Education Law & Lawyers

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.