For information on how to register for home education in your state or territory, please see below.
Victoria
Home educators are required to register with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), the government regulator. For detailed information on applying for home education in Victoria, please see our overview on Victorian registration.
New South Wales
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. 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, this can be found here
For advice on preparing for registration see the Facebook group Home Education NSW
An easy document for NESA outcomes for each stage can be found here:
Tasmania
Home education in Tasmania is covered under the Education Act 2016 and the Education Regulations 2017. A child who is at least 5 years of age as at 1st January in any year must be enrolled at school or provided with home education by a registered home educator for that year and subsequent years until the child is 17 or completes a Certificate III. Once a child completes the equivalent of year 10 that child may decide whether to continue with home education or undertake an approved learning program. The application and requirements are available here. Registration does not require adherence to any particular curriculum but a HESP must demonstrate how you will address the learning areas. Part-time school attendance is possible.
For registration, contact: Office of the Education Registrar
Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council (THEAC) is a committee of home educators who:
- Providing advice to the Registrar in relation to applications for approval of a home education program;
- Providing the Minister and the Registrar with advice in relation to home education generally;
- provides a reference point for queries, responds to community concerns and maintains liaison with other agencies about home education.
THEAC
3 Dowling Street
Launceston, Tasmania 7250
Ph: (03) 6334 5381
Fax: (03) 6331 3982
Email: admin@theac.tas.gov.au
Website
THEAC is made up of Ministerial appointees and home education representatives who are nominated by the home education community. Their website contains information on how to register as well as useful links and information, and they also run information sessions.
ACT
Registration is required with the Liaison Unit of the ACT Education and Training Directorate in accordance with the Education Act 2004 .
We have extracted the most relevant sections for you in the attached PDF ACT Education Act excerpts
Applications are made to the Liaison Unit and automatic provisional registration is granted for six months. A home visit is scheduled with an Authorised Person from the Liaison Unit after five months, with the home educator providing a Home Visit Parent Report at least one week prior. A template for this report is supplied by the Liaison Unit. A certificate of registration is provided for a period of up to two years. Annual reviews include reporting and a home visit – this may be extended to two years if your registration is for two years.
Parents are not obliged to follow the national curriculum but are advised to be familiar with it. Students have access to the NAPLAN if their parents wish, and there is provision for part-time home education.
To register, contact:
Assistant Manager
Home Education
ACT Education and Training Directorate
Phone: +61 2 6205 9299
Email: HomeEd@act.gov.au
See also:
https://www.education.act.gov.au/schooling/home-education
Queensland
Home education is covered under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006. The full Act is available here and we have extracted the relevant sections here Queensland home education – legal april 2014
The registration process in brief
To be eligible for registration a child must be:
Student ID cards are available if required. Registered home educators have access to NAPLAN testing should they wish to take part. Also the Home Education Unit is affiliated with the Queensland School Sports Association and can facilitate the participation of home educated students. For year 10 students, Learning Accounts are opened with the Queensland Studies Authority which enables students in the senior years to bank credits towards a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) if they are studying accredited subjects (eg through TAFE). Students in year 12 who wish to sit external examinations can make arrangements with the Queensland Studies Authority. Home educated students (Years 10-12) are also able to undertake a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship.
For registration, contact:
The Home Education Unit
Ph 3405 3916 or 1800 677 176
Website
The policy and an application form can be downloaded from the website along with documents designed to assist with planning a programme to meet the requirements.
See also: Facebook Group Home Education Qld – A group to encourage, support and be guided in your home education journey in Queensland for Qld parents. For QLD specific help.
South Australia
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.
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 is available here.
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 here
Northern Territory
Parents are required to seek approval from the Department of Education and Training (DET).
Home Education is covered under the Education Act 2015 and we have extracted the relevant section for you in the downloadable PDF
For registration, contact
Project Officer
School Education
Department of Education
GPO Box 4821
DARWIN NT 0801
Email: homeeducation.det@nt.gov.au
Useful links
• Education Department’s Home Schooling page (includes information, guidelines and policies)
Western Australia
Home education in Western Australia is covered under Division 6 of the School Education Act 1999
We have extracted the relevant section for you in the downloadable pdf WA Education Act excerpts
Registration is compulsory from the beginning of the year in which a child turns 5 years and 6 months, until the end of the year in which they reach the age of 17 years and 6 months, or the student reaches 18 years, whichever happens first.
Parents apply through their local district office of the Education Department. Each district has its own version of the application form. Under the Act, all you need to provide is your name, your children’s names and birthdates, your address and a contact phone number or email address.
You will receive a request for a meeting with a moderator three months from initial registration. This is for the moderator to introduce themselves. A further visit will be scheduled for later that year when the home educator is required to demonstrate each child’s progress and from which the moderator will prepare an evaluation report. Yearly visits are then standard. Meetings can take place at your home, the moderator’s office or at a neutral venue.
Home educators can determine their own philosophy and style as long as they cover the eight key learning areas (The Arts, English, Health & Physical Education, Technology and Enterprise, Mathematics, Science, Studies of Society and the Environment, and Languages other than English).
The NAPLAN test is optional. Contact your moderator to arrange if desired.
To register contact:
Your local Education District Office – contact details for each district office can be found on the Department website.
See also :
- HEN has a sister organisation in WA called the Home Education WA. You will find them invaluable for local knowledge, information and advice including your rights in terms of moderator visits.
- The Department of Education – home education section.
- A recording of a session run by HEWA and HEN to help you understand how to prepare a plan when you apply for home ed registration, and what to do after you are registered in Western Australia.