The Ultimate Aussie Guide to Picking the Perfect Tutor for Your Child

operations tutewiz
Apr 25
4 min read

Everything You Need to Know to Make a Smart, Supportive, and Successful Choice

Selecting the right tutor for your child is one of the most impactful decisions you can make to support their learning journey. In Australia, with a competitive academic environment and standardised assessments like NAPLAN, VCE, HSC, QCE, and SACE, ensuring your child receives tailored, expert support can make all the difference.

Whether you're looking to help them catch up, boost confidence, or extend their skills, this guide outlines everything an Australian parent needs to know to make an informed and effective tutoring choice.

In this guide from the editorial desk @Tutewiz, we break down the key steps to choosing a tutor who aligns with your child’s learning needs, personality, and academic goals — all with the Australian school system in mind. Let’s dive in and make learning personal, practical, and powerful.

Step #1 - Establish Your Child's Learning Goals

Before you start searching, it’s vital to identify why you need a tutor. Ask yourself:

Is your child falling behind in a particular subject?
Do they need help with study skills or exam techniques?
Are they preparing for selective school entry, ATAR, or NAPLAN?
Do they need enrichment beyond the school curriculum?

How would you, as a parent, be able to answer these questions? In order to establish these goals, you yourself would need to equip the right information and expert assistance. You will need to know at least the following:

What are the current scores or performance feedback for each subject being studied? What is going really well and what is not?
What are the key challenges or learning obstacles that your child is experiencing? What are they really good at? What do they most enjoy doing?
What are the educational opportunities in your state and nationally that your child is currently eligible for? Are there any opportunities in the future that you need to get started on early?
What are your aspirations for you child? What is your own unique insight?
What do you you think your child wants? Are they able to articulate their own aspirations?

This clarity will help you narrow down the type of tutor (subject specialist, learning support tutor, or extension mentor) and determine the goals you and the tutor will work towards.

📌 Tip: Involve your child in this discussion — understanding how they feel about their strengths and struggles can offer valuable insight.

Step #2 - Check Qualifications and Experience

A tutor’s qualifications and experience are vital. Look for someone with a degree in the subject area they teach. Some tutors may also have additional certifications or experience working with specific learning needs, such as students with dyslexia or attention difficulties.

Experience is a key element. Tutors who have worked with children of the same age or academic levels as your child will be better equipped to address their needs. For example, a tutor with experience of teaching secondary school students will be more familiar with the rigours of high school coursework and exam preparation, while those who have taught younger children will adopt playful engaging learning methods.

Tip #3 - What's the Vibe?

You must check the vibes with the tutor using a trial class. A strong indicator of lasting performance improvement is the rapport your child strikes initially with the tutor. You must ask your child if they found the interaction safe, engaging and productive. Ask your child whether they feel confident this will work.

Tip #4 - How do they teach?

In the trial class, examine the way the tutor conducts the class - do they start with listening to your child to discover what works for them and what their improvement areas are? Do they teach in a simple and experiential manner, incorporating many real world contexts? Do they engage as a friendly peer/buddy?

On the process side, how is regular planning and assessment done? Will you get a periodic progress report outlining the progress made during the month, assignments grading scores, qualitative feedback and next action plan? Will you be able to have review meetings or student led conferences with tutors periodically? Are they going to be accessible for discussions and inputs on phone/email/WhatsApp? Are they responsive to your feedback?

Tip #5 - Quality Orientation

It is really important to understand how the tutor will drive quality outcomes. It is often difficult to assess freelance individual tutors. But when they are backed by an academic team, digital tools and formal review processes, the decision becomes easier.

So when you pick a tutor, you should not only understand their pedigree, but also the supporting cast that they bring in in terms of people, processes and resources. This increases the level of trust and reliability when it comes to choosing the right Tutor.

Explore Tutewiz Today!

Tutewiz has thought deeply about the challenges we face as parents and attempted to address all these aspects. Our experts coupled with our "buddy" philosophy, streamlined processes, and digital support provides the right environment for our students to succeed.

You can get a FREE Assessment to see tutors in action. You can also visit our specialized exam prep sites: