Page 4787 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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The bill in its original form would not only have put every application at the mercy of the director-general’s discretion but it also had an uncertain time frame in which their application could be granted. We all know for how long bureaucratic time frames tend to blow out. The idea of introducing discretion to grant registration would, in their minds, allow an opportunity for the government to wilfully and capriciously deny home educators the chance to remove their child from school or drag out the time it takes to register.
It has taken almost two years and significant consultation with the community for the government to reach even this point in the legislative process. In this chamber we all understand the rules of administrative decision-making and that the government is bound by them and that a truly capricious decision is cause for appeal. But it begs the question as to why so many parents are concerned they will be the victim of such poor decisions that they may be forced to appeal. Of course, if they are required to do so, the time, resources and money it takes to undertake that process, in itself, is not an ideal outcome.
What was once a very short and simple bill has had a number of amendments made to it as a direct result of the opposition’s advocacy after consulting at length with the home education community. Although the government has been unwilling to move on the idea of abolishing provisional registration, there have been some advancements in a manner which we believe has brought us to a middle ground.
The government has introduced a time frame within which the decision to grant home education registration must be made and that the director-general must agree to the registration if satisfied that the terms of registration will be satisfied. This is good as it provides parents with certainty.
The application up until the closure of the 28-day window is intended to qualify as a reasonable excuse for a child not attending school. However, after the opposition’s consultation with the home education community, the Canberra Liberals have chosen to move an amendment to clarify this provision. That will be moved in the detail stage.
We are disappointed that the government identified a significant flaw in the home education system, alerted the chamber and the Canberra community to the issue in the form of a poorly consulted-on piece of legislation and then allowed the issue to go on unremedied for over two years. This not only exposed the flaw to the public but also exposed home educators to a prolonged and highly stressful period of indecision.
Given the amendments being brought by the government to their own bill and after much consultation with home educators the Canberra Liberals will be supporting the amended bill, but we will also move some minor amendments of our own. We accept that it is not desirable for children to be withdrawn from school into unsafe home education situations without some form of directorate oversight, and that is a safeguard we believe is adequate. Putting this uncertainty to bed after two years is long-overdue closure.
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