Recently, Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll announced new powers for Victorian State School Principals to commence in Term 3 2025.
The powers will empower Principals to suspend students for “behaviour outside of school or online that puts fellow students or staff at serious risk”. Additionally, the powers are aimed at better equipping Principals to respond to assaults and bullying online, including the use of AI and deepfake images.
The question for independent and Catholic schools is not “should we have this power?” but rather “don’t we have this power already?”.
The answer is yes, you probably do, subject to a few important caveats.
Duty of care
Schools have a duty of care to students and staff. This includes the responsibility to take reasonable measures to protect from reasonably foreseeable risks of injury. This includes physical injury (students being subjected to physical violence from other students) and psychological injury (often as a result of bullying).
The increased recognition of the duty of employers to reasonably remove psychosocial hazards also underscores that schools need to be equipped to act on bullying and harassment online. See also our article on psychosocial hazards in schools.
Actions for schools
If non-government schools want to be able to act on image-based abuse and online bullying, there are some important steps schools need to be able to take. These include:
1. Ensure your enrolment contract actually allows you to discipline students for out-of-hours behaviour;
2. Look at the student code of conduct. Is it specific enough to be able to point to the type of behaviour you want to sanction?
3. Review your acceptable use policies, specifically considering what powers you have to look at, or seize, student devices. Consider your greater legal powers over school-issued devices such as laptops versus personal devices;
4. Review the behaviour management procedure to ensure it meets the requirements in the Minimum Standards which relate to suspensions and expulsions. Critically analyse whether you are locked into a restorative process that could prevent you from taking action swiftly; and
5. Ensure you have a School Safety Order Policy and Trespass Notice Policy to be equipped to take other steps which may be reasonably required.
How we can help
Moores Education and Training Team provides expert and responsive advice to many Independent and Catholic schools, as well as education systems, peak bodies, early years managers and incorporated ministries. If you’d like to discuss your school’s needs in relation to student discipline, please contact us.
Contact us
Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.
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