In-Person and Online Practical Day of Learning, Including Insight & Experiences from VIC School Leaders. Part of LawSense School Law & Separately Bookable
| Date | 13 May 2026 |
| Time | 8.45pm-4.45pm AEDT (Melb time) |
| Venue | RACV City Club 501 Bourke St, Melbourne AND Live Online & Recorded Recording available for both in-person & online attendees. Recording Access Expires 14 June 2026 |
| Pricing | EB: $695 Stan: $795 Prices include gst. Early Bird Expires 3 April 2026 |
| Sector | Non-State Schools |
| CPD | Addresses 7.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers |
| Other related LawSense Events | Part of LawSense School Law VIC & Separately Bookable |
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Program
8.45 LawSense Welcome
8.50 Chairperson’s Remarks
Nicola Forrest, Principal, Cornish College; Branch Chair, AHISA VIC
9.00 Navigating Psychosocial Risks, Proactive Obligations and Learnings from Schools Experiences
Recent changes in regulations have clarified definitions and obligations regarding psychosocial hazards, which can include high or low job demands, low recognition and reward, poor organisation justice, bullying and sexual harassment to name a few. This session will help you implement practical policies and approaches to meeting your obligations and provide insight into how other schools are meeting their obligations:
Changes in the Law/Regulations, Proactive Obligations and Interaction with Other Laws
- Outlining the recent changes to WHS legislation and regulations affecting Victorian schools including:
- examining definitions as recently clarified in regulations including, regarding psychosocial hazard definition, work design, high job demands, psychological response and a reportable psychosocial complaint
- outlining how it applies to staff, students and others interacting with the school
- understanding how the psychosocial hazards laws interact with other laws, including the right to disconnect, flexible work, positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination and victimisation
- understanding proactive obligations to identify and act to prevent reasonably foreseeable psychosocial hazards that could give rise to health and safety risks
- Understanding your proactive obligations and identifying key areas where you are required to implement plans to prevent psychosocial hazards
- Understanding what claims staff, students or parents can make against you using the new laws
Obligation to Meet Requests for Information [CHECK]
- Exploring new obligations to meet requests from staff or others in the workplace for information about the outcome of investigations/actions the school has taken regarding psychosocial hazards
Attitude/Action of Regulators to Date
- Examining the response of WHS regulators in investigating and enforcing requirements regarding psychosocial hazards. What have been “triggers” of regulator action?
Examining Best Practice Self-Audits, Controls and Learnings from School Responses
- Exploring best practice in identifying psycho-social hazards in your school:
- examining different stakeholders and how they may be affected differently – staff, students, parents
- exploring optimum data time-frames for identifying psycho-social hazards in your school
- consultation – surveys, focus groups and other tools including committee meetings, team meeting, networks and individual discussions
- conducting effective exit interviews for identifying hazards
- other data sources/audit tools and records available to schools
- Analysing and evaluating data. What weight should be given to different sources of data? What level of evidence do you need?
- Introducing, maintaining and reviewing control measures to eliminate (or minimise) psychosocial risks. What should you consider and how have schools responded?
- Updating policies to meet your obligations and expectations regarding psycho-social hazards
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
10.15 Break
10.45 Performance Management, Psychosocial Hazards and Claims – Effectively Navigating, Rights, Obligations and Unions in the Current Environment
- Outlining current laws applying to performance management in schools
- Understanding the intersection between performance management, psychosocial hazards obligations and workers compensation claims
- Outlining other potential claims by staff in response to performance management – discrimination, bullying, adverse action
- Examining the involvement of unions in light of new psychosocial hazards laws and focus
- Effectively navigating challenging scenarios, including:
- a staff member supported by the union, refuses to meet to respond to performance concerns
- a staff member claims they are not “psychologically safe” in response to questions raised or performance management processes
- a workers compensation claim is lodged in response to performance management
- other claims are made by the staff member, including bullying or adverse action
- communicating to the staff member that their job is at risk
- Implementing strategies to help:
- effectively determine, define and communicate the unsatisfactory performance to ensure the performance is actionable and must be addressed by the staff member
- optimise observation and assessment processes to determine and prove unsatisfactory performance
- manage processes to avoid claims, including regarding breach of psychosocial hazards laws
- optimise your position regarding claims by the staff member, including obtaining and assessing the evidence you need to succeed
- avoid the staff member de-railing performance management processes
Steven Troeth, Partner, Gadens
11.45 Reportable Conduct Investigations Update: Implementing Best Practice and Navigating Grey Areas, Obligations to Staff, Regulator Expectations, Drafting Allegations, Evidence & Interviews
Overview of Current Obligations
- Outlining current obligations regarding reportable conduct
Exploring Grey Areas
- Understanding grey areas in applying obligations including:
- significant emotional or psychological harm
- significant neglect
- evaluating borderline conduct and investigating internally
- enquiries, preliminary investigations to determine whether a matter is reportable
Interaction with Other Obligations
- Examining how reportable conduct obligations interact with other obligations, including where there are historical claims, duty of care, and other parallel reporting requirements involving other regulators/agencies
Expectations and Involvement of Regulators
- Understanding current expectations and role, in practice of the CCYP
Obligations to and Impacts on the Staff Member
- Examining your obligation in practice to the staff member, including:
- obligations of procedural fairness
- standing down the staff member
- the extent to which the staff member should be informed of details of the investigations
- the extent to which you can inform other staff about the allegations and investigation
- Examining rights and obligations where the staff member is exonerated
Framing Allegations and Investigations
- Framing allegations to meet obligations, including to the staff member, and to optimise the investigation
- Examining best practice reportable conduct investigations, including investigation planning, discussions with staff and interviewing, gathering other evidence, and assessment and balancing of the evidence
Note-Taking and Record-Keeping
- Ensuring you properly document processes and decisions, interviews/discussions and other aspects to fulfil obligation and preserve your legal position
Learnings from Case Studies /Experiences- Where Have Schools Come Unstuck?
- Learnings from school experiences and implementing best practice
Melissa Scadden, Managing Partner, Justitia
12.45 Chairperson’s Remarks
12.50 Lunch
AFTERNOON SESSION – 1.40pm to 4.15pm
1.40 Chairperson’s Remarks
Jenny Williams, Principal, Firbank Grammar
1.45 Redundancy and Redeployment Update: Examining New Law and Ensuring You Implement a Legally Defensible Restructure
Legal Framework
- Outlining the laws applying to redundancy and redeployment including understanding:
- the applicable legal framework
- definitions of redundancy and redeployment
- rights and options of the school arising from employment contracts
- obligations to consider WHS issues
WHS Obligations, Consultation and Involvement of WHS Regulators
- Examining additional obligations to consult regarding WHS impacts
- Examining the approach of regulators, including reviewing the implications of the recent prohibition order issued by SafeWork NSW on UTS
Redeployment and Recently Expanded Obligations
- Outlining current obligations regarding redeployment
- Examining how wording in employment contracts can affect a school’s options with redeployment
- Understanding obligations to:
- consider changes to how a school uses its workforce to create a redeployment opportunity, even if no vacancy currently exists
- create a role by insourcing work currently performed by contractors
- considerations regarding re-training
- Case studies and scenarios – managing challenges with redeployment in practice, including where a school has multiple campuses
Best Practice in Contracts, Restructuring, Redundancy and Redeployment to Avoid Claims
- Exploring key elements to consider in employment contracts to optimise the school’s position
- Exploring steps in preparing for restructure, including managing planning and decision making to navigate potential adverse action claims
- Implementing defensible approaches to selection of positions/staff
- Consultation – exploring best practice planning and approaches
- Identifying key considerations and steps to implement regarding redeployment
Alishia Prpich, Partner, MinterEllison
2.55 Afternoon tea
3.10 Effectively Initiating, Negotiating and Documenting Staff Exits, Including of Long-Standing Staff
- Reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of negotiated staff exits
- Examining key factors to weigh up in determining when and how to negotiate
- Exploring considerations in exiting long-standing staff
- Understanding the differences in negotiations involving executive and non-executive staff
- Managing circumstances to obtain a negotiated exit:
- exploring performance and conduct processes that support a negotiated exit
- how and when to have a without prejudice conversation
- examining options where the employee does not engage or “take the hint”.
- Documenting staff exits – key issues to consider
- Including and enforcing non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses
Nick Duggal, Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers
4.10 Chairperson’s Remarks
4.15 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include:
Nicola Forrest, FACEL, MAICD, is Principal of Cornish College in Melbourne’s South East where she has led the school in innovation, sustainability and curriculum design for the past 5 years. Nicola is the current Chair of the Victorian Branch of AHISA and serves on the AHISA National Board. She is also Deputy Chair of Ecumenical Schools Australia (ESA).
Ben Tallboys provides sector-specific, practical legal solutions to schools across Australia. Ben is a passionate and effective advocate for principals dealing with complex matters relating to parents, staff and students, as well as their own employment.
Steven Troeth has extensive experience in the education sector, including acting for independent and Catholic schools. He advises on employment, student and parent issues, including staff and teacher disputes, discrimination, bullying, cyber and social media issues, enterprise agreements and contractual disputes.
Melissa Scadden advises employers on the full gamut of employment law matters. She has a particular interest in assisting clients to take a proactive approach to building workplaces where people can thrive, rather than just mitigating risks when problems arise. Melissa has experience working with large private sector clients across various industries including education, local and state government, statutory authorities, healthcare, professional services and labour hire.
As Firbank Grammar’s 10th Principal, Ms Jenny Williams is a passionate and dedicated leader. In her 23rd year of Principalship, she has worked in three different countries and led four schools in NSW, New Zealand and Victoria, in both coeducational and single sex environments. Whilst each school has unique characteristics and culture Jenny has found that what is common across them all is the capacity and desire of children to learn and the fundamental importance of high impact teaching
Alishia Prpich has a broad employment and discrimination practice, with experience in a range of industries. Whilst her practice covers both litigious and non-litigious work, she has significant litigation expertise, and routinely conducts employment and discrimination litigation in a range of jurisdictions. Alishia routinely acts for and advises a number of schools and governing authorities on various education-specific and child safety matters, including reportable conduct matters. Alishia is able to provide her clients in the education sector with holistic advice on responding to a range of sensitive child-related matters.
Nick Duggal has worked in the area of workplace relations for the past 13 years. He provides practical solutions that enable employers to resolve employment issues commercially and expeditiously. His clients include publicly listed and multi-national companies, Government instrumentalities, insurers, Schools, law firms, human resources and labour-hire companies, associations and hospitals.