What New South Wales needs

What this page is for

This page lists each official NSW home schooling requirement and shows which AHH tools can help with it. It doesn't explain how to register.

• Just starting out? Go to Start here first. It has the first steps for NSW and links to the department's own pages.
• Want the full how-to? Our guide 28 Days: The Real Evidence Guide for Australian Home Educators (opens in a new tab) (A$19.95) goes step by step through registration, evidence and renewals in each state.

AHH tools help you plan, keep records and show your child's progress. They don't register you, they don't speak for the department, and they can't promise an Authorised Person will recommend registration.

The rules are changing. For now, the current Guidelines apply

The department released a draft Home Schooling Policy and Procedures, dated 27 July 2026, to replace the current Guidelines for home schooling registration in NSW. Consultation closed on 10 August 2026. The department says the current Guidelines stay in effect until the new policy is finalised. This page follows the current Guidelines. It notes the draft only where the draft keeps the same requirement. We'll update this page when the final policy is published.

• NSW home schooling (consultation status): nsw.gov.au — home schooling (opens in a new tab)
• Consultation page and draft documents: nsw.gov.au — consultation (opens in a new tab)
• Draft Home Schooling Policy (PDF, dated 27 July 2026): Draft Home Schooling Policy PDF (opens in a new tab)

1. A program based on NESA syllabuses

What NSW asks. Your child's educational program must be "based on and taught in accordance with the relevant NESA syllabuses". For primary school (Kindergarten to Year 6), the program must include all six key learning areas every year:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science and Technology
• Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE): History and/or Geography
• Creative Arts
• Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)

The department doesn't prescribe a method, resource or format. You can plan from the syllabus stage statements, outcomes or content, by subject or by theme, and you can use a commercial program. The draft policy keeps this requirement: the plan "must be based on the NSW curriculum (current NESA syllabuses)".

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4, Requirements for registration: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 3, Registration at a glance (primary and secondary curriculum lists): Registration at a glance (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 8, Primary education curriculum, Kindergarten to Year 6: K to 6 curriculum (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 5, Methods and resources: Methods and resources (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• Plan Builder (opens in a new tab) (free) helps you set out a learning plan for NSW and export it as a PDF. Check that the finished plan refers to the NESA syllabuses and covers all six key learning areas.
• Wattlewood Year Packs (Year 1-2, Year 3-4 and Year 5-6) give you 40 weeks of ready-made tasks. You can name them as resources in your program.
• Wattlewood has an optional box on each task record, for NSW families, where you can type a NESA syllabus outcome code. The app never fills this in for you.

Be honest with yourself about the gaps

• Year Packs follow the Australian Curriculum v9.0, not the NESA syllabuses. The two overlap a lot, but they aren't the same. You'll need to map the work to the NESA syllabuses yourself, using the NSW Curriculum website (opens in a new tab).
• AHH Year Packs cover four subjects: Maths, English, Science and Geography. History, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business content sits under the Geography tag, and each task names its real subject. Against the six primary key learning areas, that looks like this:

• Year Packs are for Years 1 to 6. There's no Kindergarten Year Pack yet, and nothing for Years 7 to 10. NSW secondary programs have different required subjects.

2. A program that suits your child's learning needs

What NSW asks. The educational program must be "suitable to cater for the identified learning needs of the child". Parents of children with disability and/or additional learning needs may adjust the program to meet those needs.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 6, Application and assessment process ("Preparing for the application to be assessed"): Application and assessment process (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• Where to start check (free) is a short, private check for Maths and English, Years 1-6. It suggests a starting level, which can help you describe where your child is up to.
• Every Year Pack task has Support, Core and Extension levels. Your child's level never changes by itself: Wattlewood can suggest a change, and you confirm it. This lets you show how you adjust the work for your child.

3. A system for planning, supervising and recording learning

What NSW asks. There must be "an adequate system for planning, supervising and recording teaching and learning experiences". The department says programs and records may be paper-based, digital, project-based or a mix.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 5: Methods and resources (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• Wattlewood with a Year Pack gives you the plan for each day. The evidence log records each finished task with the date, the level worked at and your note.
• Field Notes (opens in a new tab) (A$12.95) logs excursions on your phone and sends them to Wattlewood.
• Chore-to-Curriculum Builder (opens in a new tab) (free) turns everyday activities into recorded learning, which you can import into Wattlewood.

4. A system for recording your child's progress and achievement

What NSW asks. There must be "an adequate system for recording the child's progress and achievement". The department's records page suggests several ways to do this:

• work samples
• a record of outcome achievement
• digital evidence
• journalling
• your child's self-reflections

It also gives ways to show the program was delivered. These include annotating work samples with the syllabus content or outcomes, dating and signing work, and writing a summary of progress over time.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• NSW Government, Keeping records of your child's learning: Keeping records (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• The Wattlewood evidence log gives you dated, factual records of what your child did, including the optional NESA outcome code box, which you fill in yourself.
• The Wattlewood Term Report sums up each term. That can feed your own summary of progress over time.
• Wattlewood's skills map shows which skills your child has worked on.

Be aware. A Wattlewood task record has no photo, child reflection or curriculum code unless you add one. Keep your child's actual work samples, dated and annotated, as well.

5. Enough time for learning

What NSW asks. "The time allocated to learning is sufficient to allow coverage of the curriculum." Section 8 of the Guidelines gives a suggested share of time for each primary key learning area, and says these are guidelines only.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines, section 8 ("Guidance regarding time"): K to 6 curriculum (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• Wattlewood keeps a record of learning hours. That helps you show how time was actually spent.
• Each Year Pack is laid out over 40 weeks, which helps you plan the year. Remember to plan time for Creative Arts and PDHPE too, because the packs don't cover them.

6. A suitable home learning environment

What NSW asks. "The home learning environment is suitable for effective home schooling." The Authorised Person needs to see your child and your child's learning environment during the home visit.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• NSW Government, Assessment by an Authorised Person: Assessment by an Authorised Person (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help. No AHH product covers this. Describe your learning space in your own program.

7. Adequate resources

What NSW asks. "The identified resources are adequate to support the child's learning."

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• Wattlewood and its Year Packs are named, specific resources you can list in your program for English, Maths, Science and HSIE.
• Registration Pack (opens in a new tab) (free) puts your learning plan, certificates and residency evidence together into one PDF.
• For Creative Arts, PDHPE and the Technology side of Science and Technology, you need to list other resources.

8. Records showing the program was delivered (especially at renewal)

What NSW asks. "Records of implementing the child's educational program must be kept to show how the program has been delivered and how the requirements for registration are being met." At renewal, the Authorised Person reviews your proposed and current program, including records of implementation, and reviews records for each requirement. The draft policy keeps this requirement.

Official sources

• Guidelines, section 4: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• NSW Government, Assessment by an Authorised Person: Assessment by an Authorised Person (opens in a new tab)
• NSW Government, Keeping records of your child's learning: Keeping records (opens in a new tab)

How AHH can help

• The Wattlewood evidence log and Term Reports, printed or saved as you go, build up a record across the whole registration period.
• Use Save Backup File in Wattlewood (Parent Corner > Import & Data) regularly so you don't lose records from your device.
• For a step-by-step approach to getting ready for a renewal visit, see 28 Days (opens in a new tab).

Official pages we checked (5 October 2026)

• NSW home schooling: nsw.gov.au — home schooling (opens in a new tab)
• Guidelines for home schooling registration in NSW (contents): Registration guidelines (opens in a new tab)
• Section 3, Registration at a glance: Registration at a glance (opens in a new tab)
• Section 4, Requirements for registration: Requirements for registration (opens in a new tab)
• Section 5, Methods and resources: Methods and resources (opens in a new tab)
• Section 6, Application and assessment process: Application and assessment process (opens in a new tab)
• Section 8, Primary education curriculum, K–6: K to 6 curriculum (opens in a new tab)
• Keeping records of your child's learning: Keeping records (opens in a new tab)
• Assessment by an Authorised Person: Assessment by an Authorised Person (opens in a new tab)
• Consultation on draft policy: Consultation (opens in a new tab)
• Draft Home Schooling Policy (PDF): Draft policy PDF (opens in a new tab)

Official pages change, and NSW's rules are being rewritten. If anything here differs from the department's pages, follow the department.