The Western Australian education system traditionally consists of primary schools, which accommodate students from Kindergarten to Year 6, and high schools, which accommodate students from Years 7 to 12.
In country areas, district high schools serve as both primary and junior high schools, with students generally commuting to or boarding at larger towns to finish the last two years of their education.
In Western Australia, Catholic primary schools are usually (but not always) linked to a parish.
Prior to the 1970s, most schools were founded by religious institutes, but with the decrease in membership of these institutes, together with major reforms inside the church, lay teachers and administrators began to take over the schools, a process which completed by approximately 1990.
It is an offence in Western Australia to run an unregistered school, under Section 154 of the Act.