Back to school checklist for Australian families

Start about four weeks before term. Australian retailers consistently report that school shoes, backpacks and lunch boxes sell out early, so the last week of January is the worst possible time to discover you need a wide fitting or a specific book pack.

This list is in three parts because they are three different jobs: things to do, things to buy, and things to check. The doing is what people leave until last and it is the part that causes the stress.

Four weeks out: the admin

• Read the school list properly, the whole thing, including the fine print about book packs and devices
• Confirm the term dates for your state and put them in the family calendar
• Pay anything with a deadline: fees, book packs, excursion deposits, device levies
• Sort uniforms: check what still fits before buying anything. A hot afternoon of trying things on saves buying duplicates
• Confirm before and after school care places and start dates
• Check the device requirement if your child is starting high school. Ask the school for the minimum specification in writing rather than buying against a guess
• Book anything medical that is easier in the holidays: dentist, optometrist, immunisation catch-ups

Three weeks out: the shopping

Buy in this order, because this is the order things sell out.

• School shoes. Measure feet first. Feet grow over summer and last year’s size is usually wrong
• Backpack, if last year’s is finished. Check it fits the child, not just that they like it
• Lunch box and drink bottle. Check the box fits inside the bag before you commit
• Stationery, against the school list rather than a generic pack
• Uniform items in the sizes you identified
• Hat, which is compulsory at most Australian primary schools
• Library bag and any sports gear specified

Two weeks out: the labelling and the setup

• Label everything. Name on every uniform item, shoe, bottle, box, hat and container lid
• Set up the homework space so it is ready rather than improvised in week two
• Set up the family calendar with term dates, sports, and known events
• Put the school notice system in place, whether that is a tray, an app or a clip on the fridge
• Pre-cut and freeze a week of lunchbox baking if that is your system

One week out: the routine

This is the one most families skip and it is the one that determines how week one goes.

• Shift bedtime earlier by fifteen minutes every couple of nights. A sudden 6:45am on day one after six weeks of holidays is a rough morning for everyone
• Practise the morning sequence once. Uniform on, breakfast, teeth, shoes, bag. It sounds excessive and it removes most of the day-one friction
• Do a trial pack of the bag so your child knows where things live
• Confirm the first-day logistics: drop-off time, gate, who is collecting, what happens if plans change
• Talk through the first day, especially for a child starting somewhere new

The day before

• Uniform out, including socks and shoes
• Bag packed and by the door
• Lunch box part-made and in the fridge
• Drink bottle three-quarters full in the freezer
• Alarm set, and everyone knows the plan

What to check that people forget

Hat policy. Most Australian primary schools operate a no hat, no play rule. A missing hat means an indoor lunch on day one.

Nut-free and allergy policy. Check before you plan lunches, not after the first note comes home.

Shoe requirements. Many schools specify black leather or a particular style, and some specify what is not acceptable.

Device rules if it is a high school year. These vary school by school and last year’s rule may have changed.

Sports uniform days, which affect which uniform goes out the night before.

Spread the cost if you can

Back to school lands as a single large month in the family budget, and it is one of the few genuinely predictable expenses in the year. Buying shoes in November when you know the size, or setting a small amount aside monthly from March, turns a spike into a plan.

If the cost is a problem this year, ask the school directly. Payment plans, second-hand uniform shops, book pack arrangements and hardship support exist at most schools and are almost never printed on the list you receive.

Start with the list, not the shops

Open the school list first, mark what you already own, then shop. The most expensive January mistake is buying a generic pack and discovering the school specified something different.

Next: the shopping list year by year covers what each year level actually needs, BYOD device rules covers the laptop question, keeping lunchboxes cold matters from day one in a January term, and best lunchboxes covers the box itself.

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