New South Wales Consolidated Acts

EDUCATION ACT 1990 - SECT 23

23 Offence to fail to send child to school

(1) The parent of a child of or above the age of 6 and below the age of 15 is guilty of an offence if the parent:

(a) fails to cause the child to be enrolled at a government school or registered non-government school or to be registered for home schooling, or

(b) fails to cause the child to attend any such school at all times when the school is open for the child’s instruction or participation in school activities or to receive instruction in accordance with the conditions to which the child’s registration for home schooling is subject.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2) It is a defence to a prosecution under this section if:

(a) the child is enrolled at, and regularly attends, in accordance with the law of another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth, a school in the other State or Territory, or

(b) the child is suspended from a government school or, because of the child’s expulsion from a government school or otherwise, the child cannot gain admission to any government school in the State, or

(c) a certificate of exemption is in force under section 25 in respect of the child and any conditions to which the certificate is subject are complied with, or

(d) the child is participating in a program established by the Minister as referred to in section 35.

(3) It is also a defence to a prosecution under this section if:

(a) the child is enrolled at a correspondence school or other similar institution that is conducted by a government or other authority (whether or not of New South Wales) approved by the Minister and satisfies the requirements (if any) prescribed with respect to performance of school work, or

(b) the child was prevented from attending school or receiving instruction by:

(i) sickness, risk of infection or temporary or permanent incapacity, or

(ii) some accident or unforeseen event,

and within 7 days of the occurrence of that sickness, risk or incapacity, or of that accident or unforeseen event, the defendant gave notice of it to the child’s teacher, or

(b1) the child was prevented from attending school because, at the relevant time, the child was excluded from the school under section 42D of the Public Health Act 1991 , or

(c) at all material times the child attended a school which the defendant reasonably believed to be a government school or registered non-government school, or

(d) the child has not been absent from school (excluding any absence referred to in paragraph (b)) for more than a total of 3 school days during the 3 months during which the school had been open immediately preceding the absence complained of, or

(e) the absence from school was because of the child’s disobedience, and was not due to any default of the defendant, or

(f) a certificate is in force under section 26 exempting the child from attending classes at a government school and the absence complained of was authorised by the certificate.

(4) A notice of the kind referred to in subsection (3) (b), or a record of its particulars, is to be kept by the principal of the school and is to form part of the register referred to in section 24.

(5) If a child who is enrolled at a government school or registered non-government school has not been attending school regularly, the Minister may require the parent of the child to attend, together with the child, a conciliation conference with an officer authorised by the Minister.