Yet when their daughter, Kayley, began her education, they found their local public school fell short of expectations. With another child, Joseph, nearing school age, the couple made the expensive decision to return to the Woden valley.

"We took the extreme option: we got rid of a four-bedroom, completely renovated house in Richardson and bought a four-bedroom, completely rundown house in Farrer that will need to be demolished," Mrs Bencke said.

"We probably lost about $100,000. But we already knew the area [Farrer] and we were determined to get our kids into a good school."

The Benckes now live a stone's throw from Farrer Primary and are very happy with it, despite leaving the dream home behind.

But some Canberra parents opt for a far simpler way to enrol their children in a sought-after public school: they lie about their address.

Many teachers acknowledge the "common" practice, which involves using the address of a friend who lives in the priority enrolment area. One method is to change the name on a friend's water or power bill and use it as proof of residence. Another is to use a grandparent's address.

Mrs Bencke said the practice was widespread and she knew personally of several cases at nearby schools, especially Garran Primary, which tends to outperform other schools in academic tests.

Anecdotally, other popular targets include Hughes, Red Hill, Forrest and Turner primary schools, and Lyneham High. All these schools are operating near or over their official capacity.

Yet while Mrs Bencke paid a high price to select her children's school, she does not begrudge parents who are less honest.

"If it's your child's education, you do what you have to do, which is why we went to the extra expense of moving into a house that we don't really like," she said.

"We thought about going private but my husband and I are both public-school educated and we never regreted that."

Do you know more about enrolment fraud? Leave a comment below or email markus.mannheim@canberratimes.com.au.

Enrolment fraud is reportedly increasingly common interstate, as parents target elite public schools. The NSW Education Department is understood to have engaged private investigators to verify the addresses of children in some schools on Sydney's north shore.

However, the ACT Education Directorate says it has "no record of enrolments where people have provided false addresses". Nor has it investigated alleged fraud, as it has received no complaints.

Pearce said the practice reminded her of the fears that drove parents towards private schools.

"I feel really sorry for parents. They're doing it for the best of reasons but, really, sometimes they need to look more closely at their local school. It's probably better than they think," she said.

Ms Pearce said the publication of schools' literacy and numeracy test results had unnecessarily heightened parents' anxieties.

"What parents overlook is the strong network of peers that children develop at a local school: friends who live nearby and are part of the local community," she said.

"In the ACT, you're pretty lucky wherever you go to school."