Short answer
Check the licence first — music schools are not licensed in Australia, so check qualifications and public liability insurance instead. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 524 Australian music schools in this directory, only 34.7% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 0% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Music Schools handle piano, guitar, voice, drums, strings and theory lessons for children and adults. This is what to check before you sign a child up for a year of lessons, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
There is no music teacher licence — so check something else
Music teaching is unlicensed. For lessons involving children the teacher must hold a Working With Children Check, and the school should be able to say who holds one. AMEB and similar exam programs give you an external measure of progress if you want one; the teacher's own playing and training are the other half of the picture.
The Working With Children Check can be verified online through your state's scheme. There is no music teaching register; AMEB examiner and teacher listings are a professional signal, not a licence.
What 524 Australian music schools actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For music schools:
| What we checked | Music Schools | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 34.7% | 21.5% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 57.7% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 0% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 71.4% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 96.7% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 26 | 39 |
What goes wrong with music schools
- A teacher working with children without a Working With Children Check
- Term fees paid up front with no make-up policy for missed lessons
- A school that assigns whichever teacher is free rather than the one you met
What to ask before the work starts
- Does every teacher hold a Working With Children Check?
- Who will teach my child, and what happens if that teacher leaves?
- What is the policy on missed and cancelled lessons?
A music teacher who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median music teacher in this directory has 26 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the music schools are
Sydney (132), Melbourne (100), Brisbane (41), Perth (31), Adelaide (16). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best music teacher in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do music schools need a licence in Australia?
- No. Music teaching is unlicensed. For lessons involving children the teacher must hold a Working With Children Check, and the school should be able to say who holds one. AMEB and similar exam programs give you an external measure of progress if you want one; the teacher's own playing and training are the other half of the picture.
- How do I check a music teacher's licence?
- The Working With Children Check can be verified online through your state's scheme. There is no music teaching register; AMEB examiner and teacher listings are a professional signal, not a licence.
- What percentage of Australian music schools have a verifiable ABN?
- 34.7% of the 524 music schools in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.5% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a music teacher have?
- The median music teacher here has 26. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare music schools near you
524 music schools, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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