Home Education in Australia, 2011–2019

Australian Capital Territory

In the last eight years, home education grew by 124% in the Australian Capital Territory.

ACT Home Education Registrations 1
2011136
2012167
2013166
2014190
2015220
2016252
2017271
2018302
2019305
2018–19 Percent Increase1.0%
2011–19 Percent Increase124%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 72
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.4%

New South Wales

The NSW growth rate of 113% over the last eight years is close to the national average of 105% despite suffering a slight dip in 2013-2014. This may have been a result of the some unpopular regulations, which were introduced at that time. Since then, although NSW continues to have rules, which are considered onerous by some, department officials seem to be exhibiting some flexibility and only a small percentage (less than 1%) of formal applications are failing to meet the assessment guidelines.

NSW Home Education Registrations 2
20112,763
20122,924
20133,327
20143,250
20153,517
20163,887
20174,661
20185,249
20195,887
2018–19 Percent Increase12.2%
2011–19 Percent Increase113%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 1,232
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.5%

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory numbers have increased by an impressive 143% over the survey period, which is well above the national average.

NT Home Education Registrations 3
201151
201256
201362
201490
201586
201682
2017100
2018110
2019124
2018–19 Percent Increase12.7%
2011–19 Percent Increase143%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 41
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.3%

Queensland

Queensland experienced spectacular growth in the number of home-educated students (283%) over the survey period.

Qld Home Education Registrations 4
2011891
2012951
20131,108
20141,370
20151,770
20162,303
20172,580
20183,232
20193,411
2018–19 Percent Increase5.5%
2011–19 Percent Increase283%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 835
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.4%

South Australia

South Australia had the slowest rate of growth (53%) in home education in the survey period. Home education is not officially recognized in SA. The SA government describes students who learn at home as those who have been granted exemption from school attendance.

SA Home Education Registrations 5
2011891
20121,000
20131,046
20141,119
20151,150
20161,225
20171,314
20181,315
20191,360
2018–19 Percent Increase3.4%
2011–19 Percent Increase53%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 273
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.5%

Tasmania

Tasmania has the highest per capita rate of homeschooling being the only state to have over 1% of students home educated. However, in comparison to other states, this figure should be reduced by 20% as it gives the total number of students registered over a 12-month period, while every other state gives numbers at the end of the reporting period.

TAS Home Education Registrations 6
2011603
2012660
2013745
2014830
2015897
2016893
2017928
2018976
20191,068
2018–19 Percent Increase9.4%
2011–19 Percent Increase77%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 82
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students1.3%

Victoria

Victoria has the second largest number of students registered for home education in Australia. Numbers grew by 69% over the survey period. Victoria also allows for partial enrolment of a home-educated student in a local government school.

VIC Home Education Registrations 7
20113,300
20123,435
20133,718
20143,977
20154,461
20164,743
20174,785
20185,333
20195,562
2018–19 Percent Increase4.3%
2011–19 Percent Increase69%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 991
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.6%

Western Australia

Western Australia has the highest per capita rate of all mainland states. At the current rate of increase, the number of students registered for home education will exceed 1% of the student population within three years.

WA Home Education Registrations 8
20111,806
20121,889
20132,211
20142,477
20152,826
20163,303
20173,464
20183,563
20193,720
2018–19 Percent Increase4.4%
2011–19 Percent Increase106%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 424
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.9%

Total Australia
Australia Home Education Registrations (Percent Increase)
201110,441
201211,082 (6.1%)
201312,383 (11.7%)
201413,312 (7.5%)
201514,927 (12.1%)
201616,688 (11.8%)
201718,103 (8.5%)
201820,080 (10.9%)
201921,437 (6.8%)
2018–19 Percent Increase6.8%
2011–19 Percent Increase105%
2019 Students in School (000) 9 3,950
2019 Pro-rata Percent of Home Educated Students0.5%

— Survey author: Stuart Chapman BEng, BA, Grad Dip Ed., May 2020

Insights and Analysis From This Data

  • A total of 21,437 students were registered for home education in 2019 in Australia, which represents a growth of 105% over the last 8 years with an annual growth rate of 9.4%. This represents 0.5% or a ratio of 1:200 of the total school population.

  • The average length of time that children are home educated has been decreasing as homeschooling becomes more popular and more reflective of the general population. Many parents now choose to home educate their children for the first time in upper school for a year or two to help with confidence or bullying.

    This contrasts to the typical home educator of 20 years ago who began home education when their child was in the early primary years and kept going through to middle or upper secondary school. Consequently the number of home-educated students either going back to school, or going onto tertiary study has increased to around 25% per year. This author estimates that the average length of home education is about four years.

  • Assuming that the compounding growth rate of 9.4% continues and that 25% of home educated students return to school each year, it would mean that over the next 12 years, around 150,000 new students will be home educated at some time. (At a more conservative growth rate of 6%, 105,000 new students would be home educated over the same period.)

    This would mean that 3.2% of the total school population over the next 12 years will have been home educated for an average of 4 years at some stage. (This assumes the school population increases by 1.3% per year during this time.)

  • These figures do not include those who are doing home education but are unregistered. It is impossible to know how many students or families are unregistered. Estimates vary considerably, but it is generally agreed that the percentage of unregistered students has has been gradually reducing over the last 20 years. This author estimates that there may be an extra 50% of students who are unregistered.

  • Reasons for the growth are given in the article Why Is Homeschooling Growing in Australia?

Covid-19 Update: All home education registration authorities are reporting a significant increase in inquiries and registrations in 2020. It is yet to be seen whether this will have a significant impact on the long-term growth in home education numbers. Annual reports are not generally released until March or April of the following year.

References:

  1. ACT — www.education.act.gov.au
  2. NSW — educationstandards.nsw.edu.au
  3. NT — Unpublished, supplied by direct contact with NT Education Department
  4. Qld — qed.qld.gov.au
  5. SA — Unpublished, supplied by direct contact with SA Education Department
  6. TAS — publicdocumentcentre.education.tas.gov.au
  7. VIC — www.vrqa.vic.gov.au
  8. WA — www.education.wa.edu.au
  9. School Registrations — www.abs.gov.au