Taking the kids on an off-peak school term holiday will now be more difficult, under national changes to school attendance protocols. Holidays taken during the school term will now count as 'unexplained or unjustified' absences under the new Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) National Standards for Student Attendance Data Reporting (ACARA Attendance Standards). These standards were finalised in November 2013, but have only been recently been implemented.

The changes were endorsed on by an October 2014 communiqué of the Education Council (representing Education Ministers from across Australia), which stated that there was agreement on 'new measures' for implementing the national standard. These standards will enable consistent, national reporting of school attendance under the auspices of ACARA.

The effect that the new national uniform attendance codes will have on school attendance policies for schools in all States and Territories can be seen in NSW. With the release of a new policy by the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC), public school Principals will now have less discretion to grant leave for 'unjustified' absences. Family holidays will not longer be allowed under the 'Exemption From School' procedures. However, the school Principal will still retain some discretion in deciding whether an absence is justified or allowed, and the policy states that 'Principals should request travel documentation, such as travel itinerary or eticket, and ensure this is attached to the application'. Similar guidelines should follow in other States and Territories under the new attendance codes.

The changes in the Attendance Register Codes for NSW, which reflect the new ACARA Attendance Standards, and which non-government schools are required to abide by, also means that non-government schools will not have the discretion to grant certificates of exemption for family holidays. A non-government school principal would also have to be satisfied that a family holiday was in some way justified in order to record that an absence was acceptable.

The moves to stop holidays taken during the school term mirror similar action already taken by education authorities in the United Kingdom. The Guardian reported on controversial changes to UK attendance rules last year that allow schools to fine parents who do not have a school's permission for a child's absence. Court action and even jail time can result if fines are unpaid. The imposition of fines to deter parents from ignoring their child's school attendance requirements reflects the difficulty that schools can face when parents don't respect the rules around their child's attendance at school and instead, prioritise cheaper holiday rates over their child's education. And some enterprising European holiday operators have reportedly offered to pay such fines to encourage parents to still book holidays with them during term time. A similar 'fine regime' has also been introduced in Victoria, but according to media reports, is rarely enforced.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Stephen Zubrick, of the University of Western Australia, has found in a report that 'a 10-day period of unauthorised absence in a year was enough for a child to drop a band in NAPLAN'.

According to the Productivity Commission's Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage - Key Indicators 2014 Report, it is expected that 'data for all jurisdictions except NSW will be available for reporting according to the new standards from 2015'. It follows that these new attendance codes will be rolled out in other States and Territories throughout 2015.