Lightkeepers← All states
Your starting steps

Homeschooling in Northern Territory

Home education is legal in the NT. You apply online via Territory Services, but the program cannot start until it is approved — your child must stay enrolled and attending school until then.

Source ↗ · undated (via search index — verify before ship)

Your authority: NT Department of Education ↗
The standard

What's expected of your program

The NT is a firmer standard: all home-education curriculum programs must meet the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) requirements. You may write your own plan or buy a commercial program, but it must align with the Australian Curriculum.

Source ↗ · undated (via search index — exact wording unverified)

Registration

Your checklist to register

  1. A written curriculum plan.

    Source ↗ · undated (verify)

  2. Supporting documents: birth certificate, 2-3 photos of the child's dedicated learning/workspace, medical or court-order documents if applicable, and a Student ID photo.

    Source ↗ · undated (secondary source — verify)

  3. Agreement to a home visit by the Department as part of the assessment.

    Source ↗ · undated (secondary source — verify)

Dates

The timeline that matters

Registration runs for one calendar year. New families may apply any time, but continuing families must reapply by 30 November (for the 2026 school year the deadline was 28 November 2025), for approval before the school year begins around late January.

Source ↗ · undated (secondary source — verify)

After you're registered

Keeping it going

Keep evidence of your child's learning against the plan — work samples such as writing, photos, videos, audio and artwork — for department monitoring. Any non-parent tutor delivering the education must be registered with the NT Teacher Registration Board.

Source ↗ · undated (secondary source — verify)

One last thing

Confirm every detail on the official Northern Territory page

This is a plain-English roadmap. Your state authority is the source of truth — open it, and you'll recognise every step above.

Open the official NT page ↗← Choose a different state