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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-28 Daily Xml
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Bills

Education and Children's Services (Enrolment and Attendance) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, Minister for Women) (15:45): I will resume my remarks. As we went to the break I was speaking about my brother Luke, who coordinates Aboriginal education at Sacred Heart College. He has taught there for decades. I was speaking about how proud I am of him and was saying that wherever I go I am asked all the time by young people if I am Luke's sister. I do not understand why they do not ask if he is my brother.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It does seem harsh, doesn't it?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Exactly! Every time these young people ask that about him—every time. Their faces light up and they talk about what a difference he has made for them, that he was the person who saw them, who was there for them, who listened to them and helped them to find their way.

I can name teachers whom I think about in exactly the same way. I want all children and young people to have those opportunities to find those people who absolutely see them, listen to them, meet them where they are at, and help them on their journey. Schools are where talents are identified and nurtured, where kernels of leadership expand and grow, and where children and young people learn to believe in themselves, to know that their voices and they themselves matter, to understand their potential and identify, articulate and begin to reach for their dreams.

We want all children to have the opportunity to experience all of this in ways that help set them up for the ups and downs of life and their journey ahead. We know that for some children and their families, enrolment and consistent attendance at school can feel really hard. For some on some days, for many reasons, it can seem almost insurmountable.

This bill is not about punishing those families who, in difficult circumstances, are doing the very best they can to engage their kids with learning or to work through with the education system how they can find learning environments that meet their child's unique needs. It is about providing stronger provisions around those parents who are determined not to enrol and send their kids to school, who, through some distorted thinking, refuse to engage and thereby deprive their children and young people of the many opportunities that come through engagement with a positive learning environment.

The changes in this bill aim to address issues that have been identified through efforts to enforce the current arrangements and to help ensure procedural fairness for those parents who may be considered for prosecution. The bill was the subject of extensive public consultation, strongly engaged in. In addition to the proposals in the bill, the consultation also sought views on changes to the regulations about enrolment and the powers of authorised officers to address related issues with respect to the enforcement of enrolment and attendance requirements. The key changes include:

mandating written notice to a child's guardian before initiating proceedings for failure to ensure school enrolment or attendance;

ensuring procedural fairness;

specifying information the chief executive can request for parents, such as medical details or health service referrals;

eliminating infectious or contagious disease as a valid excuse for school absence, as medically compromised children are covered by other act provisions, and the department will adhere to SA Health infectious disease guidelines;

shortening the timeframe for parents to explain a child's non-attendance from five to three days, aligning with government school non-attendance procedures;

authorising officers to demand information from parents during home visits, aligning with their ability to require information when a child is in a public place during school hours; and

clarifying that authorised officers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure a child's attendance, emphasising practicality whilst maintaining that very important focus on attendance.

We know some children face a challenging, sometimes heartbreaking time, or have complex behaviours that may prohibit their consistent attendance at school. We also know that some mums and dads are facing complex and often interconnected challenges: domestic, family or sexual violence; poverty; intergenerational trauma; or mental ill health, which may sometimes prevent them from actively engaging in and supporting their children's schooling and educational needs.

I am really pleased that the bill recognises these challenges, and I absolutely know our Minister for Education also acknowledges these challenges and we are committed to continuing our work together to build these families up rather than punish them for their circumstances.

I have the pleasure of hearing firsthand stories from some of the most courageous and resilient children and young people about how feeling supported to complete their SACE enables them to thrive into adulthood.

I recently heard about a young man finding it really hard to attend school and find his place in the education system. With the support of his care team around him he was able to transfer to a more specialised school and attend more frequently. He went on to complete his year 12 SACE and I now understand he is undertaking further studies in a field he is deeply passionate about. Those are the opportunities we want to ensure are provided to children and young people.

The act already provides robust protections for children and families experiencing complex circumstances: a clear defence for parents or carers who have taken reasonable, practicable steps to support their child's attendance or engagement in an approved learning program; recognition of unavoidable circumstances as valid reasons for absence; and a requirement that authorised officers must exhaust all practicable actions before any enforcement measures are considered. In addition, the underlying principle, which must be considered in relation to the operation, administration and enforcement of the act is that the best interests of children and students is paramount.

The changes through this legislative reform aim to address situations when parents and carers are not meeting their legal obligations and do not have a valid reason for not doing so, again, not to penalise parents or carers who are working actively with schools and medical professionals to support their child's engagement with their educational program.

The department already assesses each potential case for prosecution on a case-by-case basis to determine suitability. This includes considering whether the best interests of the child would be served by prosecution. There are, however, a number of cases that have not been pursued for prosecution due to high levels of complexity, or the prosecution on balance determining that it would be detrimental for the child. Investigation includes a number of considerations, including what interventions have been attempted and the child and parent or carer's capacity to engage with supports when experiencing multiple, complex and compounding barriers to attendance.

Respondents were asked to provide feedback on additional proposals not included in the draft legislation, including the requirement for parents to enrol their child in a South Australian school unless an exemption applies or the Department for Education approves otherwise; strategies to effectively support all South Australian students in attending a local school; and the potential introduction of fines for parents who do not enrol their child in school, fail to ensure attendance or neglect to provide requested information about their child. Following feedback received during the consultation, further work will be undertaken to explore expiations and other enrolments.

Again, a child deprived of school enrolment or consistent attendance is robbed of the chance to reach their full potential and faces immediate and lasting consequences, including for their safety, their wellbeing and future success. Education is the foundation for a thriving life and every missed day risks derailing a child's growth, potential and opportunities. This proposed bill takes real action to help ensure that every child has access to the education they absolutely deserve and safeguards their path to a brighter, fulfilling future.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (15:56): I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this bill and indicate that I am the lead speaker on behalf of the opposition. I thank the member for Flinders, my colleague, who spoke first earlier while I was actually with some Modbury High School students in support of their graduation and their outstanding achievements.

I am really pleased to speak on this bill. This is a topic where, in principle, I suspect the government and the opposition have significant agreement. We want all children to attend school, we want children to attend school every day that they are able and we understand that every day lost in a child's education has an impact. When a child misses three days in a row, it has a bigger impact. When a child is chronically truant, it has an enormous impact.

The outcomes in life for children who miss that level of schooling—especially when there is not a reason—and therefore the scaffolds and supports that are able to be put in place to compensate for them missing the schooling, are going to be lower. It is not even a statistical fact, it is just a plain fact. Schooling is the thing that helps lift us, and a lack of schooling does the opposite.

In principle, this bill is certainly supported, as I said. We have some questions and there is some detail that we will be seeking to tease out. However, in essence it is a further iteration of successive legislation over decades trying to grapple with this issue: at what point do a child's parents have to take legal responsibility? There is a level of question about the messages that we send, to be sure. There is a level of question about what is fair and what is not fair. However, when it comes down to it, the biggest and most significant question in this area is: what is the mechanism that we can use in government and through the legal system to ensure that a child is attending school?

It is a question that has been dealt with in terms of the practicalities a number of times, and the practicalities are that there has to be a legal recourse. There has to be a process where the court will consider a matter of whether there is a liability that is going to lead to a fine or other action against a parent. When that happens, there is a subjective test of whether indeed the parent has met the threshold required under the act for sanction to be given or, indeed, whether that is fair.

When it comes down to it, sometimes we talk about fairness in these things and sometimes we talk about what works. What works will often be informed by the legal advice being given to the Minister for Education. Prior to the 2018 election, there was a new education act being developed, and one of the things that that act sought under the member for Port Adelaide, who was the then minister, was to reform the policy in relation to enrolment and attendance. Indeed, at that stage expiation notices were on the agenda, but the alternative proffered by the opposition at the time was to lift the fines. There was a competition of ideas, but I think it was in good faith. I seek leave to continue my remarks after we have heard questions on the Auditor-General's Report.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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