The Enrolment
Process


Enrolment Information Sessions & Dates

St Mary MacKillop College is accepting enrolments for the 2024 and 2025 academic years, but places are limited and there are waiting lists for some year groups.

Save the date for our enrolment information sessions:

Open Night

Year 7 2025 Open Night

Monday 6 May 2024

Padua Campus, Wanniassa
Two sessions available: 4pm & 6pm

Try MacKillop Day

Try MacKillop Day

Friday 10 May 2024

Padua Campus, Wanniassa
For students currently in Year 6

Year 11 Info Night

Year 11 2025 Open Night

Wednesday 15 May 2024

Principal's Presentation at 6pm
Curriculum Stalls/Careers Expo available from 3.30pm-7.00pm

St Peter's Campus, Isabella Plains

For further information about the school, please view our College Prospectus, Fees Schedule, and other useful information:

Deadlines and Offers

  • Applications due before 5pm, Friday 31 May 2024
  • Offers sent by email on Friday 21 June 2024
  • Acceptances due by Sunday 28 July 2024

Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

How to Enrol

To enrol at St Mary MacKillop College, ALL applications must now be completed online.

Please access the link below to enrol for 2024 or 2025. Applications for 2026 will be taken at a later date.

Some notes before you start:

A non-refundable $100 lodgement fee is payable at the time of application. 

To complete the application, you will need to submit the following information:

  • Birth certificate (not commemorative) or passport
  • Certificate of Baptism (if applicable)
  • Most recent school report (compulsory, Year 5 final report preferred)
  • Most recent NAPLAN results (Year 5 OR Years 7/9 if you are applying for older year groups)
  • Family Law, Personal Protection Order or other relevant Court Orders (if applicable)
  • Visa grant notice for permanent and temporary visa-holders (if applicable) – for both student and parent(s)/legal guardian(s), including passport copies of parents
  • Any medical reports and/or other assessment reports for students with additional learning needs (if applicable)

After submission

When you submit your application online, you will receive an email with the completed application. 

Once offers are ready to be made, the College will contact you to inform the outcome of your application. Successful applicants will then receive an offer letter together with a ‘CECG Enrolment Contract’ which needs to be signed by the student’s parents/legal guardians.

For the main Enrolment Period, offers are generally sent out in late June.

A $50 acceptance fee* will apply to families who wish to accept and secure their place. Please note this payment is non-refundable.

*This fee may be subject to change. We are waiting for information from Catholic Education for the 2024-25 enrolment period.

Enrolment Enquiries

Enrolment enquiries can be made to the Enrolment Officers, Mrs Jo Lubinski and Mrs Rebecca McKenzie, by calling (02) 6209 5217 or by emailing:
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who can enrol?

A: St Mary MacKillop College Canberra is a diocesan school administered on behalf of the Catholic Education Office in Canberra, Australia. Enrolments are accepted from the South Canberra, Weston Creek, Woden Valley, Tuggeranong, regions of Canberra, and from Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and surrounding NSW areas. The College also endeavours to provide places for families seeking enrolment from interstate and overseas.

Q: How exactly do I enrol?

A: For students wishing to enter Year 7 or 11 for the following year, applications will need to be submitted during the enrolment period with suitable documentation. Applications that are submitted after the deadline may cause the application to be added to a waiting list.

Applications must now be completed online and a $100 lodgement fee is due at the time of submission.

With every application, the College requires a birth certificate, baptismal certificate (if applicable), a copy of the latest report card, the latest NAPLAN results, and immunisation records.

Applications will be assessed and categorised using the Catholic Education (Canberra and Goulburn) Enrolment Policy.

Q: When is the Enrolment Period?

A: The primary Enrolment Period for the College is during the month of May for students wishing to start Year 7 or 11 the following year. But please note that the deadline for applications is often before the end of the month.

During this time, the College holds a series of Information Sessions for prospective students to experience MacKillop ahead of making their decision.

Enrolment applications may be submitted before the Enrolment Period but are due before the end of Enrolment Period or they will automatically be placed on a waiting list.

Q: What if I want to enrol my student for the current year?

A: Enrolment applications for students who wish to commence immediately are accepted throughout the year. Places are offered subject to availability. If there are no places available, the application will join a waiting list.

Q: What is the order for enrolment offers?

We often get asked about the priority order for enrolment at MacKillop. For your information, please see the relevant section of the Enrolment Policy for Catholic Schools below. If you would like to read the complete policy, please visit: https://cg.catholic.edu.au/parents/policies/

In implementing the Enrolment Procedures, the following hierarchy of priority has been established for the consideration of enrolment applications at each school when enrolment applications exceed available spaces:

1. Baptised Catholic children who:
Attend a Catholic school; or
Are members of the local parish community in rural areas where a Catholic school is not available

2. Siblings of children already attending the school.

3. Are children of staff in the selected school.

4. Other children who have been enrolled in a Catholic school for a period of at least 3 years.

5. Baptised Catholic children from non-Catholic schools. The family of these children MUST provide an up to date reference from their Parish Priest indicating that they are practicing Catholics in the Parish.

6. Baptised Catholic children from non-Catholic schools who cannot provide a reference from a Parish Priest.

7. Other children whose parents/guardians desire and are committed to Catholic education.

Q: Will my child be welcome?

A: MacKillop celebrates the fact that we offer more places in Year 7 than any other secondary school in Canberra. Roughly 40% of our students belong to a faith tradition other than Catholic, over 30 primary schools are represented at MacKillop, and our low fee structure and significant financial support of families means that we are a genuinely inclusive community.

Q: Will there be a place for my child?

A: While MacKillop would love to accept every applicant, the College is directed by Catholic Education to strictly adhere to the Cathollic Education Commission’s Enrolment Protocols. Although people wanting a place at MacKillop are strongly urged to submit an application, and the College has recently made offers to students of all priorities, it is wise when applying for any Catholic Secondary School to nominate a second school of choice. MacKillop occasionally has waiting lists for Year 7, so we urge every family interested in joining the College to get their forms in before the end of the Enrolment Period (for the main intake of Years 7 and 11).

Q: Will co-education benefit my child?

A: Yes! Learning is a lifelong experience. Learning in kindergarten and early childhood centres is co-educational, most K-6 primary schools are co-educational, and CIT and university are both co-educational, as is the work place.

Boys and girls learn together at MacKillop, promoting a mutual respect for gender difference, cohesive intellectual energy, and a learning community that best reflects the society our students belong to and are being prepared to one day lead.

Q: How will the faith life of MacKillop benefit my child?

A: The faith tradition of your family will be respected and honoured. MacKillop respects the contribution each student, teacher, and their families can make to building an inclusive, welcoming faith life that promotes the life, teaching, and example of Jesus Christ and the Church He gave us.

At the heart of a MacKillop education is the idea of a loving God; the trust, affection, consideration, and sacrifice we show each other are some signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God in all of us.

Q: What will the teachers be like?

A: The teachers of MacKillop vary in age, experience, academic background, interests, and cultural pursuits. They are united in their dedication to the Catholic mission of the College, the achievement of optimum results for their students, the creation of a positive learning environment, and to ensuring that no child slips through the cracks in this large, vibrant school. The best thing about MacKillop is the staff.

Q: How will I be included in my child’s MacKillop education?

A: Parents are listened to at MacKillop! Of course we have regular academic and pastoral reporting, information evenings, a College Board with strong parent representation, open assemblies, welcoming liturgies, newsletters, and the website, which are all available to parents.

A parent can expect to be able to meet with and talk to their child’s teachers, have phone calls promptly returned, emails responded to, interviews arranged, and to have their questions, hopes, concerns, and anxieties listened to and acted upon. At MacKillop, we recognise parents as the first and best teachers of your children.

Q: Is there bullying at MacKillop?

A: Sadly, bullying is found everywhere and MacKillop students may experience it in sporting teams and local clubs, part time employment, in the world of cyber and analog relationships, and at school. At MacKillop, bullying is approached in a forthright and open manner; we talk about what bullying is, help students identify bullying, work to build a culture where it is safe to tell and challenge, provide counselling support, communicate with parents, and include restorative practices, which are aimed to build a climate of trust, respect for difference, and inclusion. Bullying is not typical of the MacKillop experience but we don’t pretend that it doesn’t exist. Were parents to detect incidents of their child being bullied, they are warmly encouraged to approach the school immediately and with confidence.

Q: Is MacKillop too big?

A: MacKillop may be the biggest secondary school in Canberra, but its two-campus setup means that the student population is relatively small. This means that staff are able to teach within an intimate learning environment that benefits each and every student.

Q: What projects do you have in plan for the near future?

A: In recent times, St Mary MacKillop College has completed the construction or implementation of several projects that have enhanced the resources at the College’s disposal. These include the development of a Trades Training Centre, which has extended the College’s stellar Vocational Educational facilities, brand new Science Laboratories, the refurbishment of both campus libraries, a STEM Centre, as well as a cafeteria and Academic Resource Centre on the Senior Campus. The canteen on the Junior Campus and the external areas on the northern side of the school have also received upgrades.

The College is now looking at PE upgrades at the Padua Campus and a Performing Arts Centre at the St Peter's Campus.

Acknowledgement of Country

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop made the statement: “We are but travellers here, so while we are here we should do as much good as we can and live in peace with each other.”

With this in mind, the College respectfully acknowledges the Ngunnawal people who are the Traditional Custodians and First People of the land on which we gather each day. The College also pays its respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, and any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples living and working in the MacKillop community.

MacKillop crest

© 2022 St Mary MacKillop College, Canberra. All rights reserved.

ABN 80 979 302 259

Contact Us


Phone: 02 6209 0100
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

PO Box 1211
Tuggeranong ACT 2901