LawSense Law for School Counsellors VIC 2026

Registration

Program

8.45      LawSense Welcome

8.50      Chairperson’s Introduction

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Managing Director, Psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

Dr Emma Steer, Head of Psychological Services, Clinical and Educational & Developmental Psychologist MAPS, Lauriston Girls’ School

8.55      Case Studies: Navigating Disclosure of Information and Student Consent in Challenging Scenarios and Objecting to Subpoenas

Outlining Key Obligations, Including for Psychologists, Non-Psychologist Counsellors, and Social Workers in Schools

• Outlining professional obligations and difference between psychologists and non-psychologist counsellors
• Examining how current duties to your employer affect your privacy and confidentiality obligations towards the student

Ownership of Files

• Examining rights to files, including notes, diaries, and communications

Documenting Consent and Optimising Policies and Forms

• Exploring best practice in obtaining and documenting consent for counselling, including policies, notes and forms

Providing Information to Parents/Guardians Without Student Consent

• Exploring circumstances where you would be able to provide information to a parent without or contrary to student consent

Sharing Information Outside the School

• Outlining laws allowing sharing of information with other schools, agencies or organisations, and how the laws work in practice. Sharing schemes include the CISS, FVISS, and Child Link
• Documenting sharing requests and what information has been shared

Objecting to Subpoenas/Information Requests, Including Implications of Recent Changes

• Outlining circumstances where counsellors notes or files can be the subject of subpoenas – Family Court proceedings, family violence related or criminal proceedings
• Examining key considerations in deciding to object to production of subpoenaed documents or information requests
• Understanding options to object to or change a subpoena, including:
  • examining legislated exceptions relevant to school counsellors, including recent changes allowing objections to production in Family Law matters regarding Protected Confidences

• dealing with the subpoenaing party lawyers to reduce the scope of documents caught by the subpoena
• limiting who can access to documents
• redacting documents

• Exploring circumstances where you might object to a subpoena from the Independent Children’s Lawyer
• What should be contained in your communication to the Court regarding your objection?

Steven Troeth, Partner, Gadens

10.05    Break   

10.30    Case Studies: Exploring Best Practice Note-Taking – Good Versus Bad Notes

Principles to Apply

• Outlining key principles to apply in note-taking and record keeping by school counsellors, including:
  • level of detail or clarity
  • ensuring you cover key aspects
  • “loaded” words from which inferences could be drawn about the writer
  • recording conversations and dealing with hearsay
  • communications with external professionals
  • recording your hypotheses, investigations, conclusions and setting out the basis of opinions
  • making changes to notes after they were originally written
  • naming or referring to other individuals in case notes
• Using the student’s language or quoting others
• Taking notes, but also being “in the moment” with the student

Learnings from Examples and Case Studies – Good v Bad Notes

• Exploring best practice note-taking and good versus not so good notes in particular areas:
  • cyber bullying
  • sexualised behaviours/assault
  • anxiety, self-harm
  • case management of complex matters

Dr Tim Lowry, Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Silverton Psychology Group; Statewide Program Coordinator: Forensic Liaison and Community Forensic Networks, Queensland Forensic Mental Health Service, QLD Health

11.30    Student Social Media Update: Navigating Social Media Age Limits, Deep Fakes, Conduct Outside the School “Gates” and Impacts Such as Self Harm

Social Media Age Limits

• Examining the new laws regarding age limits on social media use, including examining exceptions
• Exploring the implications of the new laws for schools:
  • what action should you take if you suspect students are using social media in breach of the age limit?
  • do the changes provide further rights or expectations for the school to search student devices or monitor social media use
  • exploring impacts on the duty of care generally
• Updating school polices to deal with the changes in social media laws

Deep Fakes-Applicable Laws and Obligations

• Exploring how deep fakes have emerged in the school context, including “nudity” apps and other tools
• Examining the law relevant to deep fakes, including with AI generated explicit images
• Examining the obligations of the school where staff are the subject of deep fakes
• Understanding legal restrictions on the school copying, storing or sharing the offending explicit material, including deep fakes,

Schools Obligations with Activity Occurring Outside School

• Understanding the extent of a school’s obligations where the activity happens outside school including where material:
  • is sent by a student outside the school
  • is posted on social media relating to parties or events which are not school activities, but include students at the school

Student Self Harm – Managing Obligations and Exploring Best Practice Risk Assessments, Absence and Return Plans

• Outlining obligations where students self-harm or express suicidal ideation arising from social media interactions
• Understanding how assessments and plans can affect legal compliance or be used in legal claims against the school?
• Outlining key elements to consider:
  • exploring how extensive assessments and plans should be and who should be involved
  • developing risk assessments and plans, including considering all points in the day
  • absence and return plans – what should be considered and recorded
  • balancing impacts on other students and navigating parents

Adam Foster, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley Lawyers

12.40    Lunch

1.15      Chairperson’s Remarks

1.20      Student Disability: Navigating Diagnosis, or Lack of Diagnosis and Developing Assessments and Reasonable Adjustments

Rights of the School to Determine Adjustments Versus Experts

• Understanding the rights and responsibilities of the school versus health experts to determine what the student requires to meet the diagnosis or disability

Risk Assessments

• Exploring best practice in developing risk assessments, including, when they are required, exploring how extensive assessments should be and who should be involved

Support Plans/Reasonable Adjustments Case Studies – Disability Affecting Behaviour

Examining the Extent of Reasonable Adjustments Required, Assessing and Balancing Risk and Examining Options to Decline Adjustments

• Exploring the range of disabilities encountered by schools impacting behaviour or causing significant impacts of students and staff – ADD/ADHD, ODD and other behaviour disorders, depression/self-harm
• Learning from case studies and examples:
  • how should schools interpret and apply obligations to make reasonable adjustments?
  • how should schools approach determining the limits of reasonable adjustments required in each circumstance?
  • balancing impacts on other students and staff
  • managing experts: responding to experts, briefing, and managing school experts
  • determining unjustifiable hardship
• Managing consultation and communications with parents, other stakeholders, and advocates
• Documenting steps and decision making regarding reasonable adjustments to ensure compliance and optimise your legal position

Reasonable Adjustments Case Studies – Learning Disability

• Learning from case studies and examples:
  • optimising assessment of learning needs
  • understanding the extent to which you can make changes to the curriculum
  • exploring the limits of required learning support resources
  • implementing changes to the physical learning environment

Dealing With Challenging Scenarios

• Managing differences in views between experts, parents and the student about adjustments required and what is reasonable, including managing separated parents
• An expert report suggests certain adjustments but the school has no evidence of the student needing the adjustments
• Examining your duties where:
  • you consider there is undiagnosed mental illness
  • there is no diagnosis found but you still feel there is something
• Assessing the reasonableness of one-on-one support
• Considering partial student attendance
• Managing circumstances where parents do not wish adjustments to be made, despite the disability

Eve Bignell, Senior Counsel, Xavier College

2.20      Break

2.40      Conflict Between Parents, Family Court Orders, DVOs/IVOs/AVOs and Objecting to Subpoenas

Understanding Family Court Orders, Rights and Obligations Where There Are No Court Orders and Recent Changes Regarding Objecting to Subpoenas

Rights and Obligations Where There Are No Court Orders

• Understanding parent rights and responsibilities where there are no court orders or any written agreement/arrangement

Understanding and Interpreting Court Orders

• Outlining how Family Court Orders can dictate:
  • the obligations of parents, including consequences of non- compliance
  • school obligations
• Understanding and interpreting Family Court Orders and parenting agreements including:
  • Interim Orders
  • Final Orders
  • the difference between Family Court Orders and Parenting Plans
  • orders regarding parental responsibility and living with/spending time with one parent or the other
  • responsibility for day-to-day and longer-term decision regarding the child
• Learning from examples of different Court Orders and Parenting Plans

Challenges for School Counsellors – Consent to Counselling, Information Requests by a Parent, Student Wishes

Consent to Counselling

• Navigating circumstances where:
  • one parent agrees to the student attending school counselling but the other does not
  • the parents do not agree to counselling but you assess that the student needs it

Providing Information to One Parent or the Other

• Examining factors dictating what information can be provided to a parent or withheld from a parent
• Navigating circumstances where one parent agrees to counselling, but asks that you do not inform the other parent
• Understanding the role of the students wishes/consent:
  • when should student consent be sought in releasing information to parents
  • when do student wishes about parent information access override parent requests
  • understanding how student wishes should be documented where information is going to withheld from one parent or another

Student Wishes Contrary to Court Orders

• Navigating circumstances where the student does not want to go with or stay with one parent despite contrary Court orders regarding spending time with that parent

Family Domestic Violence Orders

Navigating Domestic Violence Orders and Obligations Where You Suspect Domestic Violence / Coercive Control

• Examining common orders made in Intervention Orders in the context of parent relationship breakdown
• Do they override other orders, such as interim Family Court orders?
• What steps should you take to ensure that the Intervention Order is current? Are you entitled to ask for a copy of the orders?
• Understanding your obligations where you suspect domestic violence or coercive control
• What evidence do you require before escalating/reporting?

Elena Totino, Founder, Director and Principal Lawyer, Safety Quality & Care Legal Services

3.40      AI Update: Examining Evolving AI Use Options, AI Wellbeing Chatbots, and Managing Student Impacts, Legal Risk and Compliance

Evolving Applications of AI

• Exploring the application of AI affecting school counsellors including:
  • note-taking and report writing
  • assessments including risk assessments
• Understanding the legal risks from the rising use of companion apps and students using AI for wellbeing
• AI governance: examining how AI used by school counsellors must work with an overall AI governance strategy

Ensuring Legal Compliance in Using AI – Navigating Rights, Obligations and Risks with Different Applications

Privacy, Legal and Compliance Requirements

• Examining current legal and risk issues in using AI:

• • privacy and data use risks
  • accuracy/reliability
  • contractual terms of AI software/service providers
• Understanding the application of existing law and regulation, including:
  • privacy and confidentiality, including privacy reforms
  • surveillance laws, use of recordings
  • contractual requirements in a platform’s terms of service, including examining the terms of
  • understanding The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Framework and application to practitioners

Reviewing Some Available AI Applications for Compliance and Legal Risk

• Exploring some AI applications used in mental health for note taking, risk assessments and reports, meetings and other functions, including:
  • how they operate to provide benefits and efficiencies
  • how/where the applications store and use data and what data protections to they have in place
• running the privacy and legal compliance “ruler” the applications – can you use them in a legally compliant way? What changes or “work-arounds” should you implement or request?

Examining Questions to Check / Ask AI Suppliers and Implementing Effective AI Policies

• Examining key requirements or questions to ask of AI supplier to optimise legal compliance and risk management
• Exploring optimal AI policies to implement for counsellors’ practice

Cecelia Irvine-So, Practice Leader, Moores

4.40      Chairperson’s Remarks

4.45      Event Close

Presenters / panelists include:

	Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's highest profile psychologists working in all forms of media. A successful author, speaker, broadcaster and mental health advocate, Michael works in private practice in Melbourne. Michael has a long career in mental health and advocacy with respect to youth including being a founding member of the National Coalition Against Bullying; he was appointed the Queensland Government’s expert on anti-bullying; and headed a NSW Government review in to the non-educational use of smartphones in schools.
	Dr Emma Steer works as the Senior Psychologist at Lauriston Girls’ School and in private practice at Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre. She has worked with children, adolescents and young people for over seventeen years in clinical and educational settings. Emma also works with athletes and performing artists. Emma is endorsed as both a Clinical and Educational and Developmental Psychologist and a professional psychology supervisor.
	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.
	Dr Tim Lowry is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and has completed additional postgraduate training. Tim possesses substantial experience in forensic mental health, psychological risk assessment, and intervention, having worked across both public and private practice settings over the past 24 years. He has provided independent opinions to the courts, QLD Parole Board, and the QLD Coroner, and is a member of the Panel of Assessors (Psychology) for the QLD Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
	Described as a 'workplace problem solver', Adam Foster advises in areas including on policy and contract preparation and interpretation, unfair dismissals, terminations, workplace investigations, general protections disputes. He offers experience across a range of industries including faith-based enterprise, education and health.
	Eve Bignell is a specialist education lawyer, with experience in providing practical and strategic legal advice to schools across all areas of law impacting interactions with students, families, staff and regulators. Starting her career in business roles in the defence and aerospace sector, Eve worked as a junior lawyer in private law firms practicing medical negligence, discrimination, employment and insurance law. Eve then moved to government law at the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, practicing primarily in employment law and human rights, before specializing in education law. Eve was an in-house lawyer at the Department of Education for 12 years.
	Elena Totino has been a practising lawyer for over 24 years. During this time, Elena has advised and supported children and young people, other vulnerable people, service providers, government departments, agencies and regulators. Elena's work has included as Principal Lawyer and Manager of the Department of Education VIC and as Senior Legal Advisor and Acting General Manager, Reportable Conduct at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.
	Cecelia Irvine-So is accredited as a specialist in Business Law by the Law Institute of Victoria. Cecelia works for a significant number of independent schools regarding joint ventures, corporate compliance, enrolment terms, and privacy compliance, including the new mandatory data breach reporting regime. Cecelia believes in best achieving change and compliance by drawing on the powerful values of each school.

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