Declining a Student from Participating, Managing Information Collection, Sharing & Privacy, Medication Management, Risk Warnings, Consent Forms & Waivers
| Date | 31 March 2025 |
| Time | 12.00pm-4.25pm AEDT (Syd/Mel time) |
| Venue | Live Online with recording (recording access expires 1 May 2025) |
| Pricing | $440 Prices includes gst. |
| Sector | Non-State Schools |
| CPD | Addresses 7.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. |
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Program
12.00 LawSense Welcome
12.05 Chairperson’s Introduction
12.10 Declining a Student from Participating in an Excursion, Camp or Trip – Examining Defensible Reasons, Including Navigating Discrimination
Exploring Basis Upon Which You Can Consider Declining Student Participation
- Behaviour and performance
- Disability – unable to make reasonable adjustments and unjustifiable hardship
- Parent/carer failure to provide adequate information
Outlining the Relevant Legal Framework
- Reviewing the current laws affecting students with a disability participating in excursions, camps and trips
- Outlining the school’s rights and obligations where there is no disability
- Examining the school’s rights and obligations to require information about students and staff
Declining Participation Based on Reasonable Adjustments and Unjustifiable Hardship
- Examining when you can participation based on inability to make reasonable adjustments for unjustifiable hardship. What is ’unjustifiable’?
- Balancing the impact on:
- other students – to what extent does this factor into ‘unjustifiable hardship’ or ‘reasonable’ adjustments?
- impacts on staff – understanding what to consider
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- factoring in limitations on resources as a result of already supporting a number of students with a disability
Parents Not Disclosing or Providing Adequate Information
- Exploring your rights and options to decline participation where you consider the parents/guardian are not cooperating or providing adequate or correct information
Implementing Effective Documentation to Defend Your Legal Position
- Examining best practice documentation and communication to support your decision to decline participation
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy Lawyers; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
1.10 Break
1.20 Managing Information Collection and Sharing to Optimise Risk Management, Meet Duty of Care and Comply with Privacy Obligations
Outlining Applicable Laws and Including Privacy Issues in Risk Assessments
- Outlining key laws applying to privacy, confidentiality and information sharing applicable to excursions, camps and trips
- Incorporating data management and privacy issues in risk assessments for excursion, camps and trips
Student and Staff Information to Request, Collection Methods, Medical and Wellbeing Information
- Examining what information you should request from students, including best practice forms/questionnaires
- Collecting and managing information about staff members
- Exploring special considerations in collecting medical or mental health information
- How should information be collected, including using electronic forms, signatures and requesting information from third parties
Access to Information Within a School
- Examining the elements to consider in deciding what information different staff or departments within the school should be able to access
- Exploring optimum access and sharing within a school of student information, including access to and sharing of:
- wellbeing and medical information about a student
- disability related information and assessments
Sharing Information with External Providers and Recent Cases
- Exploring best practice in providing information to external providers where the student has a chronic condition or disability, including:
- assessing what information is required to meet risks
- obtaining, managing and sharing input or information from medical or wellbeing professionals
- sharing student management plans, including medication management plans
- learnings from recent coronial cases
- Examining obligations in protecting information provided to external providers:
- assessing risks of data and privacy breaches involving external suppliers
- what should you require of the external provider regarding data management, security and sharing?
- clauses to include in the contract with the external supplier
Implementing Effective Clauses in Consent Forms for Collection and Management of Information, Photos and Social Media
- Examining best practice consent forms/clauses:
- what should be included?
- how should you deal with photos and social media?
Jason Newman, Principal, Gilchrist Connell Lawyers
2.20 Break
2.30 Exploring Best Practice Medication Management on Excursions, Camps and Trips
Outline of Key Relevant Laws
- Understanding key laws relevant to medication management in schools
Students Self-Administering
- Exploring obligations where students self-administer medication:
- when should you allow this
- to what extent should you monitor students to ensure they have the relevant medication and are taking the medication
Administration of Medicines by Staff
- Examining the rights, obligations and risks in allowing medication administration by non-clinical staff
- Exploring the level of qualifications or training non-clinical staff should have
Chronic Conditions and Exploring Limits of Reasonable Adjustments
- Students with a disability, chronic illness or medication requirements:
- exploring the limits of reasonable adjustments required regarding medication on school camps
- learning from case studies, scenarios and work-arounds involving medication management
Monitoring Side Effects and Panning Regarding Adverse Effects or Medication Errors
- Examining obligations to monitor side effect or adverse effects of medication
- Obtaining information and planning for side-effects, adverse reactions or errors
Storage of Medicines
- Examining key legal requirements in medication storage and implementing best practice
Nevena Brown, Consultant, Health and Insurance, Meridian Lawyers
3.20 Implementing Effective Risk Warnings and Consent Forms and Navigating Waivers for The School and From External Providers
Limits of Legal Protection of Risk Warnings, Waivers and Disclaimers
- Outlining the legal effect and protection offered by risk warnings, waivers and disclaimers in consent forms.
Collecting and Including Adequate Information
- Collecting information to assist in risk management and the development of appropriate consent forms, risk warnings and waivers for the school
- Exploring what information about the activity and risks should be provided
Best Practice Wording, Examples
- Exploring best practice wording of risk warnings, waivers and disclaimers
- Learning from examples showing the extent of information required about the activity and risk
Waivers and External Providers
- Risk warnings or consent forms from external suppliers and venues – understanding how these should be considered and incorporated into what the school provides to students and families
- Exploring when you should “push back” on waivers from external providers and exploring work-arounds
- Learning from examples
Leighton Hawkes Principal, McCabes Lawyers
4.20 Closing Remarks
4.25 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include:
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.
Jason Newman's practice includes the defence of claims in the education sector. He has advised many insurers, schools and teachers on claims and potential claims against them. His clients include Catholic Church Insurances, several major brokers and Lloyds Syndicates.
Nevena Brown brings a common-sense confidence to her work, and more than 25 years’ experience. Her experience with liability claims is enhanced from having worked as a senior solicitor at NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd for five years. Nevena has advised and defended claims for GIO General Ltd, Vero Insurance, NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd, QBE Europe and other major insurers.
Leighton Hawkes commenced his career in claims management and other technical roles with a major Australian insurance, working on claims for the NSW Treasury Managed Fund (TMF). Leighton has acted for the NSW Department of Education for a significant number of years. Presently he acts in a diverse range of matters, including claims arising from public liability, property damage to NSW schools, historical sexual abuse, discrimination (employee and disability), and Coronial enquiries.