NDIA Accountability Project

Submission 143 — Home Education Network — Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative

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HEN Submission to the Thriving Kids Inquiry

Introduction

The Home Education Network (HEN) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative. HEN is a national, volunteer-run, non-profit organisation that supports home educating families across Australia. Our membership includes thousands of families, many of whom home educate children with disability or additional learning needs.

We advocate for equitable access to services, recognition of diverse educational pathways, and the protection of children’s rights to thrive in the environments that best meet their needs.

A large proportion of home educated children are neurodivergent and/or disabled. Many have disengaged from mainstream schooling because it could not meet their needs. As a result, home educated children are disproportionately represented in the disability community, including those with mild to moderate disability and autistic children — the very cohort this inquiry seeks to support.

It is therefore essential that home educated children are not overlooked by Thriving Kids.

Policies and programs designed to support children’s health and wellbeing are frequently structured around school-based delivery, or with an assumption that children need to meet school based functional goals. This leaves home educated children, who are often among the most vulnerable, excluded from vital supports. Good policy must ensure that all children, regardless of their educational setting, have equitable access to the services they need.

Evidence & Context

Population:

According to a recent HEN survey (more than 1200 respondents Australia-wide) of families with children experiencing “School Can’t” (i.e. who are unable to attend school), over 80% of children who are or have been home educated in that cohort have or are suspected to have a disability or additional learning/support needs. (Home Education Network, 2023)

Recent national data shows that in 2022 there were approximately 42,452 students registered for home education across Australia, growing to around 45,000 students by 2024. These figures illustrate a significant and growing cohort, many of whom are children with mild to moderate support needs, including disability and autism. (Couper & Harding, 2024; various state data)

Professional knowledge and training needs:

HEN’s survey also showed that ~60.8% of parents first heard about home education via their own research. Very few first heard about it from professionals (5.1%) or from school supports (2.2%). This highlights a significant gap in professional awareness and understanding of home education.

For programs like Thriving Kids to effectively reach all children, service providers need training and resources to understand home education as a lawful and valid educational choice. They also need guidance on how to deliver supports to children and families outside the school system, ensuring equity and accessibility

Access to community:

Peer support is as crucial as professional input. Families repeatedly report that grassroots organisations and parent networks provide knowledge, mentoring, and reassurance that professionals often cannot. This community expertise must be recognised and supported, not sidelined.

Barriers:

Families report financial costs are a major barrier to accessing supports, and many do not know where to find services outside the school system.

The very reason many families are home educating is often because mainstream systems and schools do not meet their individual needs. Greater understanding of the varied challenges faced by disabled and neurodivergent children who are home educating is required by those planning Thriving Kids to ensure that their unique needs are catered for within another ‘mainstream’ program. Too often these children are left behind, and proactive action must be taken to ensure this is not a failing of Thriving Kids.

Response to Terms of Reference

1. Evidence-based information and resources to assist parents

  • Parents often identify developmental delays or autism before professionals, but require accessible, strengths-based resources to support assessment, understanding, and intervention.

  • Resources should be community-based, neurodiversity-affirming, and culturally sensitive.

  • Recommendation: Provide both professional and peer-based guidance specifically aimed at supporting and informing home educated families. This must acknowledge the unique circumstances and perspectives of this cohort.

2. Effectiveness of current and previous programs

  • Many existing programs are school-centric and behaviour-focused, leaving home educated children excluded.
  • Families report that supports in community or home settings are often unavailable or require private payment.
  • Home educated families whose children currently receive services and coordination via the NDIS risk losing the supports they currently have without an alternative coordination source, making service access even more difficult.
  • Recommendation: Extend all Thriving Kids programs and allied health supports to be accessible outside schools, with flexible delivery (home, community, telehealth), and acknowledgement of individual needs.

3. Equity and intersectional issues

  • Home educated families often include children with disability, autism, or additional needs; First Nations and CALD families; rural or low-income households.
  • Policies that limit access to schools further exacerbate inequities.
  • Recommendation: Co-design programs with diverse communities and explicitly include home educated children in all eligibility criteria.

4. Workforce support and training

  • Professionals often lack awareness about home education; many families must rely on their own research to navigate this option.
  • Recommendation: Provide training for allied health, education, and community workers on home education pathways, inclusive practices, and neurodiversity-affirming approaches.

5. Domestic and international policy experience

  • International best practice recognises inclusion across educational settings, flexible support delivery, and family-centred approaches.
  • Recommendation: Align Australian policy with CRPD principles, ensuring home educated children receive equivalent access to supports.

6. Mechanisms for seamless transitions through mainstream systems

  • Case coordination is often lacking, resulting in families repeating assessments or restarting support applications.
  • Children who are not within a mainstream educational setting like preschool, childcare or school, are at risk of not being identified by the systems put in place to support them, and required to add additional parental load of needing to identify and navigate support systems not set up for ease of access for non traditional school pathways.
  • Recommendation: Establish cross-system case management that follows the child and family, ensuring continuity of support regardless of schooling pathway. Ensure ease of referral to Thriving Kids, including self-referral to enable equitable access for those most vulnerable.

Recommendations Summary

  • Explicitly include home educated children in all eligibility criteria for Thriving Kids programs.
  • Deliver supports flexibly (community, telehealth, home visits).
  • Engage grassroots organisations and peer networks in co-design.
  • Train professionals about home education and neurodiversity-affirming practices.
  • Address financial and informational barriers.

Conclusion

Home educated children represent a significant and growing cohort in Australia, many with mild to moderate developmental, disability, or autism-related support needs. Excluding them from Thriving Kids initiatives by not specifically catering for them perpetuates inequity. Policies and programs must ensure equitable access, flexible delivery, and professional awareness to support all children — regardless of their educational setting — to thrive.

HEN is well placed to collaborate, advise and provide information to the Enquiry regarding the needs of home educated children targeted via Thriving Kids. Please contact us via:

E: disability@home-ed.vic.edu.au

W: https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/

P: private - please contact via email first

References:

Couper, R., & Harding, T. (2024). Reasons why parents home school in Australia: A national survey and a review of 2018-2022 registrations. Issues in Educational Research, 34(3), 906-927. iier.org.

Home Education Network (2023). HEN Submission #1 to the Senate Inquiry into The National Trend of School Refusal and Related Matters. 22 March 2023. Parliament of Australia, https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Results-of-HEN-Survey-for-Senate-Inquiry-into-School-Refusal-and-related-matters-FINAL.pdf

Home Education Network (2023). HEN Submission #2 to the Senate Inquiry into The National Trend of School Refusal and Related Matters. July 2023. Parliament of Australia, https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HEN-Data-on-Educational-Attainment-for-the-Senate-Inquiry-into-The-National-Trend-of-School-Refusal-and-Related-Matters.pdf