My son is in year 12 in New Zealand and is about to move to Brisbane. Is it true he will have to repeat a year?

Posting here because I personally checked this website before I made the move to Australia. I was terrified, and in some respects, rightfully so.

Bear in mind, this is based on my experience with the current HSC syllabus. My year group will be the last to complete this syllabus.

I can't speak for artsy classes. I took maths/English/science/history.

I lived in Sydney until I was 8 years old, moved to NZ, stayed there long enough to have completed NCEA level 1 with excellence endorsements and then moved back to Sydney. This placed me at year 11 in my new high school, the equivalent to NZ year 12.

I went from getting excellence endorsements in my maths class (I qualified for my NZ school's calculus class), excellence in H/science and English to failing miserably under the NSW system.

Please note that the Australian system tends to bombard their students with information from the beginning of high school. It is very fast paced and most students have tutors. They rush through content, but reinforce it throughout the years. That way, you've had a taste of everything, but with limited depth.

NCEA goes more in depth with topics. Less general knowledge, but a deeper understanding.

I was royally screwed over for maths, which used to be one of my best subjects. The "revision" that my NSW year 11 2U maths class (I was originally mortified that the principal didn't place me in extension maths) was doing was indeed stuff that we were supposed to start learning throughout NCEA level 2. I swallowed my pride and dropped to the lowest maths class for my HSC year (year 12), basically a repeat of NZ year 10. So yes, there was a slight crossover of knowledge, but in all the wrong places.

I did very well in science here in Australia. NCEA is ahead in that respect. I picked up physics, biology and chemistry with prior knowledge, such as balancing equations, ions, enzymes and mitosis/meiosis.

HOWEVER: this "deeper knowledge" I acquired from NCEA only helped so much. In Australian prelim (year 11)/HSC, they throw as much information at you as humanely possible. So yes, I understood things that other students struggles with, but it really only accounted for 1/100th of the overall workload.

I was also lacking in English. NCEA is a breeze compared to HSC English, but thankfully I'm widely read and enjoy the class so I was able to salvage my grades. I'm now taking Extension English 1&2 for my HSC year. Requires you to read classics, which we never did in NZ.

NZ history classes also sucked. I can tell you all about NZ's history from the 1820s onwards, as well as the Birmingham Campaign and a little bit about the Treaty of Versailles, but that's it. Meanwhile, Australian schools are teaching Gallipoli, Vietnam, capitalism/communism/industrialisation. Once again, I managed to thrive in my HSC modern history class out of a genuine passion for the subject, despite being at a huge disadvantage for prior knowledge.

Overall, DO NOT MOVE TO AUSTRALIA FOR YOUR FINAL YEAR. You will fail. No buts, no ifs, unless you're willing to get a tutor and work your heart out every single day like a robot. You will essentially be doing twice as much work as everybody else, and the HSC is hard enough already.

HOWEVER moving for the second last year of school (prelim/NCEA level 2) IS doable, but prepare to be behind all of the other students and get bad grades. If you pull your socks up and do the work throughout this year, you should be okay for HSC/final year of school. But seriously, the knowledge gap will manifest as a big and very ugly FAIL on your report card for some classes during year 11. Particually in maths. Treat this year as testing the waters and don't let it get to you. I should know. I cried and sabotaged my grades in some classes because I felt like all the hard work and knowledge I had learned in NZ was utterly useless and completely insignificant here in Australia. It felt like I wasted a good 3 years of my school life. And I was so, so angry at being the dumb kid in the class for the first time in my life, instead of getting top marks. I had never felt so stupid before coming here.

Everyone here works like machine. I go to a partially selective all girls school (very different from my co-ed college at Kapiti Coast) and there are rich kids with tutors for every class. You get RANKED in your class according to your marks, and believe me, you WANT to be #1. It has benefits, it's not just bragging rights. You are pitted against your fellow classmates to see who can regurgitate the most information during an exam, and understand the questions properly. I was beyond horrified at the brutality of it all, and the way students would create "teams" or keep information fron each other so they could keep their higher rank, but now I'm playing the game.

Final words for students moving to Australia: GOOD LUCK. You will need it. I hope for your sake that the syllabus becomes easier for NZ students. I heard through the grapevine that the HSC syllabus was indeed becoming more similar to NCEA.

NCEA is so much easier in comparison. In Australia, prepare to fight for your grades, your rank, and your ATAR. It's you against your cohort and your entire state. Good luck.

No not at all. The Australian system does the same number of years as NZ. He will be in Year 11 when he goes to Oz, however he will finish his schooling in Year 12 instead of year 13. In OZ (kindergarten to Year 12) in NZ (year 1 to year 13) same number of years.

Only thing he will notice is that the school work will be much harder than the NCEA. He will need to get the best marks he can in order to get into university as places go to those with the highest marks not a general enrolment of everyone with 80 credits or more.

I am a teacher of the NCEA and I think it is dumbing down NZ students. I move in July and look forward to never hearing again "I only need to get an achieved so why should I work harder"

I agree, there are a lot more demands on students in Australian schools. Ally is quite right, he will have to fight to get into uni, many courses fill up fast, students cannot simply use it to fill in time like they do here in NZ quite a bit. I have taught in both OZ and NZ, and I think I am being dumbed down too teaching NCEA. The system here is really disheartening for teachers because it encourages mediocrity and laziness. You will find that students in OZ have a much higher level of self motivation because there is not the expectation that we as teachers will work our butts off for them when they get to November and realise they dont have the credits they need and suddenly want to cram an entire year's work into two weeks...

well my children all had to repeat a year when we moved from nz to melbourne. might depend where you move to..

Have just finished enrolling my 2 sons in school in Sydney, They have both gone into their respective years from New Zealand one son was year 7 NZ so year 6 Australia and the other child was year 9 NZ year 8 Australia. The only problem I encountered when enrolling them was the High School principle.............................................

Hi there, I note you have moved to Sydeny with older children, we are moving at the end of the year with our son who will be 16 years old then, and going into year 11 Aus in 2012 (so kust finished year 11 NZ). My husband has a job transfer so not worried about work lucky us. I have so many questions about the schooling for our son though, and what areas of Sydney to look at to live, just average NZers, nothing flash but safe, friendly, mabe a nice park near by, farmers market not too far away ... and the schools, what are the good schools in Sydney, and if any specialise in more accademic subjects, electronics etc that would suit my boy. Any inf on moving to Sydney. We dont move until the end of this year (Dec 2011)

Just to clarify a little, we have a son aged 16 who will have two years left of school beofre looking at going to Uni, can he apply for permanent residency as soon as after we arrive so he is an Australian citizen by the time he leaves school, so can get the benefits of a student loan etc?

Yes, this is all very confusing alright, we have 15 year old son who is currently in year 9 here in NZ, and we are moving to QLD next year, and have been told by the AU principal that he'll be in year 11 next year, as the AU principal said their students all turn 16 during their year 10, but according to everything else I have read, he should be in year 10?

Also, what happens during year 10 exactly, is this like the old NZ School Certificate year? Phoning both NZ and AU ministry of education was a waste of time, as they don't appear to know much at all...

This page is pretty helpful as well, yet, does not support what the AU principal told us...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Australia

I have a son who is 16 yrs old in year 12 Auckland.. doing very well. Can anyone tell if it is easier to get into Australian university from here after NCEA level 3 after having been in the system for so long?

Is my son better off in this known system? we are thinking of moving to brisbane for term 2 which means he missed one term already. Would it be a risk?

He is doing well here achieving high. He will have to adapt to the new system, culture, teachers, learning, curriculum and also the people and weather.

Can anyone suggest please? We don't want to go if it is better not to move at this stage. Had it been last year I would not have thought so much.

We are moving to oz next year but we are Concerned about our sons education he Will be a Year 12 student and would have Done ncea level 1 I think as a year 11, so will he be able to exchange Ncea credits for oz credits towards what he needs in Queensland For pass marks or would we be better off moving early so he can do Year 11 in oz too. Also if he wants to go to Tafe or sunshine coast uni will he have to pay the fees upfront I.e when.can he apply for student type loan , does he have to Be a oz citizen

ohk, so what i gather from these comments: -Australian schools are harder and have a different learning system so going to OZ to complete your last year would not be a good idea? -permanent residency is required to attend school -universities are harder to get into

wouldnt it be easier to just complete school in NZ then move over?

we are going to brisbane next year with a 4 year old and a 16 year old . we are wondering about kindy and school costs. does anyone have any advice. cheers

help im currently year10 in nz im moving to australia next year march,i will be year11 next year if i do school in sydney would i have to repeat everything help ''URGENT''URGENT renesiel

Have read these comments and still unsure, can anyone else advise plse. We have a boy who is in year 11 this year in NZ , what year would he be in if we moved to Queensland now? Also does he have to repeat year 10 that he did in NZ in Queensland.

Hi ..all my family are NZ citizen..and plan moving to Australia. We have primary school children. Is my children entitled to enter public school & pay donation same as Australian PR or Aus citizen?

Jeez, why is there a difference in year levels between New Zealand and Australia anyway? It doesn't exactly make life much simpler...

Hey guys, I am an Australian currently a year 12 student doing NCEA in New Zealand and have been in New Zealand for the better of 4 years now. I will be moving back to Melbourne next year to complete my schooling. I have been told that I may be repeating year 11(which is year 12 in NZ) in Australia because of how different the systems are. No this is not implying that the New Zealand system is poor but because I am in my seniors years so this will only apply if you are or your child is in years 12 and 13(in NZ).

The Australian system has many different types of "NCEA" all depending on where you are moving, in Melbourne it is VCE or VCAL. VCE is usually recommended for the academic students and the VCAL is recommended for the more practical, hands on students and both respectfully difficult in there own fields. Now in Australia study leave also depends on where you live and varies(referring only to VCE students).

In Australia though they prepare you for your final examinations for year 12 well in advanced(roughly half a year to prepare give or take) so year 11 is the build up to year 12 and then it is up to the student to revise and study all material provided in year 12. While there is still time where the student is able to learn in year 12 majority of it is personal study and motivation. In New Zealand however the build up is done over a span of 3 years hence level 1, level 2 and level 3(which is year 11, 12 and 13 in New Zealand).

Study leave depends on the school also but the time between study leave and exams are much shorter maybe 2-4weeks depends on the subject as well. Also note that the Australian system does not go along the amount of credits you achieve(credits don't work the same way in Australia) in order to pass but the standard of your work, but I am sure they have taken this into consideration and will work with you to help you understand.

I cannot remark on the level of difficulty but if you are in Year 12 in New Zealand and find that you are moving to Australia and repeating year 12 again don't think that is because you are being kept down because of your grades(assuming you are a diligent worker) cause its not.

I also recommend for parents and I write this note with no harm intended but out of respect. If you are planning on moving from Australia to New Zealand with your child that they are in year 10(NZ) or below, only so that it gives you and your child time to adjust to the system and be able to gather important information for year 11(Aus) leading into their final year 12(Aus).

Anyway I hope this helps, its only a very very rough and general guide but I highly recommend your own research. Feel free to comment on whether you think this statement is incorrect and a load of waffle but I am only going off the information I have been informed about.

Thanks. :)

We moved from nz to australia in 2006. One of our kids who was born after june was in grade 7 nz. Coming to auz, the education system did not allow any system that puts a child back a year if birn after june. This was introduced in auz with any child born in 2004 or earlier. So my daughter being year 7 nz born in august went into year 7 auz, for her age but should have gone to year 6 due to academic equivalence. She chose to go into year 7 to be with kids her own age therefore skipped year 6. Generally nz goes prep to year 13, auz did go year 1-12. Now it has changed. My daughter aged 15 y completed year 10 auz, now has gone back to nz snd inyear 12. She is the youngest in her grade by a year due to having completed year 10 auz ( year 11) nz. Hope this helps

In NZ, the final High School year is Y13 whilst in Australia it is Y12. However, they are of the same age when going to uni, i.e. Y12 in Aussie is the same age as Y13 in NZ. As such, NZ Y12 kids will go to Y11 in Aussie, etc. The competition in Aussie is quite a lot tougher there (assuming you are aiming for good uni in high demand subjects). Therefore, going to Aussie to complete the final 2 high school years is definitely an advantage.
If you are using the NCEA qualification to enter into Aussie uni, each uni has their own 'formula' / 'conversion rate' for the NZ qualifications. Please check that on the uni website. Most private schools in Aussie has "IB" qualification so it is good news for NZ students doing the IB in NZ. (Cambridge Exam is not popular in Aussie high school but all uni will happily accept them as entry qualification) NZ Citizens (i.e. NZ Passport holders) will be treated as local students for fees, but won't have access to Student Loan or Allowance. Although NZ Citizens can stay and work indefinitely in Australia but its pays to apply for the PR (Permanent Residency) in Australia. In order to have Student Loan, you must have Australia Citizenship, note that even if you applied and be granted Aussie PR, you still cannot get Student Loan, it is only available to Australia Citizens. Therefore, although a NZ Citizen (NZ passport holder) will have SCV status in Australia allowing them to stay, work or study, it still good for the parents to apply for the Aussie PR with the view to obtain Aussie Citizenship because jobs in the Aussie Public Sector are reserved only for Aussie PR or Citizens. In addition, even NZers (SCV holders) children born in Australia will not be granted Australia's Citizenship unless one of the parents are Aussie PR holders or Australia Citizens. Therefore, I highly recommend people moving over to Aussie to apply for their PR if possible. In that way, the children can apply for Australia Citizenship when they graduate from uni. Both Australia and NZ allow double citizenship and it is definitely a big Plus to have both.

Hi, we are moving from India to Queenland with our 14 years, 8 months old son who is currently in Year 10 in his home country. I just wanted to ask that as the academic session in India will end in March, and as per our visa condition, we'll be migrating in September, and the final term for Year 10 students in Australia will have started. I am worried if the child would be able to adjust in the new environment, a different kind of teaching method and curriculum. Would he have to repeat Year 10 in Queensland?

Hi, I'm moving from QLD to VIC at the end of this year and currently I'm in year 11 and i was wondering would i have to repeat year 11 again if i wanted to complete my last year in VIC?

Hey Guys, so I am currently doing GCSE AS-Level (Year 12) in New Zealand. I will be moving to Australia around November/December. Since I am doing a UK Program how will things work for me? Will I have to repeat year 11 and 12 in Australia? Also, How different are VCE and GCSE? Any information will be very helpful.

Hi we moved to Queensland nearly 3 years ago and our daughter has just started year 11 and is nearly 15. I'm in a bind as she is thinking of going back to NZ to attend uni and would of turned 16 in March when she finishes year 12, but we are unsure of how NCEA works against the OP(?) that they gain here. Would she have to attend a high school there first ? Or would it be enough to go straight to uni?? Concerned mum 😕

My son is studying year 6 in perth. He is born in May 2005. We are moving to melbourne end of the year and will start school in year 2017. I would like to ask whether he has to follow victorian education cut off date(30 Apr). If he has to follow, he will repeat year 6. It is very difficult decision as year 6 might be easy and bored for him to repeat. However year 7 might be tough for him. Could I get some advice from you guys? Many thanks!

hi, I am a Girl from Germany, currently doing year 12 in new zealand. It seems that I have to Change to an aussie highschool for my final year and graduation (next year 2018) before i want to go back to Germany for University. does anyone know if i would Need to repeat my year in australia and which City is the best to go to and as a third question: could someone explain the difference with getting credits in nz and getting credits in australia to me? that would be so nice !

You won't have to repeat... in Melbourne at least. The VCE runs over the final 2 years of schooling, but your final VCE score is calculated using only level 3/4 credits, which are typically completed in your final year. If you are only going to be in Aus for your final year then the system will apply your NZ credits. The credits don't represent the same thing in both countries, but the system can work out what your NZ credit means in relation to Aus credits and you'll be able to use them. You will find the work significantly harder in Australia. And if you were open to the idea of repeating then you would be able to split your final year workload, by replacing some of your workload with some 3/4 credits. It's commonly done and means you can get extra subjects and consequently extra points and the end of VCE. Hope that makes sense?

I'm still having a hard time deciding if I should send my daughter to finish off uni in NZ, being we are not Aus citizens and she is not entitled to any student loans etc.. Has anyone had this issue? What would you recommend??

Hey, I’m a year 11 student in Australia and just finished year 11 there and am moving to NZ at the end of the year. I would like to know if I will be in year 13 next year in NZ and I was wondering if I would need to repeat year 11 in NZ (year 12 in NZ) Thank you, John

Hi My son is 16 years old and is in NCEA Level 2 (year 12) in Nz. We are planning to move to Melbourne in the beginning of January. Can you please advise if he would need to repeat year 11 again due to the vce credits.

Hi everyone,

I did NCEA for my schooling and moved to Sydney immediately afterwards to start at the University of Sydney in 2015. My Level 3 NCEA credits translated to a very high ATAR score, which I'm sure I wouldn't have achieved if I had completed the HSC. This allowed me to get into a very competitive course. So this is something to keep in mind - there might be an advantage in staying in the NCEA system if you are planning to go to uni in Australia.

Now I work for a textbooks company for primary and secondary schools, so I am acutely aware of the differences between the Australian and NZ schooling systems. In NSW, they have textbooks for every secondary school subject, starting from Year 7, which are packed with information. Students have much more pressure on them, especially for Year 11 and 12. Students here are expected to study more, know more, read more, and care more. The type of high school you go to in Sydney (public/selective/private) also seems to define students and their academic performance much more than in Auckland.

Despite all of these differences, I don't think coming from a more basic school system has disadvantaged me at university (although I do Arts subjects, so can't speak for sciences and maths). As Britney said above, NCEA tends to cover subjects more in-depth, with more room for teachers to teach how and what they want to teach. This may even be an advantage for certain subjects at university.

Long story short, school in Sydney is cut-throat and I'm very glad I didn't have to go through it. University is fine, but you will have to pay domestic fees upfront. Sydney is wonderful though, and I would encourage anyone to move here.

So my son is in Year 12 in New Zealand, I'm wondering if we can transfer him to schools in Melbourne at this time? And if he could keep his NCEA credits? (01/09/19). We are moving there.

My daughter is 12 years old, born Nov 2008 & currently Year 8, attending Intermediate in NZ. We are moving to Queensland in June and wondering what year she will be in Australia. I've been told both Year 6 or 7 but not very clear.

Hi everyone,

I moved in my second last year of high school (YEAR 11 AUS -> YEAR 12 NZ). Moving isn’t as bad as it seems, scary but not as bad! It was hard to catch up on credits as they do the school systems very different (ncea is not as hard as atar). This forum helped me a lot before I moved so I hope I would help. In Australia school system is very strict and so are teachers, I found here that most let you off or try to help but not enough. It’s sort of about teaching yourself and gaining credits by doing the papers. I liked school a lot more in nz though, a lot more relaxed and easy going. Hope this helped!

Is repeating an year mandatory in Aus ? My daughter is 9 now year 4 in NZ . Can she join year 5 next year? It’s traumatic for a kid asked to repeat a year.

I have a son that is year 10 this year in New Zealand. We are looking to move to Australia next year I am wondering if it would be hard for him.