Australian students being homeschooled reaches 45,000 mark for first time

A major trend of the pandemic era and the cost of boarding schools has pushed these Australian numbers into record territory.

The number of Australian students being homeschooled has climbed to a new record of more than 45,000.

Numbers exploded over the course of the pandemic and have tipped over the 45,000 mark to 45,858 even with some states still to release their 2024 figures.

Substantive polling by large Australian homeschool provider Euka has found bullying and social issues are the leading cause of kids being taught at home.

A survey of 1066 parents and carers teaching their own kids at home found 23 per cent cite bullying as their reason to homeschool, followed by 22 per cent for academic reasons.

Bullying and academic reasons are the top two reasons for homeschooling, a large-scale survey has found. Picture: iStock

Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) say philosophy on education was their impetus, followed by 12 per cent for special needs or individualised learning.

Travel, lifestyle, flexibility around sport or other extracurriculars, religious or cultural reasons, remoteness and “other” reasons polled less than 10 per cent each.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Euka chief executive Brett Campbell said.

“Homeschooling has seen exponential growth nationally over the past few years and for a range of reasons, but the story I keep hearing from parents who join Euka is that they’re simply dismayed with what their children were being taught in the system,” he said.

Despite the survey finding bullying as the main driver of homeschooling, Mr Campbell pointed at an aversion to “woke concepts”.

The cost of boarding schools has become increasingly tough to balance within the household budget. Picture: iStock

“Most of these families wanted their kids to go to a traditional school but feel quite strongly they’re learning anything but traditional values,” Mr Campbell said.

“We can’t protect our children from everything for the rest of their lives, but homeschooling allows parents to regain control of what they’re being taught or not exposed to.”

In Queensland in particular there is a massive shift away from traditional schools. Homeschooling numbers have tripled since 2019 to more than 11,000. The bulk has come from secondary school students.

This year, NSW recorded a slight decrease, down about 150 to 12,114, and Western Australia spiked 13 per cent to more than 7000.

Queensland has boosted payments for students at boarding schools. Picture: iStock

South Australian numbers rose 6 per cent to more than 2500.

Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT are yet to publish their 2024 numbers.

“It’s not always or strictly about avoiding wokeism,” Mr Campbell said.

“Some families want flexibility to travel, to pursue a professional sporting or musical career or get a headstart in business.

“If they’re comfortable with the curriculums in the mainstream system, that’s totally fine; homeschooling is merely another option.”

This year, the Queensland education department increased the remote tuition allowance to $4000.

“We acknowledge the challenges faced by rural and remote families, including the cost-of-living pressures associated with children living away from home to attend school. To ease the financial pressure, we increased the additional allowance,” the department’s annual report says.

Originally published as Australian students being homeschooled reaches 45,000 mark for first time