School tours of Parliament House

Find out more

Bring your school to Parliament

More than 100,000 school students get first-hand knowledge of democracy and lawmaking on a visit to Parliament House every year.

Australian primary and secondary schools can participate in Parliament’s School Visit Program. Subject to availability, students can experience:

a one hour comprehensive guided tour, including the House of Representatives and Senate chambers and parliamentary exhibits;
a one hour Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) hands-on education program; and
a half hour break in the Queen’s Terrace Gallery with the opportunity to meet your member of parliament dependant on their availability.

School tours are available 9am–4pm Monday to Friday between 1 February and mid-December, excluding public holidays. Program times are approximate.

Booking your visit

Due to high demand bookings are essential, and can be made up to two years in advance.

To book your school’s visit to Parliament House:

Check the Online availability calendar to browse available dates and times
Complete and submit the School booking request form

Bookings are processed in the order they are received. Once your booking has been confirmed, you will be advised by email.

If your requested date and time are not available, the School Bookings office will contact you to offer alternatives.

To assist with planning, please review the Public Liability Certificates and Risk Assessment Statement.

Financial assistance

The Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) is an Australian Government initiative that provides some financial assistance for Australian students in Years 4 to 12 to travel to Canberra. For further information—including eligibility and rebate amounts—visit the PACER website.

COVID Safe Risk Information

School visits to Parliament House are currently able to be booked.

COVID Safe measures have been implemented at Parliament House including management of physical distancing, increased cleaning of touchpoints, collection of visitor information for contact tracing and hygiene reminder signs.

The COVID Safe Plan: Australian Parliament House provides further details.

Schools visiting Parliament House are responsible for understanding relevant state and territory COVID restrictions applicable on the date of travel and ensuring that COVID safe practices are adhered to during the visit. If you are travelling from interstate, the school must ensure that all staff, students and other accompanying members of the group are eligible to enter the ACT in accordance with public health advice. Current travel advice and alerts for all states and territories is available via the ACT Government COVID-19 website.

Arrival

Please arrive at the front entrance of Parliament House 15 minutes prior to your visit. From the security screening proceed to the information desk in the foyer with your booking paperwork to confirm participant numbers and present PACER paperwork for authorisation.

Find out more about accessibility at Parliament House.

Contact us

School Visits Program

Email or call 02 6277 4570

School booking request form (pdf)

School booking amendment form (pdf)
School booking cancellation form (pdf)
School booking final numbers form (pdf)

Online availability calendar

Public Liability Certificates (pdf)

Risk Assessment (pdf)

Important information for visiting teachers
The COVID Safe Plan: Australian Parliament House

Booking conditions

Agent bookings

Agents booking on behalf of schools must complete and email a separate booking form for each school booking request. Emails with multiple requests attached will not be accepted.

A booking by an agent will not be accepted without confirmation from the school.

Group size limits

The maximum number of visitors per gallery is fifty students and five adults. If the requested numbers exceed the maximum, the bookings team will divide school groups into smaller groups to meet this requirement.

If more than the confirmed numbers arrive for the school visit, the additional students will not be able to participate.

Cancellations

Booking cancellations must be emailed to school.bookings@aph.gov.au and include confirmation of the cancellation in writing by the school.

Changes to bookings must be notified to the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office as soon as possible by emailing school.bookings@aph.gov.au.

Duty of care

To participate in Parliament House education programs, your students must be accompanied by a teacher. The accompanying adult is encouraged to have their WWVP card and retains duty of care for all students at all times while at Parliament House.

Take your seat in the PEO chamber!

The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) immersive learning program gives primary and secondary students hands-on experience of how our Parliament works to make Australia a better place to live.

By debating a bill in the House of Representatives or Senate, students will get an engaging, fun and practical understanding of the role of the Australian Parliament and the work of members of Parliament.

Find out more about the program at the PEO website.

Prepare for your visit with the Parliament House virtual tour and Parliamentary Education Office resources.

Parliamentary Education Program
Parliamentary Education Office
Email or call 02 6277 3508