| Date | 25 February 2026 |
| Time | 12.00pm-3.35pm AEDT (Syd/Melb time) |
| Venue | Live Online with recording - recording access expires 25 March 2026 |
| 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 Remarks
12.10 Denying Enrolment of a Student with a Disability and Examining Options for “Conditional” Enrolment
Current Legal Framework & Proposed Changes
- 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
Unjustifiable Hardship
- Examining when you can decline enrolment for unjustifiable hardship. What is ’unjustifiable’?
- Understanding the impacts of proposed reforms on the unjustifiable hardship exemption
Declining Enrolment for Lack of Information
- Exploring discrimination obligations and options to decline enrolment where you consider the parents/guardian are not cooperating or providing adequate information
Declining an Enrolment Based on Limited Resources or Impacts on Staff
- Exploring when you can decline and enrolment based on:
- limited resources, including limitations on resources as a result of already supporting a number of students with a disability
- operational impact or impacts on staff
Declining Enrolment Due to Impacts on Other Students
- Exploring circumstances where you can decline enrolment because of impacts on other students
Parents Not Concerned About Meeting Educational Needs
- Exploring discrimination obligations and options to decline enrolment where the parents/guardian do not care if you are unable to meet the educational needs or curriculum regarding the student, but just want them to be able to attend school
Disability Emerging After a Place Offered but Prior to Commencement
- Understanding obligations where a place has been offered, but the student develops a disability prior to commencing school
Disability Advocates
- Dealing effectively with disability advocates
Implementing Effective Documentation, Including Review or “Sunset” Clauses
- Entering into a pre-enrolment contract with the parents requiring provision of all relevant information
- Including options to review a student’s enrolment after a period of time
- Examining key questions you should include
- Examining best practice documentation and communication to support your decision to decline enrolment
Alishia Prpich, Partner, MinterEllison
1.10 Break
1.20 Managing Student Disability Emerging or Changing After Enrolment, Including Responding to Non-Disclosure of Disability and Reasonable Adjustments Case Studies
Ability to Terminate Enrolment for Failing to Disclose Disability
- Understanding your legal options to terminate enrolment where a disability has not been disclosed by parents/guardians
Providing Reasonable Adjustments:
Information You Should Collect
- Exploring optimum information collection – what information should you seek from whom
- Dealing with reports from external professionals provided by the parents or advocates. When should you obtain your own professional evidence?
Extent of Consultation and Communication Required
- Examining what constitutes a reasonable level of consultation. What information should be communicated to parents?
Declining a Reasonable Adjustment as Unnecessary
- Understanding the rights and responsibilities of the school versus health experts or parents to determine what the student requires to meet the diagnosis or disability
- Exploring best practice in assessing adjustments as necessary
Extent to Which You Are Required to Adjust the Curriculum
- 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
Extent to Which You Are Required to Change Activities, Excursions or Camps
- Exploring to what extent you are required to modify student activities on camps, excursions or events
Dealing with Challenging Scenarios
- Balancing the reasonable workload of teachers with reasonable adjustments, for example where the reasonable adjustment results in high parent contact with long daily emails
- Assessing and balancing the impacts on other students
- Managing differences in views between experts, parents and the school about adjustments
- Assessing whether you are required to provide one-on-one support
- Asking parents to cover some of the costs
- Managing circumstances where parents do not wish adjustments to be made or are not engaging with the issue
- An expert report suggests certain adjustments, but the school has no evidence of the student needing the adjustments
- Managing therapists attending classes to observe a student, including privacy issues and therapist reporting on issues outside the scope of visiting arrangements
Amy Walsh, Special Counsel, MinterEllison
2.20 Break
2.30 Navigating Grey Areas in Applying School Rules, Discipline, Suspension or Expulsion of Students with a Disability
- Exploring how proposed changes to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) could impact suspension and expulsion of students with a disability
Navigating Application of School Rules, Including Uniform / Dress Rules
- Exploring scenarios where schools are asked to make exceptions to rules due to disability, including uniforms/dress requirements, wearing of jewellery and makeup
- Understanding the extent to which schools can enforce rules without breaching discrimination laws
Case Studies: Discipline, Suspensions and Expulsions Where the Student Has a Disability Affecting Behaviour
- Outlining and balancing key laws applying to suspensions and expulsion of students with a disability affecting behaviour:
- laws applying to student rights and procedural fairness
- obligations to staff, including WHS and other obligations
- School discipline examples and case studies – assessing and navigating options:
- managing ongoing discipline of a student with behavioural disability issues
- navigating suspensions, including assessing how long the student should be excluded
- expulsion of a student with behavioural disability – key considerations and navigating pitfalls
- Effectively documenting steps, communications, and decisions regarding expulsions to protect your legal position
Insights in Managing Commission/Tribunal Proceedings Brought Against a School
- Understanding key aspects and the extent of evidence, including staff witness evidence, required in defending a claim
- Exploring and balancing all potential risks for the school and settlement options
- Practical insights and experiences in settling claims
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
3.30 Closing Remarks
3.35 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.
Erin McCarthy has over fifteen years’ experience in providing advice to employers and employer associations on all aspects of occupational health and safety, employment and industrial relations law as well as delivering essential information seminars and training workshops on key employment issues. As a part of a national team, Erin advises clients in all states and territories in Australia.
Jen Patterson has extensive experience as an industrial relations, employment and WHS law advisor. Jen has particular expertise advising schools. She has acted for the Association of Independent Schools in NSW for more than 20 years and sits on their Employee Relations Committee. Jen was the lead adviser to the AISNSW on industrial strategy for its member schools following the two most recent legislative reforms.