Vaping Action Plan

In reply to the Hon. S.L. GAME ().30 November 2022).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Minister for Education, Training and Skills has advised:

The Department for Education has an action plan to address vaping in its schools. It brings together a range of new and existing initiatives to support schools to address this issue.

Where initiatives already existed, the department has consolidated information and ensured clear communication to schools in the context of e-cigarettes, such as policy related to smoke-free areas, management of incidents, provision of supports to students and promotion of curriculum support resources, information for parents, referral pathways and webinars.

The government believes that it is entirely appropriate and important to introduce initiatives aimed at supporting schools, parents and students to understand the harms of vaping and avenues of support. This involves ensuring we have curriculum, training and resources available with the information young people need, as well as processes for supporting students and parents in navigating this issue.

Schools installing vaping detectors are required to understand the risks and are to undertake a documented security risk assessment that is to be assessed by the department's security and emergency management (SEM) team prior to implementation.