Home education

Home education means your child learns at home, following an approved teaching and learning program, instead of attending school. The program must be approved and registered through the Department of Education and Training.

This means you are responsible for planning, delivering, assessing and keeping evidence of your child’s education.

If you choose to home educate, you must apply for approval from the Northern Territory (NT) Department of Education and Training.

Until the home education program is approved, your child must remain enrolled in a school and continue to attend.

Who can deliver home education

Only parents, legal guardians or registered teachers can oversee and deliver the home education program. The program is delivered from the child’s usual place of residence.

For your child's home education, you can:

• plan and deliver the home education program without formal teacher training or teaching experience, or
• employ a teacher to develop and deliver it, who:
  • is registered with the Teacher Registration Board of the NT
  • has a Working with Children Clearance (WWCC), also known as an Ochre Card.

What you can teach

You can develop your child's home education program or purchase from a commercial provider.

All home education programs must meet the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) requirements. To find out more, go to the Australian Curriculum website.

Transition to Year 10 students study a range of subjects, read about subject selection and program planning DOCX (18.9 KB).

Your child can complete a Vocational Education and Training (VET) course through a registered training organisation as part of the home education program. Find more information about VET for Secondary Students on the Department of Education and Training website.

Year 11 and 12 students must complete 25 hours per week of educational learning. Subjects chosen should reflect your child’s interests, learning needs and future goals and may include VET courses.

When to apply

Families new to home education can apply at any time during the year.

To continue home education in 2027, families must reapply by Friday 27 November 2026 for applications to be assessed before school starts on 27 January 2027.

Applications received after the commencement of Term 4 will be processed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the home education unit for further information.

Home education approval is valid for one school year. You must reapply each year.

Before you apply

Before you apply, you must have the following documentation ready:

• birth certificate
• 2-3 photos showing the dedicated workspace/s where the student will be home educating - desk, computer and other resources
• home education program that clearly shows each subject, content, assessment tasks and resources. The home education program may be:
  • a commercial provider program that aligns with the Australian Curriculum, or
  • a self-developed program. If using this option, you must complete one of the below plans (other documents will not be accepted):
  • Transition to Year 10 - self-developed plan DOCX (80.9 KB)
  • Year 11 and 12 - self-developed plan DOCX (77.9 KB)
  • Exemplar - self-developed home education PDF (1.0 MB).
• advice from a health practitioner about recommended learning adjustments, if applicable
• copies of court or legal documents if applicable
• copies of student visa, passport and any bridging visas if applicable
• passport style photo, if ID card required.

After you apply

• You will receive a notification confirming its receipt and a reference number.
• You can print a summary of your application.
• Your application will be assessed by the home education unit. The unit may contact you if additional information is required. You must provide any requested information within 2 weeks or your application may be cancelled.
• You will be notified by email of the application outcome.

If approved

You can unenroll your child from school and begin their home education program.

You must maintain evidence of your child's learning in each of the learning areas. Evidence of learning samples may be requested at any time for each student.

Evidence must be consistent with the topics and assessment tasks set out in the approved home education program. It may include:

• written documents
• completed worksheets
• video clips
• audio files
• photographs
• artwork.

You child is entitled to the:

• Back to School Payment Scheme in Term 1
• Sport Voucher Scheme in Semester 1 and 2
• Swimming and water safety education for Years 1 to 6 – Information for home education families.

Educating your child while travelling

If you're planning to travel with your child, please contact the home education unit to discuss teaching and learning options while travelling.

Discontinue or change home education

If you discontinue or change your child's home education, you must notify the home education unit in writing within 14 days.

If not approved

You must ensure your child is enrolled and attending a school. You may reapply at any time.

Apply for home education

You can apply online on the Territory Services website.

Go to Territory Services

You must have all supporting documentation available prior to commencing the online application.

Once you start the online application you must complete it in one session. Your progress cannot be saved.

Contact

Contact home education by calling 08 8901 4902 or emailing homeeducation.doe@education.nt.gov.au.