Evans, Sen Christopher

Senator Chris Evans: The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question: (1) The Australian Government does not endorse corporal punishment as an approach to disciplining young people in schools. The Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria have either explicitly banned the use of corporal punishment in schools or have removed the relevant provisions in their respective education Acts. The Australian Government continues to work closely with education authorities to develop a clear and agreed national approach to safe schools. As part of this national approach, the Australian Government worked with all state and territory Governments to revise the National Safe Schools Framework. (2) Corporal punishment was not explicitly referred to in the revised National Safe School Framework resource manual common terms and definitions as it is already expressly banned in jurisdictions covering the majority of Australian school children and is therefore not a discipline mechanism that most schools would consider using or condoning. The term "punitive approaches" was therefore used to describe a range of approaches, including but not limited to corporal punishment. Positive behaviour management is promoted in the Framework and is one of the nine key elements central to its objectives and guiding principles. School communities are guided to make decisions about their selection of behaviour support programs and resources and ensure they are evidence based. Schools may consider adopting such approaches as positive behaviour support, restorative practices, and programs that focus on recognition of pro-social behaviour and clear non-punitive consequences for anti-social behaviour.