In 2013 it's estimated that there were only around 1,100 students being homeschooled in Queensland but that number has now jumped to more than 3,000 by 2018. It's estimated that around the country overall, there are roughly 20,000 students who are being homeschooled at the moment.

Homeschooling has been seen to be increasing in popularity as an alternative education option with families not only across Australia, but around the United States, Canada, in the UK, and elsewhere.

Parents are increasingly seeking more flexibility in their lives and homeschooling offers them an option to design a life that works for them and the needs of their own children. They can have more time with the children, more control over the learning environment, less worry over bullying, drugs, possible school attacks, and other issues, that they might have to worry about if they sent their child to school. They might have specific allergy needs and the parents want to keep them in a controlled environment that's safer etc. A homeschooling family cannot fit into one simply stereotype because there are a myriad of reasons for why a family might want to explore this education option for their needs.

The number of children that are now registered in Western Australia for homeschooling has reportedly jumped at least 65 percent in just a few years.

Some of the different reason that families in Australia are now choosing to homeschool:

• parents don't feel the children are ready yet for full-time schooling
• parents feel their children are gifted but bored in a traditional school setting, not challenged enough personally
• concerns over bullying
• parents are worried that children won't cope well with that transition into high school
• students might have difficulty learning
• a lack of satisfaction with traditional public schooling
• parents want more flexibility for travel or social reasons

The number of homeschoolers is rising in all regions of Australia, with thousands of new families becoming newly interested in this way of learning.

Of those parents who have opted to homeschool, some have noted that it's helped to reduce stress in their family, bring them closer together, and be able to help their children to find their individual gifts and flourish.

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