At School 5-18

Home Schooling

In Victoria, home schooling your child during their compulsory schooling years is a recognised alternative to attending government or registered non-government schools.

When you decide to educate your child from a home base, you assume overall responsibility for the planning, implementation and assessment of your child’s education.

The Government of Victoria recognises that home schooling can occur across a broad range of styles, from informal learning approaches to formal curriculum programs, and as such, does not mandate curriculum or reading materials for families who have chosen to home school.

For more information about home schooling, see:

Parents may also find the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) useful as a reference point, see: VELS

Addressing key learning areas

There are eight key learning areas that need to be taken into consideration when planning your child’s home schooling program and must be delivered in a manner that is consistent with the principles and practice of Australian democracy.

The eight learning areas are:

  • The Arts
  • English
  • Health and Physical Education (including Sport)
  • Languages other than English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Studies of Society and Environment
  • Technology

These learning areas are outlined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006.

Registering to home school

Those parents wishing to home school their child must register their intentions with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), a statutory authority responsible for the registration and accreditation of all education and training providers, except established universities.

For information regarding registration, contact the VRQA on 9637 3386 or see: Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority

Partial Enrolment for Registered Home Schooling Students

The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (the ‘Act’) requires that all children of compulsory school age (6 to 17 years) are enrolled in a school, or registered for home schooling.

As part of the introduction of legislative registration requirements for home schoolers, the Victorian Government committed to making various support mechanisms available to the home schooling community. In a document circulated in the Victorian Parliament in March 2006 it was stated:

"The following support would be made available to registered home schoolers…:

  • Students registered for home schooling, and their parents, will be eligible to partially enrol at their neighbourhood Government school for specific activities, as agreed by the school and parent."

The Department has developed guidelines regarding this commitment.

For more information, see:

Home Schooling Roundtable - 19 November 2009

Some 40 metropolitan and regional home schooling parents attended the Home Schooling Roundtable which was held at the Hilton on the Park, East Melbourne. The Hon Bronwyn Pike, Minister for Education, participated in the Roundtable and launched the information booklet Home Schooling in Victoria - A Guide to Services and Support.

For a copy of the report on the Roundtable, see: Report from the Home Schooling Roundtable - Thursday, 19 November 2009 (PDF - 28Kb)

Home Schooling in Victoria - A Guide to Services and Support

Home Schooling in Victoria outlines the services and support available to families who home school to assist them to educate their children at home. The booklet is designed to assist families to ensure that home schooled children are given opportunities to maximise their learning and development potential and achieve the best outcomes possible.

For a copy of the booklet, see: Home Schooling in Victoria - A Guide to Services and Support (PDF - 1.1Mb)

More information

Queries about home schooling in Victoria can be made by contacting:

  • Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) on (03) 9651 3293
  • System Policy Division within our Department on (03) 9637 2818

For further details regarding home schooling registration requirements, see: Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority