A child has died and three others have been injured after a car crashed into a primary school in Australia, police said.

The car had been driving along Burgess Road in Hawthorn East when it crashed through the school fence at about 2.30pm local time, a Victoria police statement confirmed.

The car veered off the road, hit the fence and hit a group of children sitting on a bench at Auburn South Primary School, located about four miles east of the Victorian capital of Melbourne city.

The driver, a 40-year-old Hawthorn East woman, was arrested at the scene and remains in police custody.

Her passenger, a primary school-aged child, was not injured.

One 11-year-old boy was rushed to hospital with critical injuries but has since died.

Two 11-year-olds, one girl and one boy, suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital. A 10-year-old boy was also rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

The exact circumstances surrounding the crash are being investigated by major collision investigation unit detectives.

The injured children had been sitting on a park bench, an unnamed Education Department official told national broadcaster ABC.

An Education Department spokesperson declined to comment to The Associated Press.