Tasmania School Refusing Withdrawal: What the Law Actually Says

You've decided to home educate. You've done the research, you're ready to submit your OER application, and now you need to inform your child's school. Then the principal tells you they need to approve the decision first. Or they want to review your curriculum. Or they request an exit interview before they'll "release" your child.

None of that is legal. None of it is within the school's authority. And knowing exactly why puts you in a much stronger position to handle it.

Section 20 Requires Notification, Not Permission

The legal foundation for withdrawing a child from school for home education is Section 20 of the Education Act 2016 (Tas). The requirement is notification — you must inform the school principal in writing that you are withdrawing your child for the purpose of home education.

That is the full extent of the school's involvement in your decision. Section 20 does not grant the principal any authority to:

• Approve or deny your withdrawal request
• Review or assess your home education curriculum
• Require an exit interview as a condition of releasing the child
• Request proof that your HESP has been approved before processing the withdrawal

The authority to assess your home education program rests entirely with the Office of the Education Registrar (OER). The school's role is to receive your written notification and then notify the Registrar or the relevant administrative authority. That is it.

When a principal tells you the school must grant permission, they are either misinformed about the law or attempting to exercise authority they do not have. Either way, the law does not support their position.

Why Schools Push Back

Understanding why principals sometimes act this way is useful. It is rarely malicious. The most common reasons are:

Funding. School budgets are tied to enrollment numbers. A departing student affects funding allocations. This is the school's administrative problem, not yours.

Unfamiliarity with the law. Many school administrators have never processed a home education withdrawal. Some conflate home education registration with the eSchool or other distance education arrangements. The result is procedural confusion dressed up as authority.

Genuine concern. Occasionally, a principal is simply worried about a student's welfare and handles that worry by overstepping. This is understandable but still not lawful. The OER is the appropriate body to assess whether a home education program is adequate — not the school.

Whatever the underlying reason, the legal position remains the same.

The Truancy Risk You Need to Understand

There is one critical timing issue that catches families out: you must maintain your child's school attendance until provisional OER registration is granted. Do not withdraw your child from school before you have that official OER approval in hand.

Tasmania enforces strict compulsory education requirements. A child aged five or older must be either enrolled in school or registered with the OER for home education. There is no legal grey zone between the two. Withdrawing a child without provisional registration means they are neither enrolled nor registered — which is a compulsory education breach, not just an administrative inconvenience.

If your child accumulates more than 20 days of unexplained absence, the Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) may become involved. This is a separate and more complicated situation to navigate than the standard withdrawal process.

The safe sequence is:

1. Apply to the OER with your completed HESP.
2. Receive provisional registration (typically within 14 days of application receipt).
3. Send the written withdrawal notification to the school.
4. Stop attending.

Some families plan a start-of-year transition and submit their OER application in November or December. This gives time for provisional approval before the new school year begins, so the child never needs to return to the classroom at all.

What a Legally Grounded Withdrawal Letter Looks Like

When you notify the school, the letter should be professional, clear, and legally grounded. It does not need to be long. It should include:

• The effective date of withdrawal
• A clear statement that the withdrawal is for home education under Section 20 of the Education Act 2016 (Tas)
• Confirmation that provisional registration has been granted by the OER (include the registration reference if you have it)
• A request for the transfer of the child's educational and health records

The tone matters. A letter that is firm and legally referenced is harder to delay or question than one that sounds uncertain or apologetic. You are exercising a legal right; the letter should read that way.

Note that the administrative routing differs slightly depending on the school sector. For government schools, the principal handles the withdrawal notification directly. For non-government schools (independent or Catholic), the OER uses an Enrolment Cancellation Form to notify the relevant administrative authority. If you are withdrawing from a non-government school, check the OER's current process for that sector.

Specific Pushback Scenarios and How to Handle Them

"You need to book an exit interview before we can process this."

Politely decline. An exit interview is not required by the Education Act 2016 and the school has no authority to make it a condition of withdrawal. You can say: "I understand you may want to discuss this, but the withdrawal is a legal notification under Section 20, not a process that requires school approval. I'm happy to provide the written notification as required by the Act."

"We need to see your curriculum before we can release your child."

Decline. The OER is the only body with authority to assess your home education program. You might respond: "Curriculum review is the OER's role, not the school's. My HESP has been assessed and provisional registration granted. I am notifying you under Section 20."

"Our policy requires a 30-day notice period."

School policies cannot override state law. Section 20 does not prescribe a notice period beyond the requirement to notify before withdrawal. Once provisional registration is granted, the withdrawal can be effective immediately or on a date you specify. You are not bound by internal school policy on this.

"We're going to refer this to the department."

Let them. The department's own policies are consistent with the Act. A school escalating to DECYP will simply receive confirmation that Section 20 requires notification, not permission.

After the School Acknowledges the Withdrawal

Once you have sent the notification and your child has stopped attending, the school is required to notify the Registrar. You do not need to manage this — it is the school's obligation.

What you should do:

• Keep a copy of your written notification and any response from the school
• Follow up on the transfer of educational and health records if the school delays
• Maintain your OER registration through the monitoring visit and onto full registration

The pushback phase is typically brief. Most schools process the withdrawal without further friction once they receive a clear, legally referenced notification letter. The problems tend to occur when families are uncertain about their rights and the school senses room to delay.

If the School Continues to Obstruct

If a school refuses to acknowledge the withdrawal, continues to mark your child as truant after you have notified them in writing and hold provisional OER registration, or actively interferes with the process, you have options:

• Contact the OER directly. The OER can liaise with the school and clarify the legal position.
• For government schools, contact the relevant DECYP regional office.
• Seek legal advice if the school's conduct is causing material harm.

These situations are not common. In most cases, a clear notification letter backed by reference to Section 20 and confirmation of OER provisional registration is sufficient to end the resistance.

Navigating principal pushback is stressful, but it is ultimately a paper problem rather than a legal one — the law is on your side. The harder part is getting the OER application and HESP right so that provisional registration is granted quickly and cleanly, which is what neutralises the school's ability to delay.

The Tasmania Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes a withdrawal letter template, a step-by-step registration guide, and the full HESP framework — so you can move through the process with the documentation that closes down pushback before it starts.

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