Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards v Vandenbovenkamp

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal concerning an application to register children for home schooling. The applicant, Ms. Vandenbamp, sought to register her children for home schooling, but her former partner, Mr. Vandenbamp, did not consent to the application. A joint parenting order was in place regarding the children. The Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (the Board) had refused to register the children for home schooling, a decision that was subsequently overturned by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and then the Appeal Panel. The Board sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Board was required to refuse the home schooling registration application due to the lack of consent from one parent, given the existence of a joint parenting order. This involved determining the meaning of "joint parental responsibility" in the context of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) and whether such an order divested parents of their capacity to be considered "parents" for the purposes of the *Education Act 1990* (NSW) regarding home schooling registration. The Court also considered whether there was an operational inconsistency between the Federal parenting order and the State legislation.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that a joint parenting order, which typically signifies shared parental responsibility, does not remove the fundamental parental status of the individuals involved. Therefore, both parents remained "parents" for the purposes of the *Education Act 1990* (NSW). The Court found that the *Education Act 1990* (NSW) did not mandate the refusal of a home schooling application solely on the ground of one parent's objection when a joint parenting order was in place. The Court concluded that there was no operational inconsistency between the Federal and State legislation, and the Board had erred in its refusal.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, and set aside the orders of the Appeal Panel and the Tribunal. The Court ordered that the appeal to the Appeal Panel be allowed, the order of the Tribunal be set aside, and the application to the Tribunal be dismissed. The Court also noted an agreement for the applicant to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.