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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-03 Daily Xml
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Education and Children's Services (Enrolment and Attendance) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (16:21): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Education and Children's Services Act 2019. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (16:22): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the Education and Children's Services (Enrolment and Attendance) Amendment Bill 2025. The bill proposes modest but important changes to the act to strengthen the effectiveness of the current scheme for the enforcement of compulsory enrolment, attendance and participation of South Australian children at schools and approved learning programs.

The benefits of quality education for our children cannot be understated. It can develop their skills, abilities and opportunities to support productive, socially engaged and healthy lives. The negative impacts of a denial of education through the failure of a child to be enrolled in a school or supported to attend can be profound and affect the person throughout their life.

The necessity of education is recognised through the requirements for the compulsory enrolment and attendance of children at school, requirements that have been in place in this state in some form since 1875. Most children attend school regularly, with the state's attendance rate across all school sectors at 88.4 per cent in 2024. A small but significant number of children, however, fail to attend school regularly and, alarmingly, in some cases, a child may not be enrolled in a school at all.

The government continues to make improvements to support students to attend school and to help parents to understand the benefits that schooling provides for their children. Since coming into government, we have established a new attendance directorate within the department, trialled and implemented new programs for improving attendance and launched an attendance hub to improve the support and information available to schools, and importantly to parents as well, to address attendance issues. We have seen the attendance rate across all sectors increased by 2.8 per cent since 2022 to sit now just above the national average in 2024.

Despite these improvements, there is certainly more work to be done. The state's attendance rate, as was the case with other Australian states and territories, remains below pre-COVID levels. The level of children attending school more than 90 per cent of the time is also significantly below that prior to the pandemic.

The reasons for a child's non-attendance can be complex, multiple and compounding. Schools and school systems employ various strategies to support the regular attendance and participation of children at school and approved learning programs. These can include monitoring absences and following up on unauthorised absences, meeting with parents, undertaking home visits, identifying barriers to their attendance, and working with families and other agencies to ensure that appropriate supports are in place to help their child to attend.

In some cases, despite the best efforts of schools and the Department for Education, some children continue to fail to attend or participate as required under the act. In such cases, statutory intervention may be considered. The chief executive may, for example, convene a family conference under section 71 of the act. This strengths-based process supports a family to identify barriers to a child's attendance and determine an agreed plan to address those barriers and support the child to once again attend. Where a parent fails to engage with the department or to otherwise take such steps as reasonably practicable to ensure their child attends or participates as required, it may be necessary to consider prosecution under the act.

Since coming into government to June of this year, we have reviewed 122 families involving 179 children for potential prosecution. Of those, 44 cases, involving 68 children, are currently either under assessment or investigation. That is, they are being closely monitored, have been referred for legal advice, are under preliminary assessment or are under investigation. Of the remaining 78 cases, which involve 111 children, 45 cases showed improvement in attendance and engagement following action by the department, and in 33 cases prosecution was not pursued due to complex factors and/or prosecution would not have achieved improved attendance.

The outcome of this work has demonstrated that taking serious steps towards prosecution can in many cases result in improvements to the enrolment, attendance and engagement of children. That is why we have done so much of this and taken it so seriously in the last 3½ years.

The bill aims to strengthen provisions of the act to manage serious cases of non-enrolment, non-attendance or non-participation and address various issues which have been identified through efforts to enforce the current arrangements. The bill also aims to ensure procedural fairness for those parents who may be considered for prosecution.

Clause 3 and clause 4 of the bill will amend section 60 and section 61 of the act, respectively, to require a written notice to be sent to a person responsible for a child before any proceedings are commenced against the person for a failure to ensure their child is enrolled in a school or an approved learning program as required. The notice will outline the person's obligations in respect of the child's enrolment and warn the person they are not in compliance with the act and could be prosecuted.

A warning notice will provide a clear delineation between supportive and punitive approaches to addressing serious cases of non-enrolment. They will ensure parents are afforded appropriate procedural fairness in any decision on potential prosecution. Recent trials of this process have demonstrated that receipt of a warning notice can also result in a parent taking steps to ensure their child is enrolled and avoids the need for commencement of prosecution.

Clause 5 of the bill will amend the act to clarify the information or documents the chief executive can require under section 66 of the act in relation to a child where reasonably required in the administration, operation or enforcement of the act. The bill clarifies that the information that can be required includes but is not limited to any of the following: medical certificates, reports or advice relating to a child; reports relating to the mental, emotional and social wellbeing of a child; referrals for a medical, psychological or allied health service relating to a child; and any other personal information relating to a child.

Clause 6 and clause 7 will amend section 68 and section 69 of the act, respectively, to:

require a written notice to be sent to a person responsible for a child prior to the commencement of the prosecution of that person for their child's failure to attend school or participate in an approved learning program as required. The notice will outline the person's obligations in respect of the child's attendance or participation and warn the person they are not in compliance with the act and may be prosecuted;

reduce the period within which a parent must notify a principal of a school or head of an approved learning program of their child's failure to attend or participate from five days to three days; and

remove from the list of valid reasons for a child's failure to attend school or participate in an approved learning program that there was a danger of the child being affected by an infectious or contagious disease—a reason that only exists in South Australia.

Arguably, a child may at any time be in danger of being affected by an infectious or contagious disease by attending school. Removal of that as a reason for a child's failure to attend or participate ensures it cannot be relied on in cases where it is appropriate that the child attends or participates. A parent whose child is sick with a contagious or infectious disease or whose sickness or infirmity puts them at heightened risk of such diseases can rely on the reason in section 68(3)(a)(i) and 69(3)(a)(i) that the child was sick or infirm.

Schools and the department will continue to promote and comply with SA Health guidance on the management of infectious diseases at schools, including recommended periods of exclusion, and comply with any relevant directions of the Chief Public Health Officer under the South Australian Public Health Act 2011.

The reduction of the period in which a parent must notify the school of their child's failure to attend or participate from five days to three days will bring the act in line with the policy and procedure for government schools of the timeframe for schools to follow up a child's non-attendance. The introduction of statutory warning letters for offences in relation to a child's non-attendance at a school or non-participation in an approved learning program provide a clear delineation between supportive and punitive approaches to addressing serious cases of non-attendance and ensure parents are afforded procedural fairness in any decision on potential prosecution. Similar to cases of non-enrolment, recent trials of this process have demonstrated that receipt of a warning notice can result in a parent taking steps to ensure their child attends or participates and avoid the need for or commencement of a prosecution.

Under section 127 of the act, currently an authorised officer can only request such information when attending at residential premises but can require it when a child is at a public place at a time they should usually be attending school. This is in relation to clause 8 of the amendment bill, which will amend the act to provide that an authorised officer, when in attendance at residential premises, can require a person at that premises to provide the officer with the full name and age of a child of compulsory school age and compulsory education age who resides in the premises and the school or approved learning program, if any, in which such child is enrolled. The amendment in clause 8 will ensure consistency in the powers of an authorised officer to obtain relevant information about a child's enrolment or attendance, whether that be in a public place or when attending at residential premises.

The bill was subject to broad public consultation through the YourSAy website from 20 May 2025 to 13 June 2025. Overall, there was broad support for most measures in the bill, particularly from key stakeholders. There was very strong support for the introduction of statutory warning letters.

Our children deserve the best possible education, and the government continues to invest in South Australian schools and promote high-quality education for all students in this state. A child that is not enrolled in school or is not supported to regularly attend school is denied the opportunity to achieve their very best, and it can have short and long-term impacts on their safety and their wellbeing. This is something that none of us in this place should ignore and it is something that the bill aims to address. I commend the bill to the house and seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Education and Children's Services Act 2019

3—Amendment of section 60—Children of compulsory school age must be enrolled in school

This clause amends section 60 of the Act to require notice to be given to a person who is in breach of their obligations in respect of a child's enrolment in school prior to proceedings being commenced against the person for an offence against the section.

4—Amendment of section 61—Children of compulsory education age must be enrolled in approved learning program

This clause amends section 61 of the Act to require notice to be given to a person who is in breach of their obligations in respect of a child's enrolment in an approved learning program prior to proceedings being commenced against the person for an offence against the section.

5—Amendment of section 66—Chief Executive may require further information relating to child

This clause amends section 66(2) of the Act to clarify what material may be required by the Chief Executive from a person responsible for a child, for the purposes of section 66(1).

6—Amendment of section 68—Child of compulsory school age must attend school

This clause makes various amendments to section 68 of the Act. Section 68(3) sets out the list of reasons for a child's failure to attend school that do not trigger the offence in section 68(2). Subclause (1) amends this subsection by removing from the list there being a danger of the child being affected by an infectious or contagious disease. Subclause (2) reduces the time period within which a person responsible for a child must advise the principal of the child's school of a child's failure to attend school, where the reason for the failure was one contemplated by section 68(3)(a), in order for the offence provision not to apply from 5 school days to 3. Subclause (3) adds a requirement that notice must be given to a person prior to proceedings being commenced against the person for an offence against the section.

7—Amendment of section 69—Child of compulsory education age must participate in approved learning program

This clause makes various amendments to section 69 of the Act. Section 69(3) sets out the list of reasons for a child's failure to participate in an approved learning program that do not trigger the offence in section 69(2). Subclause (1) amends this subsection by removing from the list there being a danger of the child being affected by an infectious or contagious disease. Subclause (2) reduces the time period within which a person responsible for a child must advise the head of the approved learning program of the child's failure to participate in the learning program, where the reason for the failure was one contemplated by section 69(3)(a), in order for the offence provision not to apply from 5 business days to 3. Subclause (3) adds a requirement for notice to be given to a person prior to proceedings being commenced against the person for an offence against the section.

8—Amendment of section 127—Powers of authorised officers

This clause amends section 127(4) of the Act such that an authorised officer attending at a residential premises may require certain information to be provided by any person in the premises, as opposed to only requesting it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Teague.

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