Victoria’s school zones redrawn as new campuses added

Nineteen Victorian school zones have been redrawn and 13 new schools will be set up. These are the zones that will change and where the new schools will be.

Top state schools can command up to $575,000 more for properties within the zone.

Nineteen school zones have been redrawn to reflect the creation of new campuses and the changing demographics of Victorian regions and Melbourne suburbs.

The list, released exclusively to the Herald Sun, ­includes the tweaking of the school zones for Hallam Senior Secondary College and ­Katunga South Primary.

The area around the former Dixons Creek Primary has also been reallocated to surrounding schools.

Parkdale Secondary College and Tulliallan Primary in Cranbourne North have also been updated due to “demand management”, and Bonbeach Primary and Myrrhee Primary zones changed.

The new zones come into effect in 2023.

The 13 new schools are in areas such as North Melbourne, Officer and Rockbank.

They include Camms Road Primary, Wollert East Secondary School and Lollypop Creek Primary (interim names).

Others have been given the interim names of Rockbank Murray Road Primary, Tarneit Missen House Primary and Officer Rix Road Primary.

They include a specialist school in Mt Ridley that will have 144 students.

Every state primary and secondary school has a designated street boundary.

Under state government rules, every child has the right to enrol at their designated government school or – if there are sufficient places – at another government school of their choice.

However, zones have long been controversial and contested by parents. Properties in the zones of high-performing state schools such as Williamstown High, Brighton Secondary College and Albert Park College command up to $575,000 extra when sold.

The new zones come on top of 2021 changes to state school zones such as McKinnon Secondary College, Melbourne Girls’ College and Princes Hill Secondary College.

One zone change led to 100 streets unexpectedly being moved out of Albert Park College and into Port Melbourne Secondary College, cutting off hundreds of families that had planned to send children there.

Further zone changes are coming, as the government has plans to open 100 schools from 2019 to 2026. A high school in Truganina North will open in 2024.

Education Minister James Merlino said that “with new schools popping up right across the state, we’ve made some small changes to zones to make sure everyone has access to a fantastic local school”.

“As families begin to consider their children’s enrolments for next year, we’ve made sure they can get all the information on schools in their area in one spot – the Find My School website,” he said.

Families can look up their school zone online at findmyschool.vic.gov.au.