Staff Issues Day & Student Issues Day. Tailored to Laws Applying to QLD Non-State Schools
| Date & Time | 5 August 2026 – Staff Issues, 12.00pm-4.55pm 6 August 2026 – Student Issues, 12.00pm-4.55pm |
| Venue | Live Online & Recorded Recording Access Expires 6 September 2026 |
| Pricing | Staff Session: $495 Student Session: $495 Both Staff & Student Session: $990 Prices include gst. |
| CPD | This PD addresses 7.2.2. of the Standards |
| Previous Feedback | "Very impressed. A high standard of content and speakers" See more feedback comments |
| Sector | Non-State Schools |
| Other related LawSense Events | See other LawSense Events for Schools |
Event Program
5 August 2026 – Staff Issues Session (Non-State Schools)
12.00 LawSense Welcome
12.05 Chairperson’s Remarks
Toni Riordan, Principal, St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School
12.10 New QLD Reportable Conduct Scheme: Navigating Grey Areas, Managing Obligations to Accused Staff, Optimising Investigations and Implementing Best Practice Policies
Overview of Obligations
- Outlining obligations regarding reportable conduct and investigations in QLD schools
- Understanding the applicable standard of proof required regarding allegations
- Understanding grey areas in applying obligations including:
- significant emotional or psychological harm
- significant neglect
- evaluating borderline conduct and investigating internally
- enquiries, preliminary investigations to determine whether a matter is reportable
- requirements to report conduct that did not occur in the workplace, or is outside employment hours
- dealing with former workers or retrospective allegations
Interaction with Other Obligations
- Examining how reportable conduct obligations interact with other obligations, including where there are historical claims, duty of care, and other parallel reporting requirements involving other regulators/agencies
Expectations and Involvement of Regulators
- Understanding current expectations and role, in practice of the CCYP
Obligations to and Impacts on Staff
- Examining your obligation in practice to the staff member, including:
- obligations of procedural fairness
- standing down the staff member
- the extent to which the staff member should be informed of details of the investigations
- the extent to which you can inform other staff about the allegations and investigation
- appeals/reviews – understanding what recourse accused staff have if they dispute findings
Framing Allegations and Investigations
- Framing allegations to meet obligations, including to the staff member, and to optimise the investigation
- Examining best practice reportable conduct investigations, including investigation planning, discussions with staff and interviewing, gathering other evidence, and assessment and balancing of the evidence
Note-Taking and Record-Keeping
- Ensuring you properly document processes and decisions, interviews/discussions and other aspects to fulfil obligation and preserve your legal position
Learnings from Case Studies /Experiences in Other State
- Learnings from school experiences and implementing best practice
Implementing Best Practice Policies
- Exploring and implementing best practice policies to meet obligations and optimise reportable conduct investigation and reporting processes
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
1.10 Break
1.20 Performance Management, Psychosocial Hazards and Claims in QLD Schools – Effectively Navigating, Rights, Obligations and Unions in the Current Environment
- Outlining current laws applying to performance management in schools
- Understanding the intersection between performance management rights and obligations, psychosocial hazards obligations and workers compensation claims
- Examining the involvement of unions in light of new psychosocial hazards laws and focus
- Effectively navigating challenging scenarios, including:
- a staff member supported by the union, refuses to meet to respond to performance concerns
- a staff member claims they are not “psychologically safe” in response to questions raised or performance management processes
- a workers compensation claim is lodged in response to performance management
- other claims are made by the staff member, including bullying or adverse action
- Implementing strategies to help:
- effectively determine, define and communicate the unsatisfactory performance to ensure the performance is actionable and must be addressed by the staff member
- optimise observation and assessment processes to determine unsatisfactory performance
- manage processes to avoid claims, including regarding breach of psychosocial hazards laws
- optimise your position regarding the rejection or termination claims, including assessing and obtaining the evidence you need to succeed
- avoid de-railing of performance management processes
Seone Woolf, Principal, McInnes Wilson Lawyers
2.30 Break
Dr Alan Campbell, Headmaster, Anglican Church Grammar School
2.40 “Toxic” Staff Behaviour: Actioning “Lower Level” Conduct and Navigating Bullying Allegations, Psychosocial Hazards, Rights, Obligations and Mediation
Defining “Toxic” Behaviour or ‘Incivility’
- Identifying “lower level” “toxic” staff behaviour – “anti-social” behaviours, “rudeness”, ongoing criticism of school leaders or other staff, undermining, rumours, gossip
Applicable Laws
- Outlining laws applying to staff “toxic” behaviour or “incivility”:
- laws regarding staff performance and conduct
- bullying and harassment
- recent law changes regarding psychosocial hazards
- respect@work laws
Performance Management and Conflict Between Staff
- Examining how “lower level” behaviours such as toxic or incivility can:
- be used for lawful performance management or disciplinary action
- amount to bullying or harassment or breach psychosocial hazards laws or other obligations affecting the school
- Are toxic behaviours between staff outside school actionable?
Investigating and Navigating Staff Claims Regarding Other Staff
- Exploring challenges in obtaining and assessing evidence of incivility or toxic behaviour
- Determining when the evidence and circumstances meet the legal threshold for you to take legal action
Mediation/Dispute Resolution
- Exploring options for informal and formal mediation of staff disputes
- Ensuring mediation processes protect the school’s legal position, including understanding how evidence from mediation processes can be utilised
Policies and Codes of Conduct in a Changed Environment
- Implementing policies and codes of conduct to optimise management of toxic staff in a changed environment
- Ensuring your code is worded to capture toxic behaviour
Annie Smeaton, Partner, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
3.40 Break
3.50 Redundancy and Redeployment Update: Examining New Law and Ensuring You Implement a Legally Defensible Restructure
Legal Framework
- Outlining the laws applying to redundancy and redeployment including understanding:
- the applicable legal framework
- definitions of redundancy and redeployment
- rights and options of the school arising from employment contracts
- obligations to consider WHS issues
WHS Obligations, Consultation and Involvement of WHS Regulators
- Examining additional obligations to consult regarding WHS impacts
- Examining the approach of regulators
Redeployment and Expanded Obligations
- Outlining current obligations regarding redeployment
- Examining how wording in employment contracts can affect a school’s options with redeployment
- Understanding the implications for schools of the High Court decision in Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley including:
- obligation to consider changes to how a school uses its workforce to create a redeployment opportunity, even if no vacancy currently exists
- creating a role by insourcing work currently performed by contractors
- considerations regarding re-training
- Case studies and scenarios – managing challenges with redeployment in practice, including where a school has multiple campuses
Best Practice in Contracts, Restructuring, Redundancy and Redeployment to Avoid Claims
- Exploring key elements to consider in employment contracts to optimise the school’s position
- Exploring steps in preparing for restructure, including managing planning and decision making to navigate potential adverse action claims
- Implementing defensible approaches to selection of positions/staff
- Consultation – exploring best practice planning and approaches
- Identifying key considerations and steps to implement regarding redeployment
Trent Forno, Partner, MinterEllison
4.50 Chairperson’s Remarks
4.55 Event Close
6 August 2026 – Student Issues Session (Non-State Schools)
12.00 LawSense Welcome
12.05 Chairperson’s Remarks
Rev Chris Ivey, Headmaster, Somerset College
12.10 Social Media and Bullying Updates and Students Targeting Staff Online
Bullying Update: Navigating Recent Cases, Rapid Review, Bullying on Social Media, Obligations Beyond the School Gate, Dissatisfied Parents, AVOs Between Students
Applicable Laws and Government Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
- Outlining relevant laws applying to student bullying
- Examining the implications of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
- Examining obligations in identifying bullying, including grey areas such as social exclusion
School Obligations Beyond the School “Gate”
- Reviewing recent cases and implications regarding a school’s duty to address bullying beyond the school gate – how has this been extended?
Navigating Particular Challenges with Online Bullying
- Navigating particular challenges in dealing with online bullying, including determining the extent of your duties for conduct outside school hours, or conduct involving students outside the school
Supervision/Monitoring of Online Activity, Including Student Activity Outside School Hours
- Exploring the boundaries of a school’s duty of care in monitoring student online activity, including outside school hours
- Using monitoring software on student managed devices:
- what can you legally monitor and ensuring you have adequate consent
- to what extent should you have human monitoring/ escalation to humans?
- what is your legal exposure for an incident where a greater degree or availability of human monitoring could have prevented harm?
- what are your responsibilities to act where the information you collect indicates a student may be at risk, including when the information arrives outside school hours
Managing Challenges in Proving Bullying Conduct
- Managing Challenges in investigating and proving bullying conduct, including searches of student devices and files and interviewing students
Parent Demands or Dissatisfaction with School Response
- Dealing with parents seeking to dictate consequences for the perpetrator of bullying, including parents providing reports from psychologists or other professionals
AVOs Between Students
- Managing AVOs between students as a result of bullying allegations
Dealing With Students Targeting Staff Online
- Outlining the applicable laws and obligations where students target staff online, including:
- potential offences by the student and reporting to police
- obligations to staff, including psychosocial hazards
- navigating circumstances where it is not an offence, but potential bullying or breach of school values
Student Social Media Update: Navigating Social Media Age Limits and Learnings from School Experiences
- Examining the new laws regarding age limits on social media use, including examining exceptions
- Exploring the implications of the new laws for schools:
- exploring impacts on the duty of care
- 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
- Learnings from school experiences to date
- Updating school polices to deal with the changes in social media laws
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
1.20 Break
1.30 Disability and Behaviour: Navigating Reasonable Adjustments, Support Plans, Risk Assessments, Suspensions and Expulsions
Current Legal Framework and Understanding What is “Reasonable”
- Exploring the range of disabilities encountered by schools impacting student behaviour
- Outlining the current laws affecting disability discrimination in schools
- Exploring circumstances where you can impute disability
Proposed Reforms – Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- Outlining notable proposed changes to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and potential impacts on student disability and behaviour, including changes to definitions of discrimination, burden of proof and application to discipline and suspensions
Information You Should Collect to Assess and Determine Reasonable Adjustments
- Exploring optimum information collection – what information should you seek of whom
- Dealing with reports from external professionals provided by the parents or advocates. When should you obtain your own professional evidence?
Extent of Consultation Required
- Understanding the extent of your obligations to consult with parents, other stakeholders and advocates. What information should be communicated to parents?
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
- Learning from case studies and examples:
- how should schools approach determining the limits of reasonable adjustments required in each circumstance, including:
- balancing impacts on other students and staff
- managing experts: responding to experts, briefing, and managing school experts
- determining unjustifiable hardship
- Dealing with parents who refuse to accept or cooperate regarding impacts of the student’s behaviour on staff or other students
- Documenting steps and decision making regarding reasonable adjustments to ensure compliance and optimise your legal position
- how should schools approach determining the limits of reasonable adjustments required in each circumstance, including:
Discipline, Suspensions and Expulsions
- Outlining and balancing key laws applying to suspensions and expulsions of a student with a behavioural disability, including:
- student rights and procedural fairness, including Human Rights legislation
- obligations to staff, including WHS and other obligations
- School discipline examples and case studies:
- managing ongoing discipline of a student with behavioural disability issues
- navigating suspensions
- expulsions – key considerations and navigating pitfalls
- Effectively documenting steps, communications, and decisions regarding expulsions to protect your legal position
Tracey Jessie, Principal, Jessie Lawyers; Former Principal, Education Queensland
2.30 Break
Kim Wickham, Principal, Loreto College Coorparoo
2.40 Student Harmful Sexualised Behaviours: Navigating Allegations of Sexual Assault Between Students, Including “Historical” Claims, and Responding to Sexting and Deep Fakes
Duties Regarding Sexualised Behaviours and Claims
- Exploring aged appropriate behaviours and legal definitions for sexual offences
- Outlining your obligations in dealing with allegations of harmful sexualised behaviours between students
Extent of The School’s Duties
- Examining the obligations of the school where an alleged incident:
- occurred outside school hours or activities
- involves students from other schools
- involves students who are 18 or over
Examining When Reporting Obligations to Agencies and Police Are Triggered
- Evaluating when legal obligations to report and notify police are triggered
- What steps should be taken where there are only rumours or suspicions?
- Understanding the obligations and options of the school where the alleged victim does not wish the matter to be disclosed, investigated or reported or is not cooperative
Navigating Privacy Considerations
- Dealing with requests from students not to inform their parents
- Examining potential legal risks where the school counsellor is involved with both students
- Understanding the extent to which you can disclose allegations or investigations to staff
- Balancing privacy obligations with your duties to other students and parents
Dealing with Police
- Understanding rights and obligations in Police interviewing students or staff or police requesting your records or other information
Communicating with the Alleged Perpetrator, Survivor/Victim and School Community
- 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
Investigating Suspicions or Allegations
- Understanding when an investigation is required and the extent of any investigation
- Examining the potential limits on a school investigating while other agencies, such as police are involved
- Understanding the potential role of legal privilege
- Obtaining evidence from students – navigating rights and obligations and dealing with hearsay
Particular Issues With “Historical” Claims
- Examining particular challenges in responding and investigating where claims are made some time after students have left the school or the relevant staff are no longer at the school
Sexting and Deep Fakes-Applicable Laws and Obligations
- Reviewing the legal frameworks in QLD for young offenders with online offences including sexting, “sextortion” and deep fakes
- Examining the obligations of the school where staff are the subject of deep fakes
Responding to Deep Fakes and Sexting
- Understanding legal restrictions on the school copying, storing or sharing the offending explicit material, including deep fakes
- Exploring how schools should respond to material affecting students and teachers including:
- preservation of the images and collecting evidence
- reporting to agencies such as the eSafety Commissioner or police, including what information should be provided
- understanding the extent to which the school should conduct its own investigation
- obligations in managing wellbeing/psychosocial impacts
- Calibrating disciplinary responses by the school where police determine to take no action
Fiona Manderson, Principal, Aloncaws Mediation & Investigation; Inhouse Counsel, Hillcrest Christian College
3.40 Break
3.50 Conflict Between Parents and Between Students
Understanding and Interpreting Family Court Orders, Rights and Obligations Where There Are No Court Orders and Navigating, Subpoenas, DVO’s
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
Recent Law Changes Regarding Objecting to Subpoenas
- Understanding the new option to object to a family court subpoena based on “protected confidences” and how it may be used by schools
Challenges – Consent to Counselling, Information Requests by a Parent, Student Wishes
Providing Information to One Parent or the Other
- Examining factors dictating what information can be provided to 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
School Obligations – Providing Information to Non-Parents
- Understanding rights and obligations in providing information to:
- step-parents or grandparents; should you pass on messages to the student from grandparents?
- lawyers for the parent or Independent Children’s Lawyer
- family professionals providing reports, including Family Report Writers
Consent to Counselling
- Navigating circumstances where:
- one parent agrees to student school counselling but the other does not
- the parents do not agree to counselling but you assess that the student needs it
Pick-Ups, Drop-Offs and Student Wishes Contrary to Court Orders
- Navigating circumstances where:
- a parent is seeking to pick up their child from school contrary to Court orders
- the student does not want to go with or stay with one parent despite Court orders
Liability for Fees
- Clarifying respective parent obligations to pay school fees after separation
Family Domestic Violence Orders
Navigating Domestic Violence Orders and Obligations Where You Suspect Domestic Violence / Coercive Control
- Examining common orders made in Domestic Violence 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 DVO 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?
Court Orders Between Students
Peace and Good Behaviour Orders Between Students
- Exploring the increasing use of Orders to deal with behaviour issues between students
- Understanding Peace and Good Behaviour Orders and how they can be taken out by students against another student
- Examining challenges for schools where students seek or obtain Orders – what are the options for schools?
Eustacia Yates, Special Counsel, Vocare Law
4.50 Chairperson’s Remarks
4.55 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. |
 | Trent Forno has significant experience in all areas of employment law in both the public and private sectors. Trent practises in a variety of industry sectors, including education. Trent is recognised as a leading workers' compensation and self-insurance lawyer. In 2016, Trent was recommended in the Best Lawyers' category for Labour and Employment. |
 | Tim Longwill is a legal practitioner of over 20 years experience. He is a specialist industrial lawyer with significant exposure to the education sector. Tim was also recently named for the third year in a row as being among ‘Australia’s Best Lawyers’ by the Financial Review. |
 | John Hamilton has a strong track record in advising clients across a wide range of commercial and corporate matters. He possesses specialist knowledge and application in industrial relations matters, including employment and workplace issues, whilst working extensively in the education sector. John has a 25-year track record of managing publicly sensitive issues and delivering results. |
 | Before studying law Tracey Jessie was a teacher and principal within Education Queensland. Tracey now advises a range of educational institutions on employment matters. Tracey has extensive experience leading investigations and complaints on behalf of employer organisations. She is experienced in preparing employment contracts, policies and procedures for employers. |