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SCHOOLS with inadequate bullying policies are at risk of civil legal action being filed against them.
National Centre Against Bullying founding member Michael Carr-Gregg said some schools took a cavalier attitude to bullying, which made them easy targets for legal action.
In 2003 a girl in Victoria was awarded $75,000 for her school’s failure to prevent a constant campaign of harassment, while in New South Wales a boy at a private school was awarded $1.5 million for a failure to prevent bullying that led to serious psychological disorders.
Dr Carr-Gregg said he was disturbed by the knowledge that some schools did not take bullying seriously.
He said all schools were required, according to the National Safe Schools Framework, to have bullying policies developed by staff, students and parents that were to be regularly reviewed.
He said there must be a bullying committee that oversaw school safety and met regularly.
‘‘Schools are basically negligent and putting their community at risk by not adhering to these,’’ he said.
‘‘The greatest Christmas present that schools could give children and parents of Tasmania is a comprehensive review of their bullying and harassment policies for 2015.
‘‘And to make sure they meet not only the National Safe Schools Framework, but also look at the situation in Victoria, which has the best policies in Australia.’’
Dr Carr-Gregg said school funding should be linked to proper bullying and harassment policy.
‘‘No school should be funded unless their policy has undergone some type of audit, and that goes not just to the bullying policy but also the cyber bullying policy,’’ he said.