Page 4791 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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produce their statement of intent before these materials must be provided to the director-general. It is also a time for parents to learn themselves how to teach their children.
This period is intended to operate like a shortened provisional period for parents of new registrations. It effectively creates a grace period of three months to allow parents to establish their approach to home education before meeting with an authorised person and providing their written statement of intent as outlined in the regulations. It also recognises that parents may have an evolving plan as they learn how to best educate their child, particularly where the child has complex needs.
Across Australia there is a variety of legislative solutions and time frames for resolving this issue, all of which are more onerous than proposed by the ACT government. New South Wales, for instance, requires a plan aligned with the Australian curriculum to be submitted on application but allows 90 days for it to be assessed. Queensland does not require an education plan at application, but it must be submitted within 60 days.
In taking this approach, the government is also acknowledging feedback that for some children with health or wellbeing needs, this early stage of home education might be focused on settling and preparing to re-engage in learning. The directorate will engage and support these parents as much as required and requested during this initial period to produce an education plan in the best interests of that individual child.
Perhaps there are other ways to achieve a middle ground on provisional registration. The government certainly examined other options such as discretionary provisional registration, reducing the overall time of provisional registration or adding conditions to provisional registration. These options all result in a framework that is no less complex or involves duplication of effort for both parents and the directorate, and were discounted.
The government’s amendments, through the regulations, also make clear the expectations on parents for their educational plan. The government and the community have an interest in ensuring that the education of children is appropriate and still results in minimum educational standards.
I acknowledge that parents are passionate, committed and provide excellent educational opportunities to their children. Parents do have a right to choose home education for their child. The government supports this choice and the bill also does nothing to undermine flexibility available to home educators in their approach to home education. Again, the bill is modest in this regard when compared to other jurisdictions where, for example, parents must align their educational plan to the Australian curriculum or legislated learning areas.
Two other important changes in the government’s amendments arising from feedback during consultation are a new requirement on the director-general to make a decision on an application for home education registration within 28 days and the clarification that the director-general has no discretion outside of the legislated framework to refuse an application. While it is important that home education registration still
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