Home education

The Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 allows parents to choose to educate their children at home. There are 2 types of registration that parents can choose from:

• registration—a long term registration, including program and reporting requirements
• provisional registration—a short-term, 60-day registration.

To be home educated, a child must be registered by the Chief Executive, Department of Education through the department's HEU.

To be eligible for registration for home education, a child must:

• be at least 5 years and 6 months old and less than 18 years old on 31 December in the year the child's registration takes effect
• not be enrolled in a school.​​
  

Contact us

Important information about the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006

The EGPA Bill introduced to the Queensland Parliament no longer includes changes to home education provisions in the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (The Act). Additional consultation will now take place.

Home Education Expert Group

A Home Education Expert Group (HEEG) is being established to contribute to a stakeholder-informed review of Queensland's approach to regulating home education through the department's Home Education Unit.

All parents of a child currently registered for home education in Queensland will be sent an invitation to express interest in being a parent member. These will be sent by email or express post if you have not provided an email.

Expressions of Interest (EoI) will need to be completed online, using the EoI link sent to the parent. The EoI will remain open for 14 days from the day it is sent. The closing date will be in the email and EoI form.

Up to 3 established home education sector representative organisations will be invited separately by email to nominate a member of their organisation, and for the nominee to agree to be considered for the HEEG. More information about the HEEG will be provided with the invitations.

What I need to do

Check your contact details are up to date. You can update your contact details using the change of personal details for home education form (DOCX, 88KB).

Check your email or postal mailbox for your invitation including the EoI link.

If you do not receive an email by this evening, please check your mailbox is not full, and check your spam folder. For express post allow a couple of business days.

To be considered to be part of the HEEG you will need to complete the EoI form online using the unique link included in the email.

For posted letters you will need to scan the QR code or enter the link provided into a web browser and enter the user name and password provided in the letter.

Prior to applying, you should review the HEEG terms of reference.

The EoI will be open for 14 days from the time the email is sent, and the due date will be specified in the in the email or letter.

If you have questions regarding this process, you can email homeeducationexpertgroup@qed.qld.gov.au.

Home education research

In 2022, the Department of Education commissioned research to better understand the factors influencing families' decisions about home education. Of the 6,016 parents registered for home education that were surveyed, 565 parents responded. A social media analysis to identify the key themes and engagement topics posted was also undertaken.

The research insight report and social media insight report are now available.

Community support groups

The Home Education Association Inc. Australia (HEA)

The HEA is a national not-for-profit, incorporated membership association serving Australian home educated children and young people since 2001. Its mission is to promote and support the practice of home education across Australia and to advance educational equity for members. Contact the HEA Support Helpline weekdays on 1300 729 991 or by email at heaqsupport@hea.edu.au.

Useful links

• Learning at home
• Home education fact sheet
• Distance education
• Department of Education regional office contacts
• Department of Education statistics
• Department of Education corporate website
• Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
• Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Services Australia
• NAPLAN
• Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA)
• Unique Student Identifier (USI)
• Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)
• Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)
• TAFE Queensland
• Department of Employment, Small Business and Training
• Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC)
• Apprenticeships and traineeships
• Australian curriculum—diversity and disability
• P-12 curriculum, assessment and reporting framework​