SCM-PR-006: Hostile People on School Premises, Wilful Disturbance and Trespass

• Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (new window) Chapter 12, Parts 5, 6 and 8 http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/E/EducGenPrA06.pdf
• Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (new window) Section 48(1) http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/P/PolicePowResA00.pdf
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (new window) http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/W/WorkplHSaA95.pdf

• SCM-PR-005: School Security /strategic/eppr/schools/scmpr005/

Statement of intent

The Department of Education and Training (the Department) is committed to taking all reasonable steps to provide a safe school environment for staff, volunteers, students, parents and visitors.

The word "school" is used to describe all State educational institutions including State primary, secondary and special education schools, State environmental education centres and outdoor education centres.

It is an offence for a person to wilfully disturb the good order or management of a State educational institution (s.333(1)).

It is also and offence to insult (meaning "to treat insolently or with contemptuous rudeness, to abuse") an officer of a State educational institution in the presence or hearing of a student of the institution who is in or about the school premises, or assembled with others for educational purposes at, or in, any place (s.333(2)) of the Act.

Further, it is an offence for a person to be on the premises of a State educational institution unless the person has lawful authority or a reasonable excuse for being on the premises (s.334 of the Act).

While the Act provides certain remedies for unacceptable behaviour, schools and their communities may consider developing a Code of Conduct or standards that apply to people accessing schools. These could be developed as part of the overall school behaviour management plan and provide a guide to acceptable behaviour at the school.

The directions/orders that may be issued under the Act to persons whose conduct on school premises is unacceptable cannot be made in respect of exempt persons. Exempt persons are different for each section, but may include students of the school, or employees of the Department engaged to perform work at the school (the term "employees" includes a contractor or subcontractor for the Department or an employee of the contractor or subcontractor).

In respect of directions/orders made under ss.352 and 353 of the Act, and the offences in s.333, the only exempt persons are students.

A number of checks and balances have been included in the provisions of the Act that will minimise the opportunities for misapplication of the powers. These include:

• in relation to a direction about a person's' conduct or movement at school premises, an appeal may be made for a review by the Principal's supervisor, the Executive Director (Schools), who will either confirm or cancel the direction;
• in relation to a direction made by the Deputy Director-General, Education Queensland requiring a person not to enter a school's premises for up to 60 days, an appeal may be made to either the Magistrates Court or the Children's Court (in relation to a child);
• in relation to all orders made by a court (to prohibit a person from entering a school's premises for between 60 days and one year, or prohibition from entering all State, or all State and non-State, educational institutions), an appeal may be made to the District Court.

The Act's provisions apply only to conduct or behaviour that takes place on school premises. It does not matter whether the premises have buildings on them or not, or whether the conduct occurs in school hours.

Responsibilities

• may seek advice from the Legal and Administrative Law Branch on options for responding to disruption or trespass at a school;
• ensure, before exercising one of the powers, that the person concerned is not an exempt person for the section;
• complain to the Queensland Police Service where a person:
  • wilfully disturbs the good order or management of a State educational institution; or
  • insults an officer of a State educational institution in the presence or hearing of a student of the institution who is in or about the school premises, or assembled with others for educational purposes at, or in, any place; or
  • is on the premises of a State educational institution without lawful authority or a reasonable excuse (NB this does not usually apply to parents of a student at the school during school hours because they will usually have a lawful excuse to be at the school);
• may require a person on school premises to:
  • state their name and residential address only if intending to issue a written direction;
  • require the person to give evidence of the correctness of their name and address, if they reasonably suspect the details supplied are false and warn the person that it may be an offence to fail to state their name and residential address;
  • Principals may photograph or video the person if they refuse to give their name and address, being careful to use this record appropriately and making it available only to people who need to have the information for the purposes of prosecuting an offence;
• give a person a written direction, for a period of up to 30 days after the direction is issued, about the person's conduct or movement at the school (Form 337, s.337 — this direction may not be used to exclude a person from school premises) (new window) 34k , if the direction is necessary:
  • to ensure the safety and wellbeing of other persons lawfully at the premises; or
  • to prevent or minimise damage to the premises or to property at the premises; or
  • to maintain good order at the premises; or
  • for the proper management of the institution;
• give a person a written direction (Form 339, s.339) (new window) 29k requiring the person to immediately leave and not re-enter the school for 24 hours after the time the direction is actually given to the person, if the person:
  • has committed or is about to commit an offence at the premises; or
  • has used or is about to use threatening, abusive or insulting language towards another person at the premises; or
  • has engaged in or is about to engage in threatening or violent behaviour towards another person at the premises; or
  • does not have a good and lawful reason to be at the premises;
• contact the police immediately if the behaviour of a person is of a serious nature, such as if there is a threat of physical danger, and request that the person be removed from the school in accordance with police powers;
• if a person is in breach of a written direction under the Act, inform the Deputy Director-General, Education Queensland and discuss a prosecution by police in a timely fashion, so that use of police and Court time may be minimised;
• provide, when seeking consent to prosecute a breach of a written direction, a copy of the documentation of the person's breach of a written direction through the Executive Director (Schools) to the Deputy Director-General, Education Queensland, requesting that consideration be given to prosecuting the breach, including an appropriate disclaimer so that a young person who does not supply his or her age and who may legally be a child can be flagged;
• notify the Executive Director (Schools) of directions being issued on Forms 337 (new window) 34k or 339 (new window) 29k ;
• ensure that in following any course of action they do not put themselves or their staff in a potentially harmful situation;
• ensure that any written notice of direction is handed to (or put down in the presence of a person who refuses to accept the written direction with a verbal explanation of its contents), and that a copy of the direction is posted to the person's residential address;
• may seek advice from the Legal and Administrative Law Branch, in consultation with the Office of the Deputy Director-General, Education Queensland, should the principal and the Executive Director (Schools) decide that the level of severity of the disruption, abuse or violence would warrant the application of the power in s.340 (new window) 27k of the Act, or other legal action;
• may seek advice from the Legal and Administrative Law Branch, in consultation with the Office of the Director-General, Education Queensland, should the principal and the Executive Director (Schools) decide that the level of severity of the disruption, abuse or violence would warrant the application of one of the powers in ss. 341, 352 or 353 (new window) 28k of the Act, or other legal action;
• ensure that school staff do not use physical force to restrain or assist from the premises a person who becomes abusive or violent;
• may pursue the above remedies only if the unacceptable behaviour takes place on school premises. Any non-school based unacceptable behaviour, such as threatening or nuisance telephone calls, must be dealt with through external agencies, such as the police or a telecommunications provider;
• make every effort to ascertain the parent's name and address in cases involving a prohibition order on a child for up to, or more than, 60 days. This is because the Director-General, or delegate, in making the direction of prohibition must make every effort to notify the child's parent of the direction or application;
• use judgment as to whether a person is a child or not, which may involve asking students who know the person or the person's history.

• reviews and confirms or rejects, directions given by Principals under s.337;
• co-signs/approves requests for orders under ss.340, 341, 352, 353 to the Director-General or Deputy Director-General.

• may give a person a written direction requiring a person not to enter the school for a period of up to 60 days, after the direction is issued (Form 340 (new window) 27k );
• records details of the exercise of the powers conferred under the Act for inclusion in the Department's annual report.

• may apply to a court for an order prohibiting a person from entering a school for more than 60 days, but not more than one year (Form 341/352/353 (new window) 28k );
• may apply to a court for an order prohibiting a person from entering all State schools for up to one year (Form 341/352/353 (new window) 28k );
• may apply to a court for an order prohibiting a person from entering all State and non-State schools for up to one year (Form 341/352/353 (new window) 28k );
• records details of the exercise of the powers conferred under the Act (including the direction to leave and not re-enter the premises for 24 hours) in the Department's annual report.

Forms

• Form 337 - Direction about Conduct or Movement (new window) 34k
• Form 339 - Direction to Leave and not Re-enter (new window) 29k
• Form 340 - Requesting Action by Deputy Director-General under Section 340 (new window) 27k
• Form 341/352/353 - Requesting Action by Director-General under Sections 341, 352 or 353 (new window) 28k

Not Applicable

Other relevant documents

• Not Applicable

Contacts

For information on hostile people on school premises, wilful disturbance and trespass, contact:

• SCM-PR-006: Hostile People on School Premises, Wilful Disturbance and Trespass - Version: 1.0 and 1.1