Page 1935 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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As a former minister for education, I appreciate some of the complexities in this area and acknowledge Minister Berry’s efforts to provide greater clarity. I also appreciate that the amendment makes clear that children and young people can attend an ACT government school while their application for a fee waiver is being assessed. This amendment will ensure that children on temporary visas or who are dependents of temporary residents are still able to access an education if they are unable to pay fees for their education in government schools.
The bill also applies standards to boarding schools in the ACT and, importantly, improves information sharing between the ACT and New South Wales regarding cross-border students. When in the best interests of the child, the ACT Education Directorate can share information relating to participation and attendance. This information sharing will only occur after all avenues of engaging with a family have been exhausted. The only exception to this is when there is a pre-existing concern for the child’s safety and wellbeing.
I very much understand and support the need for these amendments. Again, as the explanatory statement makes clear, it is essential to strengthen the mechanism to follow up student attendance of non-ACT residents in the same way that we would for students who live in the ACT and, therefore, the limitation on the right to privacy and reputation through information sharing with other jurisdictions is justified to ensure student safety, wellbeing and access to education. The ACT Greens are pleased to support this bill today.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (11.18), in reply: I table a revised explanatory statement. I am happy to have the opportunity to debate the Education Amendment Bill 2020, which I introduced on 23 July. The bill proposes amendments to the Education Act 2004. The ACT government is fully committed to strengthening child safety in schools. We learnt from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that all institutions should uphold the rights of the child and that governments should require institutions to engage in child-related work to meet the child safe standards.
The bill strengthens the regulation of boarding schools by requiring any ACT school with boarding facilities to adhere to Australian Standard 5725, the boarding standard for Australian schools and residences. I acknowledge the comments of the scrutiny committee about reliance on these standards, and I have just tabled a revised response to the explanatory statement. The use of the Australian Standard will ensure that children are residing in facilities that are kept to a recognised standard in which the governance; facilities; parent, family and community engagement; staff; and the protection, safety, wellbeing and holistic development of boarders are being met to ensure the delivery of a quality boarding facility.
Ongoing work at the whole-of-government level will articulate a streamlined approach to introducing the child safe standards across the ACT, which will
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