NSW · register with the Department of Education

How home schooling registration works in NSW: the NSW Department of Education registers children (a role NESA used to hold), an Authorised Person visits to assess your educational program, programs are based on NESA syllabuses, and HSC study goes through a school or provider.

Dept of Education official page →Registration page Step 1: Decide and register

At a glance - NSW homeschooling

Cost: Free
Initial registration: Up to 24 months
Curriculum basis: An educational program based on NESA syllabuses
Authority: NSW Department of Education
Authority email: homeschooling@det.nsw.edu.au
Authority: NSW Department of Education (home schooling registration moved from NESA)
Who can be registered: Children who live in NSW, from the start of the year they turn 5 (if 5 by 31 July) up to 18
Compulsory school age: 6 to 17: children of this age must be enrolled at school or registered for home schooling
Assessment: An Authorised Person from the department visits your home to review the educational program
Curriculum basis: Educational program based on NESA syllabuses
Senior credential access: HSC subjects are studied through a school or registered provider that can enter students for the HSC

NSW homeschooling at a glance

In NSW, home schooling registration is run by the NSW Department of Education. The department regulates home schooling and registers eligible children; a child must be registered by the department and live in NSW to be home schooled. This used to be NESA's job, so check the date on anything you read. NESA still writes the syllabuses and runs the HSC.

Your child's educational program must be based on NESA syllabuses. The department's Guidelines for Home Schooling Registration in NSW set out what it requires, and the department also offers resources for children and parents who have applied.

Who can be registered

Children who live in NSW can be registered from the start of the calendar year in which they turn 5, if they turn 5 on or before 31 July, up to the age of 18, and for up to 2 more years to complete a planned program.
Children aged 6 to 17 must be either enrolled at a government or registered non-government school, or registered for home schooling.

The registration process

Read the guidelines and prepare your educational program. Base it on the NESA syllabuses for your child's stage, and plan how you will record and show learning.
Apply to register through the department's applying to register pages.
Authorised Person visit. An Authorised Person from the department visits your home to discuss and review your program, and needs to see your child and the learning environment. The same process applies to renewals and to a Certificate of Completion of Year 10.
Decision. The Authorised Person makes a recommendation, the department decides, and an approved registration arrives by email as a certificate. Renew before it ends.

Sitting the HSC as a NSW homeschooler

Home schooling registration does not enter a student for the HSC. To earn the HSC, a student studies HSC courses through a school or other provider that can enter them with NESA. Distance education schools and private providers set their own eligibility and enrolment rules, so contact them, and NESA, well before Year 11.

Once your child is studying HSC courses, ExamExplained's HSC coverage, ATAR calculator, past papers and mock exams work the same as for school students.

Where to get help

NSW Department of Education: home schooling, email homeschooling@det.nsw.edu.au.
Home Education Association (HEA), the national community association for home educators.

Frequently asked questions - NSW homeschooling

Who registers home-schooled children in NSW?: The NSW Department of Education. It regulates home schooling and registers eligible children who live in NSW. Older guides, and many forum posts, still say NESA, which used to hold this role. NESA still sets the syllabuses your educational program is based on and runs the HSC.
What happens at the Authorised Person visit?: An Authorised Person from the department visits your home to discuss and review your educational program with you and to see your child and the home learning environment. What the visit covers depends on things like how many children you have applied for, your experience with home schooling and whether it is an initial registration, a renewal or a Certificate of Completion of Year 10. The Authorised Person makes a recommendation and the department decides; approved registrations are emailed as a certificate.
At what age can a child be registered for home schooling in NSW?: A child who lives in NSW can be registered from the beginning of the calendar year in which they turn 5, if they turn 5 on or before 31 July, up to the age of 18, and for up to 2 more years to finish a planned program. Children from 6 to 17 must be either enrolled at school or registered for home schooling.
Can a NSW homeschooler sit the HSC?: Yes, but home schooling registration on its own does not enter a student for the HSC. HSC courses have to be studied through a school or other provider that can enter students for the HSC, and distance education schools have their own eligibility rules. Talk to NESA and the provider well before Year 11.

§-The four-step homeschooling journey

The state-specific information above is one piece. The cross-state journey covers the full Foundation–Year 12 picture.

Step 1Step 1: Decide and registerIs homeschooling right for your family? What the law actually requires, how to register in your state, and the paperwork you need before day one.Step 2Step 2: Plan your curriculumHow to design a learning program that satisfies your registering authority — Australian Curriculum alignment, learning areas, scope-and-sequence, and choosing a homeschooling style.Step 3Step 3: Day-to-day teachingSample timetables, record-keeping, assessment, multi-age teaching, socialisation, and the practical rhythms that make homeschooling sustainable.Step 4Step 4: Exams and post-school pathwaysHow homeschoolers sit HSC, VCE, QCE and equivalent senior credentials, how the ATAR works for homeschooled students, and routes into TAFE, university, and apprenticeships.

§-Homeschooling in other states and territories

WA · Western Australia

ACT · Australian Capital Territory

ACT Education Directorate

NT · Northern Territory

Dept of Education

Glossary — Australian homeschooling terms

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 the NSW Department of Education 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 / learning area: One of the broad subject groupings every Australian curriculum is organised into. NSW uses six Key Learning Areas (KLAs); 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.
Distance education school: A state government school that delivers schooling at distance. NSW has SDEHS, VIC has VSV, QLD has BSDE, WA has SIDE, SA/NT use OAC, TAS uses eSchool.
Provisional registration: Time-limited registration granted before the full review is complete. Available in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and TAS; SA, NT and WA require full written approval before commencing.
Deschooling: The transitional period after a child leaves school during which formal academic expectations are reduced and the child resets to a home-based rhythm. Typically weeks to months depending on time in school.

Sources

Every regulatory claim on this page is sourced. Verify against the relevant authority before acting on anything material. Last reviewed 2026-09-23.