Sources and calculation method
Check the education authority behind each source-reviewed guide.
How Australian calculations work
For standard first entry, the calculator compares a birthday with the selected jurisdiction's age boundary. It then projects each year level through Year 12. South Australian mid-year Reception includes an initial half year and the following full Reception year.
Earlier birth years use the current rule as an estimate, not a reconstructed historical rule. A student who started later, repeated or skipped a year may have a different completion year. Compare the table with their actual year level. A Year 12 estimate is not a promise of graduation or a school placement decision.
The dates beside ages are calendar comparison dates. They are not term-start dates. Birthday calculations run in your browser; dates are not sent to our server or saved by the site. If you choose to print or download a result, that personal copy contains the birthday and location you selected.
Queensland
Children are eligible for Prep in the year they turn five by 30 June. Prep comes before Year 1. Eligibility is separate from the age at which attendance becomes compulsory.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
New South Wales
Children can start Kindergarten if they turn five on or before 31 July that year. Talk with the school about readiness and the latest permitted starting date.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
Victoria
Children can start Foundation (Prep) if they turn five by 30 April in the year they start. Enrolment applications and school zones are separate from age eligibility.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
Australian Capital Territory
For standard entry to ACT public Kindergarten, children must be five on or before 30 April in their entry year.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
Western Australia
Pre-primary is the first compulsory school year in Western Australia. Children turn five by 30 June in that year; Kindergarten is a separate earlier program.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
Northern Territory
Children turning five on or before 30 June can enter Transition from the beginning of that school year. Later birthdays enter the following year.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
Tasmania
This calculator starts the standard Tasmanian pathway at Prep, following the Kindergarten cohort: five on or before 1 January. Kindergarten, available at four by 1 January, is a separate earlier year.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
South Australia
South Australian government Reception has two intakes: term 1 for fifth birthdays before 1 May, or term 3 for fifth birthdays from 1 May through 31 October. Later birthdays start the following year. Mid-year starters complete six terms of Reception.
Sources checked 21 October 2026. School-level exceptions and admission decisions require confirmation with the school.
New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom
New Zealand shows an estimated Year 1–13 timeline from a birthday with an explicit Year 1 assumption. Singapore uses the P1 cohort and a four-year secondary scenario. The four UK systems use their own intake boundaries and academic-year labels. Optional later stages are not guaranteed graduation dates.
Version 2026-10-21.1; sources reviewed 21 October 2026. Historic rows and future years are projections, not individually confirmed records.
New Zealand
Singapore
England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Germany, Italy and Spain
Source-reviewed estimates, version 2026-10-21.1. German timelines end at Class 10 without promising a qualification. Italy illustrates the five-year upper-secondary route; Spain includes optional Bachillerato. Current rules do not reconstruct historical placements.
United States, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa and India
Version 2026-10-21.2. Local rules never inherit a guessed statewide cutoff. Ohio uses a supplied district instructional date. India’s KVS calculation is scoped to KVS; Delhi transition guidance is not a calculator and other state rules remain pending. Unverified locations remain labelled and do not produce calculations.
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Review and publication status
The guides are based on the official sources above and automated calculation checks. They have not been independently endorsed by an education authority. Entry decisions and exceptions remain with the relevant school or education authority.
Coverage is maintained by jurisdiction. Check the source dates and any local limitations shown on your calculator page.
When reporting a correction, include the state, the rule or year level in question and an official source link. Use a fictional example birthday rather than sending a child's personal information.