Brisbane school catchments work the same way as everywhere in Queensland: a catchment is the area a state school’s local students must live in, and living inside it guarantees your child a place at that school from Prep to Year 12. You check an address on the Queensland Government’s EdMap, and you check it for the year your child will actually start, because catchments are reviewed and can change. In the inner west, where most of the popular state schools manage their enrolments, I treat the catchment line as part of what a house is worth rather than something to sort out after settlement.
What is a school catchment in Queensland?
Your local state school is the one closest to your home, measured by the shortest, most direct road route to the school’s main entrance. The catchment is the area that school is responsible for. If you live inside it, enrolment is guaranteed. If you live outside it, the Queensland Government says enrolment is not guaranteed and you go on a waiting list, with applications assessed in the order they arrive.
How do I check the catchment for a Brisbane address?
Use EdMap, the Queensland Government’s school catchment map. It takes about a minute, and here is how I do it, using my own office address in Ashgrove as the example.
Step 1. Choose the year and type the address. At the top of the panel, pick the calendar year your child will start (EdMap shows this year and next), then type the full street address into the search box and choose it from the list. Search the street address, not the suburb.
Step 2. Read both results. EdMap shows the local primary school (Prep to Year 6) and the local high school (Year 7 to Year 12) for that address. For 33 Killawarra Road, that is Ashgrove State School and The Gap State High School. The small grid icon beside “Enrolment management plan in force” tells you the school restricts out-of-catchment enrolments, so the address is what counts.
Step 3. Zoom out and look at the lines. The blue lines are the catchment boundaries. Zooming out shows how close the house sits to an edge and how the lines wander through streets rather than following suburb names. Schools with a dark blue label run an Enrolment Management Plan; a grey label, like Bardon State School here, does not.
Two details matter more than people expect. Catchments can vary by the calendar year of enrolment and by year level, so check the year your child will start, not just this year. And where the map and the search result disagree, the boundary drawn on the map is the one that counts. If a house sits anywhere near a line, I ring the school’s enrolment office before my client signs.
Do catchment lines follow suburb boundaries?
No, and this is where buyers are most often caught out. A catchment line can run down the middle of a street, so two similar houses a few doors apart can belong to different schools. Plenty of Ashgrove addresses sit with Ashgrove State School, but others belong to Oakleigh State School or a school in the next suburb. When I look at sales evidence for a family home, I check which side of the line each comparable sale sits on before I lean on it.
Which state schools serve Ashgrove, Bardon, Paddington, Red Hill, The Gap and Auchenflower?
These are the state schools in or next to each suburb. Which one your address belongs to depends on the street, so treat this as a starting point and confirm on EdMap.
Ashgrove: Ashgrove State School and Oakleigh State School. Both run an Enrolment Management Plan.
Bardon: Ithaca Creek State School and Rainworth State School, which both run an Enrolment Management Plan, and Bardon State School, which does not.
The Gap: The Gap State School, Payne Road State School and Hilder Road State School at primary level, and The Gap State High School. The Gap State School and The Gap State High School both run an Enrolment Management Plan.
Paddington: Petrie Terrace State School, which runs an Enrolment Management Plan. Some Paddington streets look to Milton State School, just over the suburb line.
Red Hill: streets such as Enoggera Terrace sit in the Petrie Terrace State School catchment, with Kelvin Grove State College for high school. Streets on the Ithaca and Kelvin Grove sides can belong to other schools, so check the exact address.
Auchenflower: many Auchenflower streets sit in the Milton State School catchment, which also runs an Enrolment Management Plan.
For high school, the local school depends on the street. Across this part of Brisbane it is often Kelvin Grove State College or The Gap State High School. Kelvin Grove State College runs Prep to Year 12, and its current Enrolment Management Plan was gazetted in September 2026.
Which Brisbane school catchments do families buy into most?
Across Brisbane, the catchments I am asked about most are the high schools with the strongest reputations, and Brisbane State High School and Mansfield State High School top the list. I have bought homes for families where a house inside one of those two lines was the whole brief, and the suburb came second.
Both schools run an Enrolment Management Plan. Mansfield State High School says its Year 8 to 12 enrolments are for the local catchment only, so for most families the only way in is the address. That is why homes just inside these lines draw so many families, and why I check the boundary street by street before I put a figure on any of them.
What is an Enrolment Management Plan?
An Enrolment Management Plan is how a state school close to capacity restricts out-of-catchment enrolments and keeps places for local families. Each school with a plan publishes its catchment, its capacity, its criteria and the proof of residency it needs. For a buyer, the practical meaning is simple: at a school with a plan, living in the catchment is the only dependable way in.
What proof of address will the school ask for?
Under the Department of Education’s procedure for schools with a plan, you need one primary document (a current lease, a rates notice or an unconditional contract of sale) and one secondary document, such as an electricity or gas bill in the parent’s name at the same address. The principal can ask for more, for example extra bills, a statutory declaration or a bank statement.
Because an unconditional contract of sale is accepted as primary proof, the timing of your purchase matters. If your child starts Prep or Year 7 next year, work back from the school’s enrolment dates so the contract is unconditional, and the utilities connected, in time.
Can a school catchment change after I buy?
Yes. The Government reviews catchments regularly and redraws them when a new school opens or an existing one runs out of room. The inner city has seen this in recent years, with Fortitude Valley State Secondary College and Inner City South State Secondary College both opening and taking in streets that used to belong to other high schools. The Department also publishes projected demand maps, which show where pressure on schools is building. With my town planning background, I read those alongside any growth plans for the area before a family commits to a catchment purchase.
Does a school catchment add to a property’s value?
It can, but there is no fixed percentage. As a Registered Property Valuer, I see the effect most clearly on family houses in the catchments of schools with an Enrolment Management Plan, where more buyers are competing for the same few streets. It shows up most at auction, when two or three catchment families want the same house.
Prices have eased across the inner west this year, and in my experience the homes that have held buyer interest best are family houses inside the popular catchments. Even so, the catchment shouldn’t make you overlook the house itself. A flood-affected lot, a busy road or a character overlay that rules out the extension you had planned all stay with the property long after your children finish school.
How I use catchments when buying for a family
When a client tells me a particular school matters, I start with EdMap rather than a suburb map and draw the search area from the catchment for the year their child will enrol. I check primary and secondary together, because a home that suits Prep but sits outside the high school you want only solves half the problem.
From there I check each property for flooding (my guide on how to check if a Brisbane property is flood affected covers this) and for the Traditional Building Character overlay, then compare sales inside and outside the line before I put a figure on it. I also talk to local agents across the catchment, because some of the best family homes in these streets change hands before they reach the internet. My Brisbane buyer’s guide walks through these checks in order if you would like the full list.
Frequently asked questions
Does living in a school catchment guarantee a place?
Yes, for Queensland state schools. A student who lives in the catchment is entitled to enrol at that school from Prep to Year 12, provided the family can show proof of residency.
Can my child go to a state school outside our catchment?
Possibly. Out-of-catchment applications go on a waiting list and are assessed in order. Schools with an Enrolment Management Plan restrict out-of-catchment places, so at the popular inner-west schools the chances are low.
Does renting in the catchment count?
A current lease agreement is accepted as primary proof of residency, along with a utility bill at the same address. Check the specific school’s Enrolment Management Plan, as the principal can ask for more evidence.
Do private schools have catchments?
No. Queensland catchments apply to state schools. Private schools set their own enrolment criteria.
How often do Brisbane school catchments change?
Catchments are reviewed regularly and can change when schools open or reach capacity. Always check EdMap for the calendar year your child will start.
Thinking about buying in Brisbane?
Whether you are buying in the inner west or anywhere else across Brisbane with a school catchment in mind, or simply want to talk through what I’m seeing, I’m always happy to share my view. You can book a free discovery call at a time that suits you.
Take care, Sam Price. Buyer’s Agent and Registered Property Valuer, Brisbane.
Sources: Queensland Government, School catchment areas; Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, EdMap (2026 and 2027 catchments, checked 7 November 2026); Department of Education, School enrolment management plans procedure; Department of Education enrolment management plans for Ashgrove, Oakleigh, Ithaca Creek, Rainworth, The Gap, Petrie Terrace and Milton State Schools, The Gap State High School, Kelvin Grove State College, Brisbane State High School and Mansfield State High School.
Before You Buy in Brisbane
The checks I run on every home, in one guide
- The flood check most buyers skip, step by step with the official maps
- Character overlays, zoning and what’s being built next door
- School catchments, noise, flight paths and easements