Wade's reply has it pretty much covered.

I'd definitely recommend being based in Sydney - it's the biggest city, so, has the must 'stuff' to see and do. And it's not difficult to get to Canberra, which has the national art gallery and so forth. I don't think flights are too expensive, or a 3.5hr bus trip is around $30 for a concession fare.

As for wher else to visit - wel there's Uluru of course, but that is aloong way away, and I believe a pretty expensive exercise to get out there and back again. Byron Bay's nice, but you may not like your daughter mixing with the backpacker crowd.

'Fraid I've been out of school too log to recommend any good ones! But if she has found some schools in her research, fire their names my way and I can at least tell you if/what I've heard of them.

If you'd like to email me directly, no dramas, just add the letter i, w, and t to my username here, then the at symbol, then mac, then the dot and the com. I always feel silly writing out these obfuscated email rules, I guess it's a necessary evil though...