NCHENZ Statement of Position

NCHENZ Statement of Position on the Amendment Paper 583 to Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill

20/05/2026

The National Council of Home Educators of New Zealand was disappointed to discover on 18 May 2026, the New Zealand Government issued a press release proposing changes to New Zealand’s home education laws as part of the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill (the Bill). Amendment Paper 583 to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill, particularly sections 5F and 51A gives the government far reaching powers to determine not only what regulations may include, but also the power to change these at any time in the future without consultation or parliamentary approval.

These changes were added through an Amendment Paper after the Select Committee process, meaning there was no public or sector consultation before they were introduced. NCHENZ has been attempting for the last year to meet with the Ministry of Education and the Minister of Education regarding home education matters including regulation and oversight. As recently as April, a suggested meeting was rebuffed until later in the year with the advice that these topics were still in the early stages of development. Thus an inclusion in the Amendment and alongside a fully completed Regulatory Impact Statement was a breach of the good faith that NCHENZ has been operating under. Further to this, statements in the Regulatory Impact Statement that “The National Council of Home Educators’ position is that all families have the right to opt out of mainstream education for their child and that they should be assisted to do so” alongside the statement that “it is likely that some groups in the home education sector would not want this to go ahead” mischaracterises our position on this issue.

The Council acknowledges that both the child’s right to an education and child’s welfare and safety are important considerations and should be protected. We strongly support home educated learners receiving quality education in a learning environment that is positive for their wellbeing. A high quality education benefits not only our children but society as a whole. We are not opposed to regulation to make sure our kids are safe, we are opposed to home schoolers intentionally being left out of the discussion.

As of now, we do not know what these regulations would require or how far-reaching they could be. For this reason, NCHENZ believes it is important to oppose the Bill in its entirety now while we have the opportunity to do so. We are not opposed to regulatory requirements, but they need to be flexible, relevant and made with consultation.

Signed

CJ Govan, Kylie Marshall, Chris Hadley, Gin Taylor, Cynthia Hancox, Sheena Harris, SandRa Timmins, Kirsty Prewer, Maharookh Sidhwa, Kylie McDonagh, Angela Tee

National Council of Home Educators New Zealand