Law for School Counsellors & Guidance Officers QLD 2025

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Program

SESSION ONE – 21 August 2025 – 12.00pm to 3.45pm

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Opening Remarks

Sophie McKee, Lead Counsellor, St Peter’s Lutheran College

12.10    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

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 Gary Banks, Principal Clinical Psychologist and Managing Director, Sydney Counselling Centre; Authorised Clinician, NSW Children’s Court; Approved Clinician (Family Reports and Single Expert Reports); Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Provider

1.10      Break

1.25      Family Conflict: Navigating Parent Separation, Recent Family Law Changes, Domestic Violence Orders and Subpoenas

Understanding Agreements and Court Orders

• Understanding agreements that can be made between parents and the limits of the obligations they can impose
• Outlining how Family Court Orders can:
  • dictate the obligations of parents, including consequences of non- compliance
  • impact school obligations
• Examining the impacts of recent legislative changes including those regarding:
  • the making and varying of parenting orders and what is considered
  • removal of the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility
  • enforcement of parenting orders
  • introduction of ‘harmful proceedings orders’
  • requirement for Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL) to meet with a child and give the child an opportunity to express a view
• 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
  • understanding parent rights and responsibilities where there are no court orders or any written agreement/arrangement
• Learning from examples of different Court Orders and Parenting Plans

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

• Examining common orders made in DVO’s 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 DVO is current?
• Understanding your obligations where you suspect domestic violence or coercive control
• What evidence do you require before escalating/reporting?

Parent Separation – Consent to Counselling and Rights to Information

• Exploring what parent can consent to student counselling where there is family separation
• When do you need consent from both parents?
• Understanding parent rights to information where there are no Court orders:
  • should information provided to one separated parent about counselling be provided to the other? What if the student or other parent objects?

Objecting to Subpoenas/Information Requests

• Examining key considerations in deciding to object to production of subpoenaed documents or information requests
• Dealing with the subpoenaing party lawyers to reduce the scope of documents caught by the subpoena
• Understanding options to legally object to a subpoena, reduce its scope or limit access to 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?
• Obtaining payment for time spent and photocopying to deal with a subpoena

Eustacia Yates, Special Counsel, Vocare Law (formerly Corney & Lind Lawyers)

2.25      Break

2.40      Disclosure of Student Counselling Information: Navigating Consent and Examining When You Can Share Within the School, Withhold from Parents or Disclose Against Student Wishes

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

• Outlining changes in legislation, expectations and enforcement of privacy and confidentiality for school counsellors
• 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
• Navigating the wishes of the student or parent for the counsellor not to disclose or share information

Ownership of Files

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

Student Capacity to Consent to Disclosure – Mature Minors

• Examining the key elements of informed consent
• How is age considered in assessing consent in different circumstances?
• How does age affect considerations of consent where the student is between 12 and 14?
• What level of information is required to make it “informed” when dealing with mature minors?

Sharing Information Within the School

• Understanding the extent to which you can share information with teachers and school leaders without consent.
• Sharing reports from external experts
• Exploring “work-arounds” you can implement to address the school’s duty of care, but preserve privacy and confidentiality obligations

Sharing Information Outside the School

• Sharing information under applicable legislative sharing provisions
• Sharing information with external experts

Providing Information to Parents/Guardians Without Student Consent

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

Tracey Jessie, Principal, Jessie Lawyers; Former Principal, Education Queensland

3.40      Closing Remarks

3.45      Session Close

SESSION TWO – 28 August 2025 – 12.00pm to 2.30pm

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Opening Remarks

Brian Day, A/Manager Guidance Services, Metropolitan Region, Department of Education Queensland; Past President, Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association (QGCA)

12.10    AI Update: Understanding Evolving AI Use Options for School Counsellors, Ensuring Legal Compliance and Managing Risk

Reviewing AI Applications for Counsellors Including for Efficiency and Usefulness, Security, Privacy, Storage Practices and Use of Data

• Exploring AI applications used in mental health for note taking, risk assessments and reports, meetings and other functions
• Reviewing the current AI applications:
  • how do they operate to provide benefits and efficiencies
  • examining how/where do the applications store and use data, what data protections to they have in place:
• Understanding how the applications are evolving and how this could affect school counsellors practice in the short and medium term

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

Privacy, Legal and Compliance Requirements

• Understanding options to use AI for generating notes, treatment plans and reports in mental health practice and how some clinicians are currently using the technology
• 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

• Running the privacy and legal compliance “ruler” over some AI applications currently available to counsellors – 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 for counsellors practice to implement

Leah Mooney, Privacy, Cyber Security and Tech Risk Lead, Willis Tower Watson

1.10      Break

1.25      Dealing with Harmful Sexualised Behaviours Between Students

• Understanding the role of the school counsellor in supporting the alleged survivor and/or alleged perpetrator
• Examining potential risks and conflicts where the school counsellor is involved with both students
• Understanding your duties where agencies will not act, or they close the case and you still consider there are ongoing issues
• Understanding the obligations and options where the alleged victim does not wish the matter to be disclosed, investigated or reported
• Balancing privacy obligations with your duties to other students and parents

Examining When Reporting Obligations to Agencies and Police Are Triggered

• Evaluating when legal obligations to report and notify police are triggered

Dealing with Police

• Police interviewing students or staff:
  • what are a school’s rights and obligations to participate?
  • what are the rights of the alleged student perpetrator and student witnesses the police wish to interview
  • supporting a student or participating in police interviews – key matters to consider
• Examining your rights and obligations in meeting requests for documents or other material from the police
• Providing a witness statement and giving evidence to police – what is your exposure and how should this be managed?

Communicating with the Alleged Perpetrator, Survivor/Victim, Parents

• Understanding how communications between the school and parties can and has been used in evidence
• Communicating in a way that is supportive, but considers the legal position of the parties involved, including the school

Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director, Vocare Law (formerly Corney & Lind Lawyers)

2.25      Closing Remarks

2.30      Session Close

Presenters / panelists include:

	Dr Gary Banks is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, in practice for more than 25 years. In addition to a number of other clinical positions, he has been appointed to the NSW Children’s’ Court Clinic since its inception and as a Family Consultant to the Family Law Court. He has been a provider to the NSW Legal Aid Commission and the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for more than 20 years.
	Eustacia Yates is part of Corney & Lind Lawyers’ Family Law, Schools and NFP teams as Special Counsel. Eustacia she has worked in private firms in both Melbourne, Brisbane and Washington D.C., United States of America. With over ten years’ experience exclusively in family law and six years working outside the law in communications and volunteer roles, Eustacia brings a broad range of both legal and life experience to help you navigate the maze that is the legal landscape.
	Tracey Jessie is the principal of Jessie Lawyers - a boutique law firm in Queensland. Tracey has over 20 years’ experience including 6 years as a partner in State and National firms. Before studying law, Tracey was a teacher and principal within Education Queensland. Tracey now advises a range of educational institutions, not-for-profit organisations and small to medium business enterprises.
	Brian Day is a dedicated professional with over 20 years of experience in the education sector. He is currently a Senior Guidance Officer for the Department of Education Queensland, Metropolitan Region, specialising in the developmental and primary school sector. He has worked in regional and remote regions of Queensland and New South Wales and has interests in mental health and wellbeing, learning disabilities, engagement and making a positive difference in the lives of children and young people.
	Leah Mooney is a cyber security and privacy professional best known for helping organisations to identify and understand cyber risk, data breach management and cyber resilience planning. Leah is a legal consultant for MinterEllison. As part of this role she coaches clients affected by data breaches in the strategic management of their legal and regulatory obligations.
	Alistair Macpherson focuses on legal issues affecting schools, non-profit entities and other corporate clients. Alistair has personally appeared in numerous Tribunals and Courts as advocate for schools and other clients. Alistair is also a Board Member of Queensland Baptists, which engages in, amongst other things, in schools and other charitable activities

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