Education Law & Lawyers
School disputes, university matters, and education rights.
Education in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but is not involved in setting curriculum. Generally, education in Australia follows the three-tier model which includes primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (secondary schools/high schools) and tertiary education (universities and/or TAFE Colleges).
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 evaluation ranked the Australian education system as 6th for Reading, 8th for Science and 13th for Mathematics, on a worldwide scale including 56 countries. The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists Australia as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark & Finland.
Education in Australia is compulsory between the ages of six and fifteen to seventeen, depending on the state or territory, and date of birth.Post-compulsory education is regulated within the Australian Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training (TAFE) and the higher education sector (university).
If you would like legal help or legal representation from a lawyer in regards to any aspect of laws pertaining to education, then please complete your free legal enquiry form.
Each state and territory has it's own similar laws with respect to education under theor own Education legsialtion. For example, the NSW Education Act 1990 is based on the following principles:
(a) every child has the right to receive an education,
(b) the education of a child is primarily the responsibility of the child’s parents,
(c) it is the duty of the State to ensure that every child receives an education of the highest quality,
(d) the principal responsibility of the State in the education of children is the provision of public education.
The principal objects of the Education Act are as follows:
(a) to set out aspects of the school curriculum, including the minimum curriculum for school registration and the curriculum for School Certificate and Higher School Certificate candidates,
(b) to provide for the establishment and operation of government schools,
(c) to ensure that only government schools established under this Act or non-government schools registered under this Act operate in New South Wales,
(d) to allow children to be educated at home,
(e) to provide for the grant of School Certificates and Higher School Certificates and for the accreditation of non-government schools that are competent to present candidates for those certificates.
If you would like legal help or legal representation from a lawyer in regards to any aspect of laws pertaining to education, then please complete your free legal enquiry form.
Injured at College, Nursery, School or University
Unfortunately, accidents in nurseries, schools, colleges and universities are fairly common and at Thompsons Solicitors, we are approached by parents whose children have been injured, students themselves who have suffered injuries, teachers who have been injured as well as other visitors to the school premises such as parents or delivery drivers who have suffered injuries.
If you or your child is injured at school and the accident was someone else's fault, you may be able to make an accident compensation claim.
Some of the most common types of claims we deal with relating to accident at schools include cases where people have:
• slipped or tripped within the school building or school grounds
• been injured by defective equipment such as chairs, desks or play equipment
• been exposed to asbestos within the school building and have developed an asbestos related disease
• been asked to lift or carry heavy objects without the correct training or equipment
• been injured in a sports accident
• contracted food poisoning
If you or your child has an accident and suffers a personal injury whilst at school, which was not their fault, then you may be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim.
For example, a personal injury compensation claim may be possible if a person trips or slips on a footpath within the school, which has not been properly maintained, leaving it in a dangerous condition. It would also be possible to make a personal injury compensation claim someone was injured by a defective piece of equipment in the school such as a broken chair which collapses or a sharp-edged desk which cut into someone. There should always be sufficient staff on duty to properly supervise and control the activities of the children or students.
If you would like to claim compensation for an injury that your child has sustained whilst at school, then please complete your free legal enquiry form to receive help from a specialist compensation lawyer.
Further Resources - Education Law & Lawyers
News & Further Information - Education Law & Lawyers
School Injury Compensation
When your child enters a school, nursery or college, their teachers assume a duty of care and are responsible for their well-being. There are almost as many risks to safety in a school as there are in the “outdoor world”, with potential slip, trip and fall accidents, injuries which can be sustained in the playground or during organised sports activities, bullying and even food poisoning from the school canteen.
The educational institution not only has a responsibility to the children to provide them with a safe environment, but also any parents, teachers or visitors to the school. Your child may be entitled to school injury compensation if they sustain an injury due to a breach in the duty of care owed to them by a teacher, but a teacher can also claim school injury compensation if they are not protected from being over-stressed by caring for your child.
If you would like to claim compensation for an injury that your child has sustained whilst at school, then please complete your free legal enquiry form to receive help from a specialist compensation lawyer.
Typical School Injuries
The stand-out injury that occurs in schools is a fall from height. A Health and Safety Executive report into serious injury in schools showed that there have been six deaths and over three thousand serious injuries in the past six years due to falling down stairs, falls from desks/chairs while putting up displays, falls from stools while closing windows, and falls from ladders while carrying out repairs and maintenance work.
The major factors in these injuries was either a lack of cleaning after a food or drinks spill, or a failure to provide suitable equipment for performing tasks at height. There are many other school injuries caused by genuine, unavoidable accidents where a child has been injured because of their own lack of care, but when their injuries are caused by negligence by the school authority, you are entitled to claim school injury compensation on their behalf.
What to do After a School Injury
When your child has sustained an injury in a school accident, it will usually be their teacher who organises medical assistance when it is urgently required. In some cases, a teacher will wait for the arrival of a parent before that decision is made but, in any event, it is necessary that your child receives a medical examination if you wish to pursue a claim for school injury compensation. This is also the case when a parent, teacher or other visitor to the school sustains an injury, as your medical records will be used to support a school injury compensation claim.
All schools also maintain an accident report book, into which details of the injury should be entered, and it is advisable to take photographs of the scene where the injury was sustained and collect contact details for witnesses who saw the accident occur. Once your child (or you) has received appropriate medical treatment, you should contact a school injury compensation solicitor to organise your claim for school injury compensation.
If you would like to claim compensation for an injury that your child has sustained whilst at school, then please complete your free legal enquiry form to receive help from a specialist compensation lawyer.
School Injury Compensation Solicitors
There are many reasons why you should use a solicitor who is familiar with claims for school injury compensation. This is a delicate area of law which often hinges on the testimony of a young child as to the circumstances surrounding the accident, and whereas you (as a parent) are emotionally involved, a school injury compensation solicitor will be able to interpret how the accident could have occurred.
A personal injury solicitor with experience in school injury claims will also be used to dealing with the school authorities and their insurance companies, who have a tendency to be notoriously slow in conducting their own investigations into a school injury compensation claim. Your solicitor will also be up to date with the levels of school injury compensation which are being awarded in similar cases and consequently in a better position to negotiate on your behalf should the school´s insurance company approach you with an offer of early settlement for your school injury claim.
If you would like to claim compensation for an injury that your child has sustained whilst at school, then please complete your free legal enquiry form to receive help from a specialist compensation lawyer.
In legal terms, the level of care expected of a teacher is that they act in loco parentis, or in place of a parent. A court will assess the behaviour of a teacher in the time leading up to an accident, and compare it to how a reasonably competent parent would have acted in similar circumstances. Schools have public liability insurance (aka occupied liability insurance) and owe a duty of care to their pupils, meaning they must take all reasonable steps to prevent accidents and injuries occurring on the school’s premises. Under Australian law, schools must also hold public liability insurance, to protect them in case of a successful compensation claim against them. Such claims have a knock-on benefit of driving up standards in schools, and reducing the chance of similar accidents and injuries to children in the future.
Typical Reasons Why Children Get Injured At School
• Falls in playgrounds e.g. defective climbing frames
• Slips and falls in swimming pools and changing rooms
• Trips and falls in outdoor areas on uneven surfaces
• Slips on ice and snow in winter
• Injuries from improper or dangerous play during sports
• Injuries from bullying and lack of supervision
If you would like to claim compensation for an injury that your child has sustained whilst at school, then please complete your free legal enquiry form to receive help from a specialist compensation lawyer.
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