Work-related violence in government schools

Why this is important

Violence in school environments can negatively affect the health and wellbeing of students, staff and the wider school community. Unsafe working environments can also put pressure on the school workforce, which is already facing shortages due to low recruitment and attrition.

The Department of Education (DE) is required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) to ‘provide or maintain plant or systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health’. This includes work-related violence.

Data from the most recent Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey (2022) shows that the percentage of school leaders subjected to physical violence has increased since 2011. In 2022, 31.3 per cent of Victorian school leaders reported that they had been subjected to physical violence. This is the lowest of any Australian state or territory.

Results from this survey also indicate that students are the main perpetrators of violence in schools. Student-initiated violence, which ranges from kicking and biting to smashing school equipment and furniture, can stem from dysregulation caused by a range of personal and/or external influences.

Responses to violence in schools, whether initiated by students or others, need to be effective and appropriate, considering the nature of the behaviour and the initiator of the violence. 

What we plan 
to examine

We plan to examine whether DE is reducing the incidence and impact of work-related violence in government schools.

Who we plan 
to examine

DE, WorkSafe Victoria and a selection of government schools.