Your 482 visa is national but your children’s school fees are not

Two engineers arrive in Australia on the same visa, in the same month, sponsored by the same employer. One takes the Sydney role and one takes the Canberra role. Each enrols a child in Year 3 at the local government school.

The Sydney family pays $6,400 a year. The Canberra family pays $11,100 a year.

Nothing about the visa differs. Nothing about the child differs. The only variable is which state or territory the job was in.

What each jurisdiction charges in 2026

New South Wales charges $6,400 per student per year for primary and for Years 7 to 10, rising to $7,600 for Years 11 and 12, plus a $150 application fee. The scheme is the Temporary Residents Program. A full exemption for 482 holders living in listed regional postcodes has applied from 1 January 2025, and families outside that can appeal to an exemption review panel on low income grounds.

The Australian Capital Territory charges $11,100 for primary, $14,500 for Years 7 to 10 and $16,200 for Years 11 and 12, per student, plus a $265 application fee. It also offers an occupation-based exemption. A 482 holder with an ACT employment contract in an occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, or under a labour agreement, who is working and living in the Territory, may apply to have the fee waived.

What that adds up to for one family

Take a 482 family with two children, one in Year 4 and one in Year 8, on a household income above every waiver threshold.

In New South Wales they pay $12,800. In the Australian Capital Territory they pay $25,600.

The same visa, the same two children, and a difference of $12,800 a year.

What the legacy and regional visas do differently

Subclass 457 holders are treated identically to 482 holders in New South Wales.

For subclass 494, the skilled employer sponsored regional visa, the Australian Capital Territory offers an exemption pathway that requires a Territory nomination letter.

Student visa dependants are a different question again

Dependants of subclass 500 student visa holders are generally treated less favourably, and the rules vary by what the parent is studying.

New South Wales charges them under a separate schedule. In 2026, dependants of higher education, masters, standard doctorate and TAFE NSW students pay $7,800 for primary and Years 7 to 10 and $9,000 for Years 11 and 12, while dependants of independent ELICOS, other vocational and non-award students pay $11,200, $12,600 and $14,200. Dependants of postgraduate doctorate students at a main New South Wales campus without a scholarship are exempt.

What New South Wales said when it created its exemption

The regional exemption is the one significant reform in this area in recent years.

The NSW Government said the exemption would waive up to $7,400 per year in fees. That figure reflects rates in force when the exemption was announced and does not match the current published schedule of $6,400 and $7,600.

Before you accept the job

Ask the fee question before you sign, not after you arrive. It is the single largest predictable cost difference between two otherwise identical offers, and it is invisible in any salary comparison.

Check the exemption you might already qualify for. If you are moving to regional New South Wales, check the postcode list. If you are moving to the Australian Capital Territory, check whether your occupation is on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List or covered by a labour agreement, because the Territory’s exemption is occupation-based and can remove the fee entirely.

Verify with the department, not with a migration agent’s blog. Departmental pages are the authority.