When children enter school, they are not "blank slates" but come with a set of skills and knowledge. In the case of bilingual children this includes their home languages, which often go unnoticed in Australian schools. This chapter focuses on the role and importance of the home language in children’s development. We first provide an overview of the current situation of home language practices in Australia ("What?"). We discuss both the educational system’s struggle to accommodate the country’s linguistic diversity and the widespread belief - held by parents, the education system, and the mainstream community - that home language maintenance is the parents’ responsibility. We then briefly explore the implications of the resulting compartmentalisation between school and home and the social and affective ramifications for those involved ("So what?"). This leads us to reflect on possible ways forward ("Now what?"), including the introduction of low-cost yet effective initiatives that can help bridge the gap between school and home so that all languages can be supported. We argue for a shift towards a language-as-resource perspective that may allow children to benefit from their existing skills and knowledge, enhancing academic achievement and family well-being as evidenced by research from around the globe.