Find your local school
Search Schools Online by suburb and filter by school type.
Support in a mainstream class
Ask the principal what funding the school receives and how it is used for your child. The Student-Centred Funding Model includes an Individual Disability Allocation for eligible students and an Educational Adjustment Allocation for mainstream schools. The school applies, not the parent.
Support classes and special schools
Ask about standalone education support schools, education support centres attached to mainstream schools and education support programs.
Autism-specific help
Ask about specialist learning programs for autistic students and information from the School of Special Educational Needs: Disability.
Who to contact
Start with your school. Call the Department of Education on 08 9264 4111 (general enquiries line) if you need more help.
08 9264 4111Specialist and autism-specific schools in WA
No school or department publishes a standard processing time, so contact the school as soon as you are considering it, even a year or more ahead, and ask to join the waiting list while you are still deciding. This is general guidance from families rather than a published timeline.
Assessment requirements are set by each school, not by a national rule. Aspect, for example, asks NSW families for a diagnosis plus a psychometric assessment no more than two years old, and South Australian families for a second report confirming the diagnosis, so check what the specific school requires.
Fees, year levels and eligibility change, so every school below links to its own page for current details.
Standalone specialist schools
A dedicated campus where every student has a disability or is autistic. Your child goes to that school, not to a mainstream school. Some are run by state governments, some are independent or faith-based, and a few are autism-specific.
WA Government education support school
Western Australia's dedicated primary education support school, for children with disability including autistic children.
WA Government education support school
A K to 12 education support school for students with disability, including autistic students with high support needs.
Satellite classes run by a specialist provider
An autism-specific class run by a specialist provider like Aspect, but physically located inside a mainstream school. Your child is enrolled with the specialist provider and learns in a small class, with chances to join the wider school where that works for them.
Specialist program inside partner mainstream schools
Not a standalone school. Outpost places a specialist team inside mainstream partner schools to support children with hearing loss. Telethon's Talkabout program is early years therapy, also not a school.
Support units and support classes run by the education department
A small class attached to a mainstream government school and staffed by that department, not by an autism provider. Names differ by state, and access usually runs through your department's own placement or access request process rather than the school itself.
WA Department of Education placements
WA runs standalone education support schools plus education support centres attached to mainstream schools. The department's page lists both and explains eligibility.
Applying in WA
Contact the school principal. WA public schools enrol students with disability under the department's Enrolment framework for students with disability and must make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education.
WA public schools are funded through the Student-Centred Funding Model, which includes a students with disability allocation. Families do not apply separately, so ask the principal how the school uses that allocation for your child.
WA has standalone education support schools and education support centres attached to mainstream schools. Contact the Department for eligibility and application information. 08 9264 4111 is the Department's central services and general enquiries number.
