked the same day on vic.gov.au, the Department's Policy and Advisory Library and schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au.
Key takeaways
- Zones are reviewed every year. The official reasons are new schools, changed year levels, better access and managing enrolment demand.
- 2027 was a quiet year. 18 of 1,268 primary zones and 5 of 324 Year 7 zones moved. The only new primary zone is Barramayil Primary School in Aintree.
- 2026 was the big one. 117 primary zones were redrawn and 15 new primary zones appeared as 19 new schools opened.
- The largest 2027 moves are at Year 12. Clyde, Greenvale and Port Melbourne secondary colleges get their first Year 12 zones, taking 86% of Cranbourne East Secondary College's Year 12 zone and 58% of Albert Park College's.
- Your Year 7 and Year 12 zoned schools can differ. Within 40 km of the CBD, about 16% of the land zoned for Year 7 has a different zoned school at Year 12.
- Enrolled students stay put, and out-of-zone siblings get first priority for a place. Check your address on Find My School for the year your child actually starts.
About 1 in 11. That's how many existing Victorian primary school zones were redrawn in a single year (117 of 1,253 for 2026). If you're choosing a home for a school, check the zone for the year your child starts, not this year.
How often do school zones change in Victoria?
Every year the department reviews all zones, though in most years only a small share move. The Department's policy says: "The department reviews school zones annually." Zones "may be adjusted to reflect the opening of new schools, changing provision at existing schools (for example, relocating a campus or changing year levels offered), improving school accessibility, or managing enrolment demand."
"The Minister for Education (or delegate) approves any changes to school zones." The public-facing vic.gov.au school zones page puts it more plainly: "Each year, a small number of school zones may change."
New maps arrive in March. The 2027 zones were published in March 2026, and the 2026 zones in March 2025. Find My School "shows the school zones for enrolment in the current and following school years", so right now it holds both 2026 and 2027.
How are school zones determined?
Your zoned school is usually your nearest government school. In metropolitan Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, the policy says the local school "is usually the nearest government school in a straight line from the student's permanent address." Elsewhere it is "usually the nearest school by the shortest practical route by road."
That place is a legal right: "Your child has a right to enrol at their local school. This right is set out in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006."
Not every school has a zone. The official dataset excludes "schools with specific enrolment criteria including English language schools, selective entry high schools, or community schools", and "Specialist schools also do not have school zones". So there is no zone to buy into for a selective entry high school.
What changed in Victoria's 2027 school zones?
Almost all of it happened in two kinds of place: Aintree, where a new primary school opens, and growth areas where three secondary colleges reach Year 12.
A new primary zone in Aintree
Barramayil Primary School opens in 2027 at 10 Faldo St, Aintree, for "Foundation (Prep) to Grade 6" with room for "up to 700 students" (schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au). The zone data still uses its interim name, Aintree North Primary School.
Its 18.1 km² zone was carved out of six neighbours. Aintree Primary School gave 8.6 km², two-thirds of its zone, shrinking from 12.96 km² to 4.36 km².
Wiyal Primary School (4.38 km²) and Thornhill Park Primary School (3.84 km²) gave most of the rest, with small slivers from Deanside, Kurunjang and Diggers Rest primary schools.
Further north, Greenvale Primary School's zone grew 14.7%, from 19.13 km² to 21.93 km². It took 1.62 km² from Westmeadows Primary School and 1.37 km² from Bethal Primary School, whose zone shrank by 39%.
Three secondary colleges get their first Year 12 zones
The biggest shifts for 2027 are senior-school zones. Clyde, Greenvale and Port Melbourne secondary colleges each appear in the Year 12 map for the first time. Clyde Secondary College "welcomed students in Year 7" in 2022 and opens "by year level as the first cohort of students progress through school" (schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au).
| New Year 12 zone (2027) | Size | Land taken from (km²) |
|---|---|---|
| Clyde Secondary College | 134.6 km² | Cranbourne East SC 82.2 · Cranbourne SC 22.0 · Koo Wee Rup SC 18.5 · Elisabeth Murdoch College 4.1 · Officer SC 4.1 · Edenbrook SC 2.9 · Kambrya College 0.9 |
| Greenvale Secondary College | 52.5 km² | Elevation SC 23.0 · Gladstone Park SC 13.9 · Roxburgh College 7.2 · Hume Central SC (Town Park Campus) 4.5 · Taylors Lakes SC 3.8 · Sunbury College 0.1 |
| Port Melbourne Secondary College | 12.3 km² | Albert Park College 10.4 · Collingwood College 1.6 · Prahran High School 0.2 |
The effect on the neighbours is large. Cranbourne East Secondary College's Year 12 zone fell 86%, from 95.91 km² to 13.53 km². Albert Park College's fell 58%, from 17.98 km² to 7.59 km², and Cranbourne Secondary College's halved.
Port Melbourne shows why this matters. In the 2026 maps, 10.39 km² was zoned to Port Melbourne Secondary College for Year 7 but to Albert Park College for Year 12. In 2027, Port Melbourne's new Year 12 zone is identical to its Year 7 zone, so those families have one zoned school from Year 7 to 12. Greenvale's is the same. At Clyde, 79.7% of the new Year 12 zone sits inside its Year 7 zone.
A new Year 9 zone, and one large regional swap
Wulerrp Secondary College gets its first Year 9 zone (30.65 km²). Most of it came from Kambrya College (11.1 km², 38% of Kambrya's Year 9 zone), Clyde Secondary College (10.8 km²) and Officer Secondary College (5.7 km²).
By area, the single largest transfer was regional: about 86 km² passed from Bacchus Marsh College (Maddingley Campus) to Daylesford Secondary College at every secondary year level.
Why can my Year 7 and Year 12 zoned schools be different?
Because Victoria draws a separate zone map for each secondary year level. The official dataset holds "distinct spatial datasets for primary school zones and school zones for each year of secondary school". In the 2027 maps, 29 secondary schools have a Year 7 zone but no Year 12 zone.
Two patterns explain most of it. In some areas the split is built in: land zoned to Tarneit P-9 College for Year 7 is zoned to Tarneit Senior College for Year 12, and Bendigo's 7–10 colleges sit inside Bendigo Senior Secondary College's Year 12 zone. Elsewhere, newer colleges have no Year 12 zone yet, such as Ngayuk College in Kalkallo, one of the schools that opened in 2026.
Within 40 km of Melbourne's CBD, about 16% of the land zoned for Year 7 has a different zoned school at Year 12. The largest examples:
| Zoned for Year 7 (2027) | Zoned for Year 12 (2027) | Land affected |
|---|---|---|
| Walcom Ngarrwa Secondary College | Manor Lakes P-12 College | 91.4 km² |
| Mickleham Secondary College | Mount Ridley P-12 College | 61.1 km² |
| Walcom Ngarrwa Secondary College | Werribee Secondary College | 46.3 km² |
| Kolorer College | Staughton College | 42.1 km² |
| Yarrabing Secondary College | Springside West Secondary College | 37.8 km² |
| Ngayuk College | Mount Ridley P-12 College | 33.6 km² |
| Ngayuk College | Wallan Secondary College | 31.9 km² |
| Brookside P-9 College | Lakeview Senior College | 28.4 km² |
| Tarneit P-9 College | Tarneit Senior College | 27.7 km² |
Check the zone for the year level your child will enter, and for Year 12 too if you plan to stay.
What did the 2026 redraw look like?
When many schools open at once, many zones move. Victoria opened 19 new schools in 2026. The 2026 maps added 15 primary zones and redrew 117 existing ones, along with 31 Year 7, 31 Year 9 and 28 Year 12 zones.
| Zones redrawn | 2026 maps (vs 2025) | 2027 maps (vs 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary (Prep–6) | 117 of 1,253 (9.3%) | 18 of 1,268 (1.4%) |
| Year 7 | 31 of 321 (9.7%) | 5 of 324 (1.5%) |
| Year 9 | 31 of 312 (9.9%) | 11 of 317 (3.5%) |
| Year 12 | 28 of 283 (9.9%) | 19 of 286 (6.6%) |
| New zones (primary / Year 7 / Year 9 / Year 12) | 15 / 3 / 5 / 3 | 1 / 0 / 1 / 3 |
Some existing zones lost most of their land to a new neighbour in 2026:
- Featherbrook P-9 College: primary zone down 82%, from 11.03 km² to 2.00 km², with 9.08 km² going to Yurran P-9 College, a new zone that year.
- Wollert Primary School: down 79%, from 12.39 km² to 2.61 km², with 9.77 km² going to Umarkoo Primary School.
- Port Melbourne Primary School: down 65%, from 10.17 km² to 3.56 km², with 6.84 km² going to Narrarrang Primary School.
- Werribee Primary School: down 59%, from 15.71 km² to 6.45 km², with 9.09 km² going to Yurran P-9 College.
If the zone moves away from our house, what happens?
A child who is already enrolled keeps their place. The Victorian School Building Authority says: "If your child is already enrolled at a school and your local zone changes, you do not need to re-enrol at another school."
Younger siblings are where it can bite. Once your address is outside the zone, a younger child applies as an out-of-zone student. When a school can't take everyone applying from outside its zone, the placement policy sets the order:
- "students with a sibling at the same permanent address who are attending the school at the same time"
- "all other students in order of closeness from their permanent address to the school."
So sibling priority only helps if the older child will still be at the school when the younger one starts. A Prep child starting while an older sibling is in Year 6 overlaps. A seven-year age gap does not.
Buying or renting for a school zone? Five checks
- Check the right enrolment year. vic.gov.au says to "Select the school year you are looking to enrol your child in under 'Enrolment year.'" Barramayil's own page tells families to "select 2027 as the enrolment year".
- Check each year level you care about. A Year 7 zone tells you nothing about Year 12.
- Look for new schools nearby. They are the main reason zones move. The three planned for 2028 are Rockbank Toolern Road Primary School (Rockbank), Thompsons East Primary School (Clyde North) and Wollahra Secondary School (Wyndham Vale), all interim names. If the last two years' pattern holds, 2028 zones will be published around March 2027.
- Use the official map, not an agent's. vic.gov.au: "The Department of Education does not endorse zones advice from real estate agents or other websites."
- Plan for siblings. An enrolled child keeps their place, but a younger child only gets sibling priority while the two overlap at the school.
Checking zones and what's nearby on AroundSchools
Our school catchment checker currently shows Victoria's 2026 zones, alongside NSW, Queensland and South Australia. For a 2027 enrolment, confirm the result on Find My School. Our School Zone Sizes report measures every published zone if you want to see how big yours is, and every government school has a profile under schools in Victoria.
The school is half the decision; what's around it is the other half. Of the suburbs touched by this year's changes, Port Melbourne lists 16 kids' activity providers in our directory, Albert Park 15, Cranbourne East 8, Westmeadows 5, and Kurunjang and Roxburgh Park 4 each. Browse every suburb in kids' activities in Victoria, or see the Kids' Activity Index.
Frequently asked questions
Does school catchment change?
Yes. In Victoria the department reviews school zones every year. For 2027, 18 of 1,268 primary zones and 19 of 286 Year 12 zones moved. For 2026, when 19 new schools opened, 117 primary zones moved.
How often do school zones change in Victoria?
Every year. New zone maps are published around March for the following school year; the 2027 zones came out in March 2026.
How are school zones determined in Victoria?
Your zoned school is usually the nearest government school: in a straight line in metropolitan Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, and by the shortest practical road route elsewhere. The Minister for Education (or delegate) approves zone changes.
If our zone changes, does my child have to change schools?
No. "If your child is already enrolled at a school and your local zone changes, you do not need to re-enrol at another school."
Will my younger child still get into the same school?
Not automatically. Out of zone, siblings get first priority when a school is short of places, but only if the older child is "attending the school at the same time".
Do selective entry high schools have a school zone?
No. Selective entry high schools, English language schools, community schools and specialist schools do not have school zones.
Which year should I choose on Find My School?
The school year your child will start. Find My School shows zones for the current and following school years.
When will Victoria's 2028 school zones be published?
The 2026 zones were published in March 2025 and the 2027 zones in March 2026. If that pattern holds, expect the 2028 zones around March 2027.
How we measured this
We downloaded the Department of Education's zone datasets for 2025, 2026 and 2027 from DataVic (CC BY 4.0) and compared the primary, Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12 layers. Zones were matched by the department's entity code, so a campus rename is not counted as a change. Areas were measured in an equal-area projection (GDA94 Australian Albers).
A zone counts as redrawn when at least 0.1 km² and at least 1% of its area moved. That filters out tiny edge re-digitising on very large rural zones. Area is not people: a big rural shift can touch few homes, and a small inner-city one many. We did not count addresses.
Cite this: AroundSchools analysis of DataVic Victorian Government School Zones 2025–2027, September 2026.
