What is in this guide
There is no national BYOD rule. Requirements are set state by state and then, within that, school by school, which is why two families in the same suburb can get completely different device lists. The ABC has reported the confusion and cost this produces for parents each January.
Two things are worth knowing before you buy anything. Victoria has removed the requirement for parents to provide digital devices for primary school students, reported as saving more than $500 per student. And where Victorian schools do run a BYOD program, they are required to ensure at least one device option costs no more than $980 including GST.
Everywhere else, the answer is genuinely “ask your school”, and this article is about what to ask.
The layers of authority
State department policy sets the frame. Victoria’s Digital Learning policy governs student device provision. Other states publish their own guidance with varying levels of prescription.
The school sets the actual requirement. Individual schools have real autonomy over whether they run BYOD at all, what specifications they ask for, whether they offer a hire scheme, and whether they mandate a particular device or accept anything that meets a minimum spec.
The year level matters. Requirements typically start at a specific year, often the start of high school, and primary school requirements are less common and now less common again in Victoria.
The practical consequence is that advice from a friend at another school is close to useless, and last year’s list from your own school may also be out of date.
What schools actually do, in broad shapes
Full BYOD with a minimum specification. The school publishes minimum specs and you buy anything that meets them. The most flexible option for families who already own a suitable device.
BYOD from an approved list. The school names specific models, usually for support and compatibility reasons. Less flexible, and the reason a lot of parents feel they are being told what to buy.
School-supplied with a levy. The school provides the device and charges an annual technology levy. Queensland schools have offered hire arrangements, with one example reported at $250 a year for families without their own device.
School-provided, no cost to parents. Common in primary, and now the default position for Victorian primary schools.
No device requirement. Also common, particularly in primary. Schools maintain laptops, iPads and desktops for classroom use.
The questions to ask before you spend
Send these to the school in writing, ideally in November or early December rather than the week before term starts.
- Is a device required, or optional? Some lists that read as mandatory are recommendations.
- What is the minimum specification? Ask for the spec, not the model. A spec lets you shop; a model does not.
- Will a device we already own be accepted? An older laptop that meets the spec is free.
- Is there a hire or loan option, and what does it cost? Ask even if you do not think you will need it.
- What happens if the device breaks or is lost? Is there a loan pool, or does the child go without.
- Does the school require specific software, and is it licensed by the school? Software the family has to buy separately is a hidden cost.
- Is there any support with the cost? Some schools and states have assistance arrangements. They are rarely advertised.
- Does the device need to go home each day? This affects whether you need a case and how robust it needs to be.
What the specification usually means in practice
Where a minimum spec is published, it is usually about the device being able to run the school’s learning platform and last a school day. In broad terms that means enough memory and storage to run a browser with many tabs and an office suite, a battery that survives six hours without a charger, and a screen size that is workable for a full day of schoolwork.
Two things schools often care about that parents do not think of: whether the device has a physical keyboard, and whether it can run the specific assessment or lockdown software the school uses. A tablet without a keyboard is frequently rejected for high school on both counts.
Buying advice that does not depend on a model
- Do not buy before you have the spec in writing. January discounting is real but so is buying the wrong thing.
- Weight and battery matter more than processor speed for a device carried in a school bag all day.
- Buy the case at the same time. A device that travels daily in a school bag gets dropped.
- Check the warranty terms for accidental damage, which is the failure mode that actually happens.
- An older secondhand device that meets the spec is legitimate. Nothing in a typical BYOD policy requires a new device.
If the cost is a problem
Say so, early, to the school directly. Schools generally have more flexibility than their published list suggests, including loan devices, hire schemes, payment plans and hardship arrangements. None of that is usually on the list you receive.
The worst outcome is a family quietly going without or putting a device on a high-interest payment arrangement when a school loan pool existed.
Next: what a school device actually costs goes through the real numbers, and the back to school checklist covers everything else on the January list.
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