About Schoolies week and Safer Schoolies

Many school leavers head to the Gold Coast to celebrate Schoolies Week and Surfers Paradise is one of the most popular Schoolies destinations. Some graduates also travel to other key holiday destinations across Australia and overseas for end of year celebrations.

Schoolies Week often consists of parties and festivals run by different organisations.

Safer Schoolies is a Queensland Government initiative dedicated to:

• helping school leavers celebrate safely and make positive choices
• promoting responsible decision-making
• encouraging school leavers to look out for themselves and their mates
• providing a strong safety framework, ensuring they can enjoy this milestone while staying protected.

We want to ensure a safe and successful Schoolies week for all involved, including:

• school leavers
• residents
• businesses
• the wider community.

The Safer Schoolies team do this by:

• providing a safe, Schoolies only area known as the Schoolies Hub on Surfers Paradise Beach
• coordinating volunteers and support services to hand out cups of water, conduct street patrols and walk home services
• working with Government agencies and community organisations to have on the ground support including an Emergency Treatment Centre, increased police presence, security, wanding and mental health and wellbeing support.

This requires Safer Schoolies to work with a wide array of people, including:

• Queensland Government agencies
• the City of Gold Coast
• community partners
• volunteers.

The Schoolies Hub is a diversionary activity located in Surfers Paradise; it's a Schoolies-only entertainment area and free for any legitimate year 12 school leaver.

Whether you come for 1 night or all 7, all you need is a Safer Schoolies wristband. (The official wristband to enter the Safer Schoolies Hub is only available via this website. Other wristbands or accommodation bookings will not give you entry to the  Schoolies Hub.)

Safer Schoolies wristband registrations will open in August for Schoolies week 2026, which runs 21–27 November 2026.

The Safer Schoolies team also offer free education sessions in schools across Queensland and online to promote safety messages  for students in year 12 during Schoolies week and beyond.

To stay up-to-date with the latest Schoolies information and receive tips on getting through year 12, follow our Instagram and Facebook pages.

The history of Schoolies week

• School leavers have been gathering on the Gold Coast to celebrate the end of school since the late 1970s.
• Over the next few years, the tradition of ‘Schoolies’ emerged, as Surfers Paradise became the chosen destination for a growing number of school leavers.
• By the 1980s, many community groups had developed ways of providing support for school leavers.
• In the late 1990s, the safety response model began to form, including diversionary activities and support services.
• In 2003, a plan was officially endorsed by the Queensland Government to make Gold Coast Schoolies safer for both the local community and school leavers attending.
• Today, Gold Coast Schoolies Week is attended by thousands of year 12 school leavers.

The Queensland Government does not promote Schoolies week.

The Safer Schoolies Response offers a safe area for school leavers during Schoolies week on the Gold Coast, including:

• the coordination of support services
• providing information and resources to school leavers and their parents
• providing education sessions to year 12 students.