As mentioned in our April 2024 Noosa 360 update, following advocacy, a Home School Advisory Group (HSAG) was established to consider in detail how to gain greater certainty around how Queensland children are receiving a high-quality home education. The Queensland Minister for Education has provided the following update:

A Queensland Home Education Expert Group will be established to advise government on changes to improve outcomes for home schooled children.

Education Minister Di Farmer today opened Expressions of Interest for representatives to make up the group with correspondence sent to every registered home schooling parent/guardian.

The group 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.

A majority of the group members (12) will be parents who currently have a child or young person registered for home education in Queensland. Parent members will be selected via an Expression of Interest (EOI)  process.

Up to three members will be nominees from established home education sector representative organisations with experience in engaging with the sector and government.

The group will also comprise up to three relevant departmental or government stakeholders, as observers, to assist promoting broad understanding and greater collective clarity about high-quality home education.

The group will be chaired by an independent reviewer and will meet at regular intervals throughout the Review period.

The group will:

  • provide a forum to share and learn from the home educating parent community and better understand their experiences of home education in Queensland;
  • consider topical issues highlighted through consultation on the Bill such as delivery of a high-quality education and provision in the best interests of the child;
  • broadly consider home education regulation;
  • provide perspectives about supports for home education parents; and
  • consider possible approaches for consultation with the home education sector following the Review.

To find the EOIs and more information, please visit https://qed.qld.gov.au/programs-initiatives/department/queensland-home-education-unit-review. All parents of a child currently registered for home education in Queensland should have been sent an invitation via email to express interest in being a parent member. These were sent by express post if you have not provided an email address. If you are interested, we have been advised this process closes 5 June 2024.

We would greatly appreciate continued feedback from our Noosa Electorate home schooling community via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.

Further Information

For those wishing to also advocate with the relevant Queensland Ministers directly, please email the Minister for Education via educationandyouthjustice@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward us any response you receive.

For our previous Noosa 360 updates regarding this, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=parents.

Updates on many local matters are available on Noosa 360 at www.sandybolton.com/noosa360. To receive information straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter via www.sandybolton.com/newsletters. This also ensures you receive any future Noosa related surveys or polls.