Parents of NSW public primary school students will no longer be told to buy expensive laptops or tablets, with “bring your own device” (BYOD) requirements to end from 2027.
The NSW Government says the change will help improve educational outcomes and limit excessive screen use among young children.
“Kids are spending too much time staring at screens both inside and outside class,” said Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns.
“These changes mean they’ll be spending more time reading books, writing and learning the basics and parents won’t have to shell out for expensive devices.”
Children attending Kindergarten orientation at NSW public schools will also be given books from 2027, to encourage a love of reading before they start school.
At public high schools, BYOD will remain voluntary. Schools will be reminded that students cannot be required to bring their own devices and that alternatives must be available.
“Families are doing it tough and the Minns Labor Government is listening,” said Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car.
“There is no need for parents to fork out over a thousand dollars on an expensive laptop or tablet for their child this Christmas because of a BYOD requirement at their public school.”
A recent Macquarie University report, funded through the Government’s Screen Use and Addiction Research Fund, found screens can be a major source of distraction. It found 84 per cent of high school students and 57 per cent of primary school students reported being distracted when using screens in class.
According to the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, Australian students are nearly twice as likely as the OECD average to spend more than two hours a day using digital devices for learning, while academic results are falling.
“The evidence is clear that too much screen time is distracting kids from learning,” Mr Minns said.
“Just because technology is available doesn’t mean it has to replace what we know works, reading from books and writing.”
The change lines up with new screen use guidelines for public schools, which will be recommended from Day 1, Term 1, 2027 and mandatory from 2028.
The guidelines will limit screen use to an average of 15 minutes a day for Kindergarten to Year 2, up to 45 minutes for Years 5 and 6, a quarter of weekly lesson time for Years 7 to 10, and half for Years 11 and 12. There will be exemptions and adjustments for disability or additional needs, and for subjects where screens are essential.
Parents should expect to see most homework done offline, with no screen-based homework before Year 5. From Year 5, screen-based homework should only be set where it works better for learning than the alternative.
“Learning to write by hand is important for brain development and recall, reading from paper is better for the eyes and brain, talking with teachers and classmates helps learning in ways that aren’t available through a screen,” Ms Car said.
BYOD use will be monitored and evaluated throughout 2027 to inform future policy. Digital literacy remains part of the curriculum, with students using school-supplied technology where it provides educational value.
“We want to improve learning and behavioural outcomes, which means less screen time,” Ms Car said.
“By removing this classroom distraction, we can also relieve some financial pressure on families heading into Christmas.”
“So we’re getting back to basics – putting books back in kids’ hands, pens on paper and making sure screens are only used when they actually help students learn,” Mr Minns said.
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