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Enrolling students

• ESL support for eligible students
• Permanent visas
• Temporary visas
• Enrolment procedures
• Interpreter services
• Further information

ESL support for eligible students

All permanent residents and temporary residents (except for fee-paying students), including students born in Australia, from a language background other than English (LBOTE) and who require support to develop their English language proficiency are eligible for support through the ESL Program. Principals will be able to advise about the types and extent of support available.

In Queensland state schools, eligible students are funded for ESL support for their first three years in primary school and their first five years in secondary school. Students born in Australia but who use language other than English at home may be supported in Years 1-3 if they have identified second language learning needs.

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Permanent visas

• All students with permanent visas are eligible to enrol in schools.
• Permanent residents who require support to develop their initial English language proficiency are eligible for New Arrival funding provided that they are enrolled in an ESL Program within six months of arriving in Australia (18 months for students enrolling in Year 1). Schools should contact ESL staff (through the District Office if not known) as soon as possible after enrolment of a student with ESL needs to access appropriate support.

• Students entering Australia on New Zealand passports are eligible for ESL support if at least one biological parent is born in a non-English speaking country. These students are not eligible for New Arrival funding.

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Temporary visas

Under the Immigration Humanitarian Program, some students on temporary visas who fulfil all requirements are eligible for New Arrival funding as long as they are enrolled in an ESL program within six months of arriving in Australia (18 months for students enrolling in Year 1). Schools should contact ESL staff (through the District Office if not known) as soon as possible to access appropriate support.

Some students on temporary visas are required to pay fees before they can be enrolled in Queensland schools. ESL support for these students is negotiated between Education Queensland International and the school concerned. Fee-paying students are not funded by the ESL Program and are not included on the ESL database.

Dependants of some scholarship holders (e.g. attending university under a scholarship arrangement) are entitled to enrol in schools without having to pay fees. These students are eligible for ESL support but not for New Arrival funding.

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Enrolment procedures

• When requests for enrolment are made, Principals ask that the student's passport be brought to the initial interview and find out if an interpreter is necessary.
  
• Interpreter Services:
  • Schools should obtain interpreter support for this initial interview if necessary through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS).
  • On-site interpreting requires a minimum of 3 days notice.
  • Telephone interpreting should be used if an onsite interpreter is unavailable or if schools need to respond to an emergency situation.
  • To use the translating and interpreting service, follow the steps outlined in the Guidelines for using Interpreters in Schools.

• At the initial enrolment interview, Principals photocopy all entries in the student's passport including face page, visa and all departure and arrival stamps. Ensure that the visa sub-class, granted and expiry dates on visa and all dates of entry into Australia are clearly shown. The visa sub-class number (eg. 201, 457, 845) shown on the passport determines whether or not the student can be enrolled in the school and also determines eligibility for ESL support. Schools must obtain this information.

• Forward the copy of the passport and visa to the ESL database in EQ Central Office if ESL assistance will be required.

Schools should contact Education Queensland International (EQI) to determine if students on temporary/visitor visas are eligible to enrol in Education Queensland schools

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Further information

For further information on visa categories and eligibility for ESL support contact the ESL Database, Performance Monitoring and Reporting:

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Further information

• ESL Handbook for Teachers (new window) 1.5M
• ESL Handbook for Schools (new window) 236k
• ESL Database Guidelines (new window) 1.7M
• SMS-PR-027: Enrolment in State Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

Relevant Forms

• Form 1 -
  Personal Details Return (new window) 51k
  

• Form 2 -
  Overseas Education Return (new window) 63k

• Form 3 -
  Previous Enrolments in Australia Return (new window) 49k

• Form 4 -
  Family Details Return (new window) 47k

• Form 5b -
  Students transferring out (new window) 60k

• Form 5c -
  Changes to Support Details (new window) 53k

• Form 6 -
  Changes other than Enrolment and ESL Support (new window) 42k

• Form 7 -
  Student Enquiry (new window) 50k

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© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) 2006.

Queensland Government