Step 1: Decide to homeschool and register with your state

Is homeschooling right for your family?

Before you start filling in forms, sit with the honest version of these questions. Most families who burn out in their first 18 months didn't ask them. The families who thrive answered them clearly.

The questions to ask yourself

Who is doing the teaching, and for how many hours a day

Homeschooling a primary-aged child sustainably requires 2-3 hours of focused work plus 2-4 hours of less-structured learning, every weekday. Secondary years are heavier. If both parents work full-time, this needs to be planned, not assumed.

Why are you doing it

Reasons are not all equal. "Our local school isn't a good fit" and "we want to travel for a year" lead to different curriculum choices than "our child has additional needs the school could not accommodate" or "we want a religious education." All are valid reasons; the curriculum response is different.

How long is the plan

A 12-month gap year, the primary years only, or the full Foundation–Year 12 journey are three very different decisions, and they should drive different curriculum and registration strategies.

What does your child want

From about age eight upward, your child's view matters operationally - they need to do the work, and motivation collapses if they hate the idea. Younger children adapt to most arrangements; teenagers do not.

What's your support network

Homeschooling on a metropolitan island with no other homeschool families nearby is harder than homeschooling in a region with an active co-op. Check before you start.

Common mistakes families make in the decision phase

• Underestimating the parent time cost. "I'll just supervise while they work through a curriculum" almost never works for primary-aged children, and rarely works for high schoolers either.
• Overestimating the rigour of school. Most school days have 3-4 hours of actual instruction, not 6. Your day will look shorter than school. That is normal.
• Picking a curriculum before understanding the registration requirements. Some states require the Australian Curriculum or close to it; others are flexible. Don't pre-buy a US-style curriculum if your state expects Australian Curriculum alignment.
• Quitting their job before testing whether the family rhythm works. If you can, run a six-week trial during school holidays.

A glossary, before we go further

The rest of this section uses a handful of terms. Skim them now.

• Registration - the legal act of recording a child with the state authority as a home-educated student. Required in every Australian state.
• Authorised Person (AP) - the reviewer NESA (NSW) sends to visit registered families. Other states use different titles ("moderator" in WA, "registrar" in TAS).
• Learning plan / educational program - the document you submit describing what your child will learn over the registration period.
• Scope and sequence - a planning table showing roughly what content each learning area covers, by term, across the registration period.
• KLA (NSW) / learning area - one of the broad subject groupings every Australian curriculum is organised into. NSW uses six Key Learning Areas; most other states use the eight learning areas of the Australian Curriculum.
• Dual enrolment - when a child is registered for home education and enrolled in some school subjects (typically by distance) at the same time. Permitted in most states; common for music, languages and specific senior subjects.
• Distance education school - a state government school that delivers schooling at distance. NSW has Sydney Distance Education High School (SDEHS), VIC has Virtual School Victoria (VSV), QLD has Brisbane School of Distance Education (BSDE), WA has School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE), SA and NT use Open Access College (OAC), TAS uses the Tasmanian eSchool.

What homeschool registration actually is

Registration is not certification of you as a teacher. It is the government recording that a specific child is being educated outside the school system, and committing you to deliver a program that meets defined standards.

Every Australian jurisdiction requires it. The exact body differs:

• NSW: NESA - NSW Education Standards Authority
• VIC: VRQA - Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
• QLD: HEU - Home Education Unit, Department of Education
• WA: WA Department of Education home education team
• SA: SA Department for Education
• TAS: Office of the Education Registrar
• ACT: ACT Education Directorate
• NT: NT Department of Education

Each state page on this site has the specifics - fees, forms, the curriculum basis, and the registration period. The rest of this page covers what is true everywhere.

What every Australian homeschool registration requires

Despite the state-by-state variation, these elements appear in nearly every application:

1. An application form

Every authority has its own. Some are online, some are PDFs. The form collects child details, parent details, the proposed address of education, and the period of registration sought.

2. Evidence of identity and address

A birth certificate or passport for the child, and proof you live where you say you live. Some states verify against existing school enrolment records.

3. A proposed educational program

This is the heart of the application and where most refusals come from. The authority wants to see a written plan covering:

• Which learning areas you will cover (English, Mathematics, Science, HASS or equivalent, Health and Physical Education, The Arts, Technologies, and Languages in most states).
• What curriculum framework you are using - typically the Australian Curriculum, the state's own syllabus, or a recognised alternative such as the IB PYP or a Steiner approach.
• A scope and sequence showing roughly what content will be taught when, over the registration period.
• How you will assess the child's learning and demonstrate progress.
• What resources you'll use - textbooks, workbooks, online programs, libraries, tutors.

The detail expected varies. VIC requires submission of a sample of work and a willingness to provide more on request. NSW requires a detailed plan reviewed by an Authorised Person who visits. QLD requires annual reports. We cover state-specific expectations on each state page.

4. Acknowledgement of obligations

Most applications include a declaration that you understand your obligations, including reporting to the authority and complying with reviews.

Timing your registration

The single most common timing question: can I start teaching before I'm fully registered?

State	Can you teach before final approval?
NSW	Provisional registration (3 months) is granted on application while full review proceeds.
VIC	Effective on submission of a complete application; full review then proceeds.
QLD	Provisional registration of up to 60 days can be granted.
WA	Some flexibility; check with the regional office.
SA	You must wait for written approval before commencing.
TAS	Provisional registration available.
ACT	Provisional registration is the normal first stage.
NT	You must wait for written approval.

In every state, the safer answer is to apply at least a school term ahead of when you want to start. If your child is currently enrolled in a school, don't deregister them until you have at least provisional approval.

The five documents you should prepare before you apply

Most refusals or "please resubmit" letters come from missing the same handful of documents. Have these ready:

1. A 1–2 page philosophy of education statement explaining why you're homeschooling and your general approach. This is short, plain English, no jargon.
2. A learning plan that lists the eight Australian Curriculum learning areas (or your state's equivalent) and, under each, what the child will study over the registration period.
3. A scope and sequence that maps content to weeks or terms across the registration period.
4. An assessment plan - how you'll know the child is learning. Acceptable assessment ranges from formal tests through to portfolio-based evidence, depending on the state.
5. A resource list of the main materials you'll use: textbooks, workbooks, online programs, library, museums, tutors.

We provide templates for items 2–4 in Step 2: Plan your curriculum.

The interview, visit, or panel review

Most states include a human review at some point - either before approval, during the registration period, or at renewal:

• NSW: An Authorised Person from NESA visits, usually in your home, before granting registration. They review the plan and meet the child.
• VIC: No automatic visit. VRQA can request a sample of work or visit if there are concerns.
• QLD: Annual reports rather than visits. The HEU can request additional information.
• WA: Annual visit by a moderator.
• SA, TAS, ACT, NT: Visits or interviews vary; see the state page.

Visits are not adversarial in any state. The reviewer wants to see that the child is being taught and that you have a coherent plan. Bring your written plan, a sample of work the child has done, and let the child show what they're working on. Most visits run 60–90 minutes.

After you're approved

You'll receive a registration certificate with a start date, an end date (usually 12 or 24 months out), and a registration number. Keep this somewhere you can find it - you'll need it to register for state-based exams, library passes, sport, and sometimes Medicare or Centrelink interactions.

Mark the renewal date in your calendar two months before it expires so you have time to renew before your registration lapses.

Who else can help you through this

Two national homeschool bodies and dozens of state and local groups exist for exactly this - supporting families through the first registration and beyond. They are more useful day-to-day than the government authority.

• Home Education Association (HEA) - national peak body. Sells registration-ready learning plan templates by state, runs training days, hosts an active member forum, publishes the largest curated list of Australian-curriculum-aligned resources. Membership is inexpensive and typically pays for itself before you've finished your first registration.
• Home Education Network (HEN) - long-running Victorian body with active national reach. Strong on Charlotte Mason, eclectic and natural-learning approaches; runs an annual conference.
• State-level groups - every state has its own homeschool community, usually most visible on Facebook. Search for "[your state] homeschool" plus your region. The local groups are where families share AP experiences, second-hand curriculum, co-op invitations, and "the registration officer just emailed me about X - what does that mean?".

If you're new and feeling overwhelmed, joining one of these (HEA or a local group) before you submit your first registration is the single best investment you can make. You will get faster answers from people who have just done it than from any government webpage.

What happens next

If you want a week-by-week on-ramp through this first stretch, see Your first 30 days as a homeschool family - a step-by-step checklist of what to do in weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4.

For curriculum specifics, you move into Step 2: Plan your curriculum, then into Step 3: Day-to-day teaching for the practical rhythm. If you're already thinking about Year 12 credentials, Step 4: Exams and post-school pathways covers how homeschoolers sit the HSC, VCE, QCE, and earn an ATAR.

Want a sense of what a year of homeschooling costs before committing? See What homeschooling costs in Australia.