Schools handed greater protections against bad behaviour

Schools, preschools and children’s services now have greater powers to act against violent and abusive parents under new legislation taking effect today.

The legislation broadens the circumstances in which an order barring an individual from an education and care site can be issued, as well as increasing the maximum length of those orders. Penalties for breaching an order have also tripled.

The legislative change follows a dramatic rise in the number of incidents of parental abuse, leading to a 200 per cent increase in parental bans in public schools from 2019 to 2023 over the past five years.

Latest data reveals that in 2025, public schools issued 107 barring notices and sent 206 formal warning letters. This is similar to 2024. More than half of all barring orders issued in 2025 have been for threatening behaviour, while five were issued after actual physical violence towards a parent, student or staff member.

Parents and carers were the top source of issues reported by principals that involved bullying (57.9 per cent), cyberbullying (88.5 per cent), gossip and slander (65.1 per cent) and sexual harassment (39 per cent) in the latest Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey data report in 2024.

From today, a person can be barred from an education and care site if they pose a risk to the safety or wellbeing of anyone else associated with the site, if they pose a significant risk of causing disruption to the learning or working environment, or if they engage in unreasonable or threatening communication with or about staff.

The ability to bar people for online communications is new and a response to significant concern about the increase in this type of behaviour without any significant consequences.

This will include anyone engaging in vexatious communication with, or about, a member of staff via any online platform, to ensure staff are protected when they are not at work. A barring notice will be able to prohibit a person from communicating in any way with a member of staff.

Barring orders would also protect from abuse or threatening behaviour at off-site activities, such as camps and excursions.

The barring orders can now be put in place for up to six months – doubled from three months – and apply within a 25-metre radius of any site where activities are being undertaken, for example camps and excursions.

The fine for a breach of a barring order has gone from $2500 to $7500.

Importantly, the barring of an individual does not prevent their child from continuing to attend the school, preschool, or service.

The laws have been co-designed with leaders’ associations, parent groups and community groups. They apply in all public, Catholic and independent schools, preschools, children’s services centres and approved education and care services.

Quotes

Attributable to Blair Boyer

Every child or young person deserves to have their learning environment be a safe space, and every staff member deserves a safe workplace, free of harassment, violence or abuse.

I’ve have been disturbed by the stories I have heard about some of the behaviour teachers and principals are experiencing.

Most people behave respectfully when communicating with staff, but we have heard from our educators that some parents and caregivers’ behaviour has worsened, and I will not sit on my hands and do nothing.

These new powers taking effect today are the result of listening to real world experiences of where the gaps in those protections existed.

They reinforce that we will not tolerate any violent, threatening, intimidating or abusive behaviour around children and young people’s learning environments or toward education and care staff.

Attributable to Prospect North Primary School Principal Russell Barwell

All staff, including Principals or other site leaders, have the right to feel safe in their workplace and unfortunately that’s not always the case.

We always hope to not need this type of protection, but when there is unacceptable behaviour, it is good to know that there are protections and support available.

There’s also been added pressure created by online abuse over recent years, so it’s important that this also includes the option for a barring notice as a result of communication in that space too.