| Date | 13 October 2026 |
| Time | 8.45am-2.45pm AEST (Brisbane time) |
| Venue | Live Online & Recorded Recording Access Expires 13 November 2026 |
| Pricing | $595 Price includes gst |
| CPD | Available for psychologists & teachers |
| Other related LawSense Events | See other LawSense Events For Schools |
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Program
8.45 LawSense Welcome
8.50 Chairperson’s Introduction
Brian Day, Senior Guidance Officer, Department of Education Queensland; Immediate Past President, Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association (QGCA)
9.00 Examining the New Code of Conduct for School Psychologists and Standards for Other School Counsellors – What Has Changed, Exploring Obligations Versus Guidance and Identifying Grey Areas
- Outlining professional standards applying to school counsellors who are psychologists and non-psychologists
- Examining key aspects of the new Code of Conduct and what has changed
- Exploring legal obligations versus guidance arising from the new Code
- Examining particular areas of the Code:
- understanding consent obligations and best practice
- supervision and code obligations/guidance
- understanding and managing requirements regarding cultural safety and responsiveness
- Updating policies to implement the Code of Conduct
- Examining the differences in professional standards between school psychologists and other school counsellors
Shannon Mony, Principal, Meridian Lawyers
Puja Menon, Special Counsel, Meridian Lawyers
9.50 Break
10.00 Case Studies: Navigating Disclosure of Information and Student Consent in Challenging Scenarios and Examining the Implications of the New Code of Conduct
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
New Code of Conduct
- Exploring the effect in practice of the new Code of Conduct managing privacy, confidentiality and consent
Ownership of Files
- Examining rights to files, including notes, diaries, and communications
Student Capacity to Consent to Disclosure – Mature Minors, Recent Cases
- 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?
- Examining recent cases regarding assessing Gillick competency (10- to 14-year-olds)
- Navigating student disability and consent
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
- Documenting sharing requests and what information has been shared
Dealing With Challenging Scenarios
- Navigating challenging scenarios, including:
- school leadership seeks access to your notes or details of which students are seeking counselling
- school policy now requires you to share information with the wellbeing team, however some members of the team are not mental health professionals
- managing a request for school counselling support from students where there have been abuse and domestic violence disclosures. How can the school respond without parental consent or putting the student at further risk
Tracey Jessie, Principal, Jessie Lawyers; Former Principal, Education Queensland
11.00 Break
Cathy Perkins, Head of Health and Wellness, All Hallows’ College
11.15 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
Fiona Manderson, Principal, Aloncaws Legal; Former Head of Compliance and Legal, Hillcrest Christian College
12.15 Break
12.25 Student Disability: Navigating Diagnosis, or Lack of Diagnosis and Developing Assessments and Reasonable Adjustments
Current Legal Framework and Proposed Reforms
- Reviewing the current laws affecting enrolment of students with a disability in schools including the requirement to provide reasonable adjustments
- Outlining notable proposed changes to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and potential impacts on schools of changes to definitions of discrimination and burden of proof
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
Annie Smeaton, Partner, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
1.25 Break
1.40 Exploring Best Practice Note-Taking: Good Versus Bad Notes and Navigating the New Code of Conduct and AI
Exploring Changes in the New Code of Conduct
- Examining the new Psychology Board Code of Conduct and how it applies to note-taking. How is it different in practice to the previous Code?
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
AI Use in Note-Taking, Including Under New Code of Conduct
- Understanding the existing law and guidelines affecting the use of AI, including the New Psychology Board Code of Conduct
- Examining your obligations in using AI applications and steps you should take in evaluating and using the AI applications
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
Confirmed: 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
2.40 Closing Remarks
2.45 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include:
 | Cathy Perkins is a psychologist by background and has over 20 years experience working in school settings. Cathy spent several years working in the Toowoomba Diocese, in this time working in rural and remote communities. She has worked in both primary and secondary schools in the Catholic and Independent school systems. Her qualifications include a Master of Educational Psychology. |
 | Hayden Delaney is highly experienced in complex intellectual property and technology transactions, intellectual property management and intellectual property enforcement - both in domestic and international matters. He holds qualifications in Laws and Information Technology (with Honours and Distinction respectively). Hayden is recognised as a Leading Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lawyer, 2015–2023 and a Leading Intellectual Property Lawyer by Doyle’s Guide, 2015, 2018–2022. |
 | Dr Tim Lowry is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and current national chair of the College of Forensic Psychologists. Tim possesses substantial experience in forensic mental health, risk assessment, and intervention, having worked across both public and private practice settings over the past 22 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. |
| Having worked across multiple roles in the Education and Not-for-Profit sector, Jessica Lipsett combines her practical experience and legal knowledge to assist institutional clients navigate their way through dispute-related matters. Jessica has experience conducting matters in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court, Family Court of Australia, Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, Australian Human Rights Commission and Fair Work Commission. |
 | Annie Smeaton specialises in employment, anti-discrimination and industrial law. She has extensive experience dealing with proceedings in the Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court, Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, Fair Work Commission, Australian Human Rights Commission, Anti-Discrimination Commission and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. |
 | 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. |
 | Fiona Manderson was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia in January 2005. She practiced in traditional law firms and Legal Aid Queensland for 15 years before leaving to undertake an “in-house” role at Hillcrest Christian College. Fiona has significant experience in family, child protection and domestic violence law, employment law, discrimination, defamation, consumer protection, and contractual disputes. |
 | 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. |