New Zealand’s Ministry of Education has admitted, in its official documents, that it did not consult homeschooling families before proposing amendments to the Education Act that would introduce sweeping new regulatory powers over home education.
That admission appears in the Ministry’s Regulatory Impact Statement, dated 23 March 2026: “Due to time constraints, no consultation on this specific proposal has occurred with home educators, or their representative associations.”
The document then states that consultation will happen only AFTER the Bill passes and regulations are developed. Legislate first. Ask families later.
That is the approach the Ministry of Education has taken toward thousands of New Zealand parents who have made real sacrifices to educate their children at home. Parents who, in many cases, have stepped up because the state schooling system failed their child.
Homeschooling in New Zealand has roughly doubled in recent years. Contrary to how homeschooling is sometimes portrayed in the media, homeschooling families and communities are not fringe. They are mothers and fathers who have taken their duty seriously to raise and educate their children, according to their values, beliefs, and intimate knowledge of their children’s individual needs.
Many choose home education because the state system does not always sufficiently meet the needs of children who are neurodiverse, anxious, bullied, or learning differently. Others choose it because they understand that education is not just academic. It is the formation of a whole person – character, conscience, faith, and a moral framework for life. In a culture where schools increasingly struggle or refuse to affirm these foundations, many families have decided that the most important parts of their child’s education are best protected at home.
This is not an abdication of responsibility. It is the responsible, invested, and committed exercise of parental authority that every government should support.
Instead, this Government is treating these families with suspicion.
What are the proposed amendments?
Just days after the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill passed its Second Reading on Thursday, May 14th 2026, Minister of Education Erica Stanford introduced Amendment Paper 583. There was no public notice, no select committee oversight, and no consultation with families and home education communities.
The changes are significant. Currently, homeschooling families provide a simple biannual statutory declaration confirming their children are being taught “as regularly and well as in a registered school.” The system is built on trust in parents.
The proposed amendments would insert a new section 640A, granting the Government broad regulation-making powers to prescribe reporting requirements, assessment requirements, and most alarmingly, “any other matter” necessary for administering exemptions.
That final phrase, “any other matter,” is the heart of the problem. It is a blank cheque for future governments to impose curriculum alignment, mandatory standardised testing, or home visits, all without returning to Parliament for approval. Once the principle of state oversight is written into law, what counts as “necessary” becomes whatever officials decide. Mission creep is not a risk; at that point, it is a near certainty. We have seen this pattern before.
Compliance would not be optional. If parents fail to meet the new requirements, the Secretary for Education could revoke their exemption and require their child to return to the school system, and for many families, this is the same system that has failed their children.
Who bears the cost?
The Regulatory Impact Statement by the Ministry of Education contains several admissions that should give every New Zealander pause:
The proposed changes “will add an administrative burden on home educating families that is unlikely to be well received”, and “home educating families also tend to prefer less regulation.” The Ministry of Education knows this. It proceeded anyway.
And they’ve dismissed this administrative burden as “low.” Except for a parent already running a full teaching programme alongside household responsibilities, no additional compliance load is trivial, especially when non-compliance carries the threat of losing the right to homeschool entirely.
The RIS also cannot provide detailed costings for the changes it recommends, while acknowledging that additional staff and resources will be required. The taxpayer funds the bureaucracy. Families absorb the compliance cost.
Most telling of all: the changes are justified primarily by a Ministry internal audit and approximately ten ERO reviews per year. There is no robust, large-scale evidence that home-educated children in New Zealand are failing. No comparative analysis of home education outcomes internationally was considered.
Good policy requires a demonstrated problem and a proportionate response. Neither exists in this situation.
This is about more than just additional paperwork
We have long maintained that strong families are the foundation of a strong society. When any government treats parents as suspects rather than allies, it does not improve outcomes for children. If anything, it damages the relationship between families and the state that any healthy society depends on.
The family remains the most effective child-welfare institution in existence. Parents who have invested deeply — financially, vocationally, personally — in their children’s education deserve to be engaged with honestly and respectfully. Not regulated by stealth, and not ignored when they raise concerns.
Homeschooling families have been attempting to contact Minister Stanford about this issue since November 2025. They have received no response. In a democracy, such silence in response to citizens raising legitimate concerns about laws that directly affect them is unacceptable.
We are also mindful of the trajectory this kind of lawmaking takes. The RSE curriculum was introduced without meaningful parental consent. Policies affecting children’s well-being have repeatedly been advanced without families being treated as genuine stakeholders.
Amendment Paper 583 follows the same pattern: decisions made about children and families, without them. Parents, not Wellington bureaucrats, are the primary educators and guardians of their children. Any law that loses sight of that truth will not serve families or children well.
The Bill is currently at the Committee of the Whole House stage. We urge Minister Stanford and all Members of Parliament to take action before it’s too late.
- Pause Amendment Paper 583 immediately or oppose it
- Commit to genuine prior consultation with the home education sector and their representative organisations before any new regulations are drafted
There is still time to speak up
- Contact Minister Erica Stanford [[email protected]] and your local MP. Respectfully but firmly ask them to pause these amendments and commit to proper consultation with the home education sector first. Contact details for all MPs are available here
- Share this widely with homeschooling families in your community. Many are not yet aware that these changes are being advanced.
- Pray for wisdom for our parliamentarians, and for courage and resolve for homeschooling families standing firm for their children and their right to raise and educate them as they choose.
Homeschooling families are not asking to be exempt from accountability. They are asking for something every New Zealander should be able to take for granted — that when any government proposes laws directly affecting their family, they are consulted. That is not a radical demand. It is the bare minimum that democratic fairness requires. New Zealand families deserve nothing less, and it is time Parliament delivered it.
Also check out our latest article on why media coverage of the Tom Phillips case should not drive homeschooling legislation
