Our Advocacy Work
The HEA committee and volunteers work includes advocating for home education rights across Australia.
The HEA is fully volunteer-run and is a not-for-profit organisation. We rely on membership fees to enable us to do the work of the Association for our members.
- We advocate in the interests of home education and endeavor to support and advocate for home educators and increase the profile of and confidence in home education throughout Australia.
- We work to maintain respect for the diversity of philosophies and methods used by home educators and uphold the principle that parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children.
- We have established and maintain a public fund which can receive gifts of money or property for the specific purpose of providing assistance to home educators in necessitous circumstances.
- We endeavor to build community in the home education sector through coordinating and running events and conferences, fostering networks and support groups, and connecting to organisations and suppliers in the sector.
Current Advocacy Work
WA Advocacy
Executive Summary
The main points of the HEA are:
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The Act should include flexible learning options for students with disabilities, including part-time home education.
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The Act should require specific training in trauma-informed care for all staff who deal with children who have disabilities, including home education moderators.
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The Act should create the role of a Home Education Advisory committee that includes representatives from the home educating community.
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The Department should report data about the number of students with disability in home education (similar to that reported by schools to NCCD).
QLD
Last month saw the release of the Queensland's Education (General Provisions) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 and it wasn't good! Read THE BILL HERE
Submissions were due by Monday, 25 March 2024 at 12pm. HEA provided our home schooling community letter templates and information about the Bill.
On 4th April the HEA represented our home schooling community in Parliament at the PUBLIC HEARING.
HEAQ Team Leader Samantha Bryan strongly upheld the voices of our home educating community along with Secretary Tina Smith.
The good news that came out of it all was that the home education parts of the bill are being shelved to allow time to work with stakeholders to get things right.
Minister for Education Di Farmer announced the government will be engaging with more stakeholders as it makes changes to a number of aspects of the draft EGPA Bill, currently before parliament.
The Minister has made this decision following extensive feedback from industry that the proposed changes could lead to unintended consequences.
Education stakeholders have indicated that more work needs to be done in regard to Student Disciplinary Absences (SDAs in schools) and regulation around home schooling in Queensland. Therefore, those provisions will be withdrawn from the Bill and not progress at this time.
MORE INFO HERE AT OUR HEA FACEBOOK PAGE
NSW
Our President Janelle Barnes and Committee Member Lara Sappl worked together on a submission to the Inquiry into Children and Young People with Disability in New South Wales Educational Settings. They have now been invited to give evidence at the hearing for the inquiry on Monday 22nd April.
Our Success Stories
In the ACT Legistlative Amendments were passed in late November 2019 meaning the ACT is now leading the way with one of the more enlightened and sensible registration systems, balancing the safety of children and the right to an individual education.
HEA volunteers and Committee at that time generously shared their experience and expertise over two years of tireless work and support in efforts to protect home educators’ rights in ACT. This process has demonstrated the importance of having an experienced national body such as the HEA which advocates to protect the rights of all home educators.