FAQs

The vast majority of parents, caregivers, and other community members behave respectfully when they are visiting premises of schools, preschools, children’s services centres and approved education and care services and communicating with staff. However, a small number of parents, caregivers and other community members sometimes behave in ways that puts others’ safety and wellbeing at risk or causes disruption to the learning and working environment.

The proposed changes in the Education and Children’s Services (Barring Notices and Other Protections) Amendment Bill 2024 will:

• empower site leaders at schools, preschools, children’s services centres and approved education and care services (such as childcare and family day care) to respond to a broader range of circumstances, to better protect the safety and wellbeing of their education community
• strengthen the available responses, to help deter misbehaviour from happening or from being repeated.

No. The Education and Children's Services Act 2019 already gives powers to site leaders (such as school principals or the directors of preschools, children’s services centres and approved education and care services) to direct someone to leave for 48 hours and/or bar them from the premises for up to 3 months in response to trespass or misbehaviour.

The proposed reforms are intended to improve and strengthen these powers, and allow site leaders to respond to a broader range of misbehaviour that puts the safety and wellbeing of staff and students at risk, or causes disruption to the learning and working environment.

A direction to leave is an immediate, short-term response that can be issued verbally and/or in writing by an authorised person (anyone employed at a school, preschool, children’s services centre or approved education and care service, or a police officer). Under the proposed changes, a person who has been directed to leave will not be allowed to return to the premises for 2 business days. Directions to leave are often used as an interim safety measure while a barring notice is being prepared.

A barring notice can be used to bar a person from premises, as well as any other premises being used by the school, preschool, or children’s service, for a longer period of time. Under the proposed changes, barring notices will also be able to be used to prohibit a person from communicating with particular staff members or communicating on any online platforms set up for the school, preschool or children’s service while the notice is in effect. Barring notices must be issued in writing by the site leader (such as the principal of the school, or someone they have authorised for this purpose). Under the proposed changes, barring notices can last for up to 6 months.

Failure to comply with either a direction to leave or a barring notice has a maximum penalty of $7,500.

Anyone who is not an employee, or a child or student attending, the relevant school, preschool or children’s service can be directed away for 2 business days and/or barred for up to 6 months if the site leader (such as the principal of the school or director of the preschool) reasonably believes they:

• pose, or would pose, a risk to the physical, emotional or psychological safety or wellbeing of any other person while on the premises
• pose, or would pose, a risk to the physical, emotional, or psychological safety or wellbeing of any member(s) of the education community while they are on related premises, or while in transit between the usual premises of the school, preschool or children’s service to related premises to be used for an activity
• pose, or would pose, a risk of causing significant disruption to the learning or working environment, or activities being carried out, at the premises, or on any related premises being used by the school, preschool or children’s service
• have engaged in vexatious communication with, or about, anyone employed at the school, preschool or children’s service.

Site leaders have other, more appropriate processes for responding to concerns about children’s and students’ behaviour or employees’ conduct.

No. A person can be barred or directed to leave premises if the site leader reasonably believes that one or more of the grounds for issuing these responses have been met, regardless of whether that person has previously been warned about their misbehaviour.

When a parent or caregiver is barred or directed to leave, it doesn’t prevent their child(ren) from continuing to attend their school, preschool, or children’s service as normal. The protective responses in the Act are never intended to cause any disadvantage or disruption to a child’s education or care.

Barring notices may set out conditions about where the person is permitted to drop off and pick up children at the premises, and how they are allowed to communicate with staff to discuss their child(ren)’s education and wellbeing.

Everyone is entitled to raise a complaint or provide feedback, but this must always be done in a reasonable and respectful way.

When people remain calm and respectful while talking to staff about an issue, it helps ensure their concerns are heard and can be followed up. People won’t be “punished" for raising concerns through the appropriate complaints management process.

However, violent, threatening, intimidating, or abusive behaviour at schools, preschools and children’s services will not be tolerated. 

It’s also not acceptable for parents, caregivers, or other community members to behave in this way toward staff or other children and families in the education community. Instead, any concerns about the behaviour of education community members should be reported to staff at the school, preschool or children’s service as soon as possible, so they can take appropriate action and help resolve the issue.

Communications will be considered vexatious if they are unreasonable in the circumstances, and protective responses could be used to manage how that person communicates with staff. Examples of vexatious communication include an unreasonably high frequency of contact and repeatedly re-raising an issue that has already been addressed, which can cause distress or harassment and diverts resources away from other reasonable complaints and staff members’ other duties.

Staff will direct the person to leave the premises immediately (if safe for them to approach the person) and contact South Australia Police for assistance.

A person may be prosecuted for failing to leave the premises immediately when directed, or if they return within 2 business days. The penalty for that offence will be increased from $2,500 to $7,500.

It is also an offence to breach the conditions of a barring notice, and the person may be prosecuted. The maximum penalty will be increased from $2,500 to $7,500.

The person could also be issued with a new barring notice (with a new end date), or other actions may be taken such as placing further restrictions on their communication with staff of the school, preschool or children’s service.

Yes. They can apply to the person who issued the barring notice if they believe there are reasons for it to be changed or withdrawn.

If a person is barred from premises of a government school, preschool or children’s service for more than 2 weeks, they can also apply to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills for a review of the barring notice.

The person who issued the notice or the Minister (as applicable) may decide to uphold the barring notice, vary its conditions, or revoke it. All conditions of the barring notice continue to apply while a review is undertaken.