Home education is covered under The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and The Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017.

Registration

Home educators are required to register with:

Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)
Ph: 03 9637 2806
Email: home.schooling@education.vic.gov.au

To register, complete and lodge the Application form together with a Learning Plan for each child. (Word or PDF)

Registration Age

Registration is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 17.

• FOR CHILDREN AGED 5:
  • If a child is five now but will be six in 2020, you can register them for 2020 now.
  • Registration is not a legal requirement until their sixth birthday, so you can choose between registering for the start of the year, or just in time for their birthday (around a month beforehand is recommended). The advantage of registering later is that their registration will not be included in the review pool for 2020 i.e. 10% of home ed registrations are drawn for review each year. This draw happens in February and includes anyone registered at that time.
  • If your child will NOT turn six in 2020, you can’t register them for the 2020 school year.
  • Remember, home education can commence any time, registration is only required as at their sixth birthday i.e. registration and education are two different things. 
• FOR CHILDREN AGED 6-16 registration is compulsory – see details below.
• FOR 17-YEAR-OLDS:
  • Registration is no longer required by law, but optional registration is available through to age 18.
  • When a 17 year old is registered and turns 18 during the year, their registration remains current until 31 Dec that year and then expires.
• FOR 18-YEAR OLDS: It is not possible to register someone aged 18 or over but if they were aged 17 on registration, their registration remains current until 31 Dec that year and then expires.

In brief

Download as a .PDF

Learning Plans

Learning Plan Templates and Samples

Your Learning Plan should describe how you intend to broadly address eight learning areas:

• English
• mathematics
• sciences (including physics, chemistry and biology)
• humanities and social sciences (including history, geography, economics, business, civics and citizenship)
• the arts
• languages
• health and physical education
• information and communication technology, and design and technology.

for the first 12 months of registration. Learning Plans are not expected to be voluminous documents; templates and samples are available.

You can seek an exemption from one or more learning area.  The reasons for applying for an exemption are not limited, but can include disabilities, permanent or temporary additional learning needs or circumstances, electives or the parent’s limited capacity for a learning area (e.g. LOTE). No medical evidence is required.

Members can email support@home-ed.vic.edu.au for feedback on their plans before submitting. Include your membership name.

Approval

Guide to Home Education in Victoria

Approval takes up to 28 days and children are required to stay in school during the approval period. However, if your children would be at risk by remaining in school, request the principal’s approval to remove them and remove them immediately (with or without approval). If your school gives you trouble, you can check where you stand under the School Attendance Guidelines. HEN can provide support if needed.

If your child has previously attended a school, it is considered a matter of politeness to inform the school that you will be home educating from now on, and that you have registered with the VRQA according to the regulations. School staff might request a copy of your VRQA letter to complete their paperwork.

If your registration is rejected you can reapply or appeal.

Ongoing requirements

• There is no requirement to follow the state curriculum and there are no compulsory home visits.
• You may home educate in any manner you choose as long as your substantially address the eight learning areas, taken as a whole.
• It is your responsibility to renew your registration each November. Renewal involves notifying the VRQA of your intention to continue, no learning plan is required. The VRQA send out a courtesy email reminder.
• You are required to notify the VRQA of any change of name or address and if you cease home education.
• Partial enrolment is possible.

Reviews

• 10% of families will be reviewed per year. The review involves one child’s registration
  

  Review info and Sample Review Materials

• You’ll be notified of the review early in the year (Feb March) and approximately when your review will take place.
• It is your responsibility to ensure the VRQA has your current address.
• You’ll be contacted closer to the review with a firmer timeline.
• A review involves you articulating or demonstrating that your child is receiving an education that broadly addresses the 8 KLAs. You can choose how to do that.
• The review is NOT against the Vic Curriculum or year levels.
• In a review you will be asked to demonstrate that your child is receiving an education that substantially addresses the eight learning areas, there is no mandated way to do that – it could be by a phone chat/interview if you wish or by submitting work samples/journal/spreadsheet etc. HEN recommends some form of record-keeping in preparation for reviews.
• The VRQA can ask for additional information if they are not satisfied with what you provide. If still not satisfied, your registration can be cancelled.
• You can appeal a cancellation decision.

Travel

Travel is permitted under Victorian home education registration as long as you have a Victorian residential address and intend to return to Victoria. The VRQA need to be informed if you intend to be away for months.

More information

• Victorian legal summary (PDF with excerpts from the Education Act and Regulations)
• Home Education in Victoria – A guide to services and support 2018  (Word or PDF)
• Partial Enrolment Guidelines  (Word or PDF)
• The Regulations Roadshow explained the new requirements. The following resources from it are available:
  • Roadshow Video
  • Roadshow Transcript (Word or PDF)
  • VRQA presentation Slides
  • VHEAC presentation slides. 
• The NAPLAN is not compulsory but arrangements can be made to participate through their local government school.

See also: 

• Should I register? (including the consequences of non-registration)
• Victorian home education history

Home education is covered by the Education Act 1990 and registration is handled by the Board of Studies.

The registration process requires a home visit and approval of documented lesson plans following the state curriculum. The whole process takes three months and registration, if approved, needs to be renewed annually by going through a similar process each time.

There is provision for those who conscientiously object to registration to apply for an exemption from registration but they need to demonstrate that registration would have been granted had they applied for it.

The full Act is available here //www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ea1990104/ and we have extracted the most relevant sections here NSW home education – legal excerpts

 For registration contact: 

Home Schooling Unit
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)
Phone: 02 9367 8149
PO Box 5300, Sydney, NSW 2001
homeschooling@nesa.nsw.edu.au

NESA’s Homeschooling Registration page  contains the application form and registration information.

For advice on preparing for registration see the facebook group NSW Registration Supporters Network

Under the SA Education Act 1972, children of compulsory school age (at least 6 years old but not yet 17 years old) must be enrolled in, and attending, a government school or a registered non-government school in SA. This Act will shortly be replaced by the Education and Children’s Services Act 2019 but the arrangements for Home Education remain the same.

Parents wishing to home educate must enrol in a school and apply for an exemption from attendance.

The full Act is available here https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/EDUCATION%20ACT%201972/CURRENT/1972.154.AUTH.PDF

and we have extracted the relevant sections for you here – SA home education – legal excerpts

Families must complete an Application for Exemption from Attendance at School for the Purposes of Home Education which details:

• An appropriate learning programme aligned with the South Australian Curriculum Standards Accountability (SACSA) Framework. This covers eight learning areas: English, Maths, Science, Design and Technology, Studies of Society and Environment, The Arts (Music, Art, Dance, Drama), Health and Physical Education, and Language Other than English (LOTE).

• Suitable resources and a description of the appropriate learning environment which will be provided to support the learning programme;

• Opportunities for social interaction;

• The name of the school the child is enrolled in;

• A typical timetable;

• Plans for monitoring and assessment of the child’s achievements;

• The name of the person responsible for the educational programme.
The application must be signed by both biological parents (except where one is excluded from custody/guardianship by a court order). The Home Education Project Officer will arrange a home visit to discuss the application in detail and then make a recommendation to the Director. School attendance is required until the application is approved. If approved, an exemption will be granted for up to 12 months. Annual reviews include discussion of the child/ren’s progress.

More information including the current version of The Guide to Home Education in South Australia booklet: https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/schools/alternative-schooling/home-education

To apply, contact:
Manager, Home Education
Office for Education
Level 6 Education Centre
GPO Box 1152
Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: 8226 1327 (The best time to call is on a Monday or Friday as home education officers generally conduct home visits on other days.)

Email: DECD.HomeEducation@sa.gov.au or with your:

• full name
• postal address
• phone number
• email address.

Information about the SACSA Framework is available at //www.sacsa.sa.edu.au 

Victoria

There is an allowance under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 for home educators to enrol part-time in a school. Please see our article Partial School Enrolment in Victoria.

Families who wish to do so need to contact the principal of their neighbourhood school to discuss a workable arrangement, but principals do have the right to decline the application if they have reasonable grounds, such as a cap on numbers in the class you are applying for. It is recommended that any interested families read the full guidelines before approaching the school. You can download a Word document with the partial enrolment guidelines (Word) or (PDF) is also possible to enrol in a school other than your neighbourhood one at the discretion of the relevant principal.

ACT

Provision also exists under the ACT Education Act 2004 for part-time home education.

To negotiate a part-time home education/part-time school education arrangement in the ACT:

1. negotiate the arrangement with the principal (or delegate) of the school where the child is enrolled/potentially enrolled
   ii. record the arrangements in an agreement signed by both the parent and the principal
   iii. lodge a copy of the agreement with the Liaison Unit.
   The application for part-time home education registration documents the agreement between the school and the home educator. The agreement shows how the combination of home and school education will provide a high quality education for the child and notes the roles and the responsibilities of both the parent and the school. The original agreement should be held by the part-time school. Copies of the agreement should be held by the home educator and the Liaison Unit.
   For more details see theRegistration for Home Education in the ACT manual

Tasmania part time school attendance for up to 2 days a week is permitted. For details see:

• p7 of Understanding the Tasmanian Home Education System
• Ministerial Instruction 3

South Australia

Each home educated student is officially enrolled at a school and excused from attending it. Some schools are willing to come to partial-attendance arrangements but it is up to the school.

Queensland

Some home educators have made partial enrolment arrangements with a school but there are no known guidelines or rules covering partial enrolment.

Other States

Part-time home education is not permitted in NSW and WA and there are no known partial enrolment arrangements in NT. For these states, it is worth enquiring via the relevant state authority listed in this legal section as rules change and/or may be flexible for your circumstances.

Private Schools

Private schools can include partial enrolments in their annual census and be funded accordingly.

How does it work?

• Tips on making partial enrolment work.
• Family experiences with partial enrolment.