A note about head lice coming home from school is a very ordinary thing, and it says nothing about your child’s hair or your home. NSW Health states plainly that an infestation “is not the result of dirty hair or poor hygiene”, and that’s worth holding on to if the note arrived with a bit of a jolt.

You might find that one small step is enough for tonight. Sit your child somewhere with good light, put some white conditioner through dry hair, and comb it through slowly to see what’s there. It’s okay if you can’t tell what you’re looking at on the first go, or if you’d rather do it in the morning. And it’s okay if the bigger question, whether your child has to stay home, can wait until you’ve had a look at your own state’s guidance and your school’s note. This article is general information, not medical advice, and it covers what the government pages say so you can do exactly that.

Why Victoria, NSW and Queensland say different things

Three government pages give three slightly different lines. None of them describes different lice. They describe different school policies.

Notice that Victoria’s rule and the other two aren’t as far apart in practice as they first look. Victoria sends a note home at the end of the day and lets the child come back once treatment has started, which means a child isn’t kept out for days. NSW and Queensland keep children in class, and Queensland leaves room for a parent who wants to start treatment straight away.

The difference sits in school policy, and not in lice biology. In Victoria the rule comes from regulations that cover primary schools and children’s services, and the Department of Health explains how it reads them. In NSW and Queensland the education departments set out their own approach for their own schools. The Queensland line applies to state schools, and other states and territories have their own pages that this article doesn’t cover.

If your school’s note says something a little different from what you’ve read here, it’s okay. The pages above are the state-level guidance, and the school applies it in its own way. The simplest course is to read the page for your own state, and to ask the school which guidance it’s following. You don’t need to decide whether the school is right. You only need to know what it’s asking you to do.

What the health bodies agree on

Two different rules can feel like two different sets of facts, but they aren’t. Set the school question aside and the health pages say much the same thing.

Head lice don’t carry disease. The Better Health Channel says they do not generally carry or transmit disease, and the Victorian Department of Health says they transmit no infectious disease and are not notifiable.

They spread by head-to-head contact. They can’t fly or jump, and only crawl, which is why contact matters. NSW Health adds that an infestation is not a hygiene problem, and that lice are rarely spread through clothing, hats, furniture or bedding.

They’re also common in primary school. NSW Health’s frequently asked questions page, current as at 5 August 2025, reports that sampling in its Nitbuster program found more than 23 per cent of primary school aged children in NSW had head lice.

That figure is worth keeping in mind if you’re feeling singled out. A note home is part of ordinary school life, and not a sign that your family did something wrong. It’s a NSW number, so it shows how common lice are there and says nothing about any other state.

The health pages also agree on what to do at home, which is where the next two sections go. If the school question can’t be settled tonight, the home question still can.

Checking with a comb and conditioner

The checking method is the same on every page. White conditioner goes on dry hair, and a fine comb goes through it. The Victorian Department of Health notes that checking dry hair alone is of little benefit, so the conditioner is doing real work, and it’s worth not skipping.

You might find it helps to know what you’re looking for. Better Health Channel says eggs sit within about 1.5 centimetres of the scalp. The word “nits” gets used loosely, and in NSW Health’s wording it means the empty eggshells left on the hair. Shells aren’t the same as live lice, and it’s the live lice that tell you to treat. The Victorian Department of Health advises treating when live lice are found.

A few things might ease the pressure:

• If you find nothing on the first go, it’s okay to try again another day.
• Better Health Channel suggests tying long hair back and checking weekly, which spreads the job out so it’s never a big one.
• You don’t need to check the whole house. The sources describe lice as spreading by head-to-head contact, with clothing and bedding rarely involved.

Schools, too, are asked to keep it modest. The Victorian Department of Health says schools don’t need to run inspection programs. A visual check with no physical contact needs no parental consent, and a physical examination needs written consent. Queensland’s Department of Education says visual checks only, with no physical contact, authorised by the principal. NSW’s Department of Education mentions Nitbusters days, run by parent volunteers using a fine comb and white conditioner. So if a school asks to check, the rules differ by state, and you’re welcome to ask what they’ve planned.

Treating it, and the seven-day repeat

If you do find live lice, the pages describe two options. One is conditioner and comb. The other is an insecticide product. This article doesn’t name any product and gives no doses, because the label and a pharmacist are the right place for that.

Two timings are worth knowing.

If you use an insecticide, you apply it twice. The Victorian Department of Health and the Better Health Channel both say two applications, 7 days apart. The reason, per the Victorian Department of Health, is that no treatment kills all the eggs, so a second application follows. If the timing slips, it’s okay, and a pharmacist can talk it through with you.

If you use conditioner and comb alone, you comb every second day. Better Health Channel says to keep going until no live lice have been found for 10 days. That’s a long stretch, and it’s okay if it feels like a slog. It’s still one of the two options the page gives.

There’s a useful check built into the insecticide route. The Victorian Department of Health says that if the insecticide has worked, the lice are dead within 20 minutes. If they aren’t, “the treatment has not worked and the lice may be resistant”. That’s not a failure on your part. It’s information, and it’s a reason to talk to a pharmacist or doctor about the next step.

Two cautions come from NSW Health. Insecticides and other substances can have more serious health effects than the lice themselves, and swapping between treatments, or combining them, can cause irritation. So if you’re thinking of changing products partway through, it’s worth asking a pharmacist first. If a treatment keeps failing, Better Health Channel says to see a doctor, who can refer to a dermatologist.

Treating “just in case” does not help

When a note comes home, it’s natural to want to do something to the whole family, just to be safe. That feels sensible in the moment, but the sources say it doesn’t help.

Better Health Channel states that there is no product available that prevents head lice. That covers products used before anyone has found a single louse. And because NSW Health warns that insecticides can have more serious health effects than the lice, and that swapping or combining treatments can cause irritation, extra treatment carries its own small costs.

What does help is much quieter. Tying long hair back is one of the things Better Health Channel suggests, and a weekly check is another. A check that’s done regularly tends to catch a problem when it’s small. Neither takes long, and neither is a signal that anything has gone wrong.

If you’ve already treated “just in case” once or twice, please don’t feel bad about it. Most parents have. It’s just that the next step is a gentle one: stop, check, and treat only if you find live lice.

What parents and teachers say, and where it fits

Views on this tend to fall into three groups, and each has something in it.

1. A child with head lice should go home. Teachers in particular are often the ones who deal with a spreading problem in a classroom, and many would like to see a same-day response. That’s a fair concern, and wanting treatment done quickly is reasonable.
2. A child should stay in class. A common argument is that keeping a child out can stigmatise them and costs them learning, particularly since lice don’t spread disease. That’s the position that NSW and Queensland take for their schools.
3. Treat the same day, then return. This middle path asks for treatment straight away and doesn’t ask for days off.

Victoria’s reading of its own rule fits the third group closely. A note goes home at the end of the day, and the child may return once treatment has commenced. In practice, that delivers the quick response that the first group wants, and it avoids the long absence that the second group worries about.

A common complaint is that some parents don’t tell the school, which leaves teachers carrying the load. If you’ve had a note, telling the school you’ve found and treated lice is a small thing that helps every other family in the class. It’s not an admission of anything. It’s the same ordinary courtesy as telling the school your child has a cold.

One Step for Tonight

If you can only do one thing, you might find it’s enough to put white conditioner through dry hair and comb it slowly in good light. If you find live lice, the health pages cover what comes next. If you find nothing, it’s okay to stop there and check again next week. The rest, including the school question, can wait until morning.

Sources: Victorian Department of Health, Head lice, updated 31 March 2025 (https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/head-lice); Better Health Channel, Head lice (nits), reviewed 13 October 2023 (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/head-lice-nits); NSW Department of Education, Head lice, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/health-and-physical-care/head-lice.html); NSW Health, Head lice frequently asked questions, current as at 5 August 2025 (https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/headlice/Pages/default.aspx); Queensland Department of Education, Head lice, last updated 22 January 2026 (https://education.qld.gov.au/students/student-health-safety-wellbeing/student-health/head-lice)