Enrol

NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) eligibility

• To be eligible for a course, students are required to meet all of the criteria at the entry point to that course.

• For the purpose of determining eligibility, speakers of dialects and variants of a language are considered to be speakers of the standard language.

Which course is right for you?

Before you enrol, use these charts to check which course is right for you:

1. Should I enrol in the Beginners or Continuers course?
2. Should I enrol in the Continuers or In Context course?
3. Should I enrol in the 100 hours or 200 hours Stage 5 course?

Beginners

Students are learning the language as a second (or subsequent) language. Students either have no prior spoken or written knowledge or experience of the language, or their experience is derived solely from, or is equivalent to, study of the language for 100 hours or less in Stage 4 or Stage 5.

• Students have had no more than 100 hours' study of the language at the secondary level (or the equivalent).
• Students have little or no previous knowledge of the language. For exchange students, a significant in-country experience (involving experiences such as homestay and attendance at school) of more than three months renders a student ineligible.

Continuers - European Languages

All students not eligible for Beginners courses. In languages where Extension courses are offered, the Extension courses are available to Year 12 Continuers course candidates only.

Continuers - Asian Languages

Students are learning the language as a second (or subsequent) language. Students typically have studied the language for 200-400 hours at the commencement of Stage 6. In languages where Extension courses are offered, the Extension courses are available to Year 12 Continuers course candidates only.

• Students have had no more than one year's formal education from the first year of primary education (Year 1) in a school where the language is the medium of instruction.
• Students have no more than three years' residency in the last 10 years in a country where the language is the medium of communication.

Language in Context

Chinese, Japanese and Korean in Context are offered at NSW School of Languages

Students typically have been brought up in a home where the language is used, and they have a connection to that culture. These students have some degree of understanding and knowledge of the language. They have received all or most of their formal education in schools where English (or another language different from the language of the course) is the medium of instruction. Students may have undertaken some study of the language in a community, primary and/or secondary school in Australia. Students may have had formal education in a school where the language is the medium of instruction up to the age of ten.

Students have had no formal education in a school where the language is the medium of instruction beyond the year in which the student turns ten years of age (typically Year 4 or 5 of primary education).

Conditions for enrolling in EAL/D via distance education

• Rural or regional NSW government school students only.
• The student has been educated in English for 5 years or less prior to Year 11, or the student is a refugee and or has had interrupted schooling.
• The student has reached Phase 2 level EAL/D – has completed the New Arrivals Program or has received instruction in English for at least one year with support from an EAL/D teacher.
• EAL/D is not offered at the home school.

Distance education enrolment procedures

NSW Department of Education policy on Enrolment in distance education procedures explains eligibility, quotas, acceleration and the responsibilities of home schools, supervisors, parents and students, as well as lists the distance education schools in NSW.

Supporting enrolment forms

• School agreement 2026

• Statutory declaration

• Recognition of prior learning

Enrolment how-to guides

• Digital signature quick start guide

• Instructions on how to download, sign, and save the NSL application form.

Other forms and information

• Course information brochure

• NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Course codes for Languages.
• Late or unforeseen and unique circumstances - NSW public schools
• Late or unforeseen and unique circumstances - NSW non-government schools

• Change of school form

NSW non-government schools financial contributions 2026

Payment of the financial contributions to NSW School of Languages is the responsibility of the home school. Home schools will receive an invoice from NSW School of Languages.

Year	Fee
New enrolments in Years 9 or 10	$340* (1 year)
New enrolments in Years 11 or 12	$800* (1 year)
1 unit Extension course in Year 12	$400* (1 year)

* No GST

Refund policy

Refunds must be requested by the home school in writing. Refunds will be sent to the student’s home school not to the parent/carer.

Years 9 or 10

• If a student withdraws from a course after the application is approved, the refund is $230.
• If a student withdraws from a course within the second term of enrolment, the refund is $170.
• If a student withdraws from a course within the third or fourth term of enrolment, there is no refund.

Years 11 or 12

• If a student withdraws from a course after the application is approved, the refund is $600.
• If a student withdraws from a course within the second term of enrolment, the refund is $400.
• If a student withdraws from a course within the third or fourth term of enrolment, there is no refund.

1 unit Extension course Year 12

• If a student withdraws from a course after the application is approved, the refund is $200.
• If a student withdraws from a course within the third or fourth term of enrolment, there is no refund.

For more information, please refer to the current Enrolment in distance education procedures on the Department of Education's website.