Federal Relations

Australia: Homeschooling After Three Decades
January 24, 2012: Home education has flourished in Australia from the 1970s to the present, despite periodic legislative battles in all six states and two territories.

Homeschooling Expands “Down Under”
Home education is flourishing in Australia as homeschooled graduates succeed in college and the workplace, and support groups continue to grow.

Homeschooling: Don't 'Fix' What Isn't Broken
"The proposed changes to the Victorian Education Act could negatively impact homeschoolers." said Mr. Terry Harding, principal of Australia's largest homeschooling organisation, the Australian Christian Academy.

Homeschoolers in Uproar About New Restrictive Education Act
The new Education Act in Victoria, if passed, will require parents who educate their children at home to register with state authorities.

Australia Has Its Own Homeschool Legal Defense Association
The Kingdom Defence Trust realized that legislation in Australia has the effect of curtailing expressions of Christian faith, such as home education

Update on Home Education in Australia
In Australia, home education has grown rapidly over the past 25 years. Families are educating their children at home in all six States and two territories in urban, suburban, regional, and remote parts of Australia.

Across the States of Australia
Homeschoolers in Australia face many of the same problems faced by homeschoolers in the United States.

Compulsory Attendance Ages: 6-15

Legal Status: In Australia there are six states and two territories, each having its own Education Act. Homeschooling is legal in all Australian states and territories.

Regarding homeschoolers: Each state or territory government has a home school registration authority that seeks to register homeschooled children and to monitor their academic work. Home schoolers are required to register with their state or territorial education authority.

Regarding schools of distance education: All states have government schools of distance education. The states of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have non-government schools of distance education. Families who participate in distance education operate at home in the same way as home schoolers, but have the support of teachers and educational resources associated with the school of distance education. Students who are enrolled in a school of distance education are not required to register with state government authorities, as the school of distance education is subjected to government scrutiny, not the family.

Number of Homeschoolers: Approximately 30,000 families-including both home school and schools of distance education. The Australian Christian College (Australia’s largest Christian school of distance education) has over 1,700 families, with 4,000 students ranging from Preschool to Year 12 in its home education programs.

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