How schools like Wangaratta High are reducing disciplinary action through positive culture
Nearly 150 students are suspended every school day in Victoria as experts urge principals to be brave enough to tackle problems differently.
New data obtained by Age Thanks to freedom of information laws, the number of students suspended from school last year appears to have risen to almost 30,000. There have been 87,073 suspensions in Victorian public schools in the last three years.
In 2025, suspensions increased by 1,029 compared to the previous year, reaching 29,709, representing almost 4.5 percent of the student body.
Lisa McKay-Brown, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, said the troubling figure “showed that what we were doing was not as effective as we hoped.
“It’s certainly problematic that the suspension rate hasn’t decreased, and that probably coincides with the fact that attendance rates in schools have not improved either,” he said.
The Grattan Institute think tank has described tackling absenteeism as a moral imperative as Australian students miss an average of 4½ weeks of learning in 2025.
Data arrives at the same time Violence and harassment are on the rise in schools. Monash University’s national research into head pay found that nearly 65 per cent of respondents had experienced a critical incident involving physical violence, threats of violence or gender-based violence, sexual harassment or sexual abuse.
This includes misogynistic behavior by students towards staff, physical fights between students, and aggressive parental behavior.
“Principals are very concerned about the well-being of students and staff,” McKay-Brown said.
“It’s a difficult balance for them because they have both the child or young person’s right to be in school and the safety of everyone else in the school.”
In June last year, the state government announced new principal powers to suspend or expel students whose behavior outside school or online puts other students or staff at serious risk.
At the time, Education Secretary Ben Carroll said the strengthened powers made it clear there were consequences for harmful behavior, even if it was outside school hours.
But Adam Voigt, former principal and chief executive of Real Schools, said the suspension rate was too high.
He said suspensions can be an effective tool, but he has concerns about attempts to solve the school culture problem through a political backlash. He said there was a risk of this becoming a vicious cycle if nothing was changed in schools.
Voigt also warned that keeping students away could escalate problems, and problems could reoccur when the student returns.
“What we know is that when you suspend a child, you increase the likelihood that they will be suspended again,” he said.
“Secondly, we know that there will be a disproportionately high representation of children from low socio-economic status, trauma-affected or disabled children in the increased figures.
“We need to keep an eye on them, and here’s what we do effectively. [casting them out] from a place that can help them.”
In England, suspensions reached record levels following the Covid-19 outbreak. Guard reported Nearly 1 million suspensions in the 2023-24 school year.
But from this year, England’s Department for Education will reserve the right to suspend for the most serious cases, including violence.
Voigt urged officials in Victoria to be bold and look at local success stories.
There are schools that have reversed suspensions, behavioral referrals and sanctions, he said.
Voigt said Clarence High School in Tasmania had significantly reduced suspensions, while Wangaratta High School had reduced disruptive behavior and improved the overall culture.
“Unless we are brave enough to think about the problem differently, increasing numbers of students will likely face suspensions, the number of children going from school to prison will increase, resulting in greater unrest in society.”
Wangaratta High School principal Dave Armstrong said the school focused on positive behavioral changes across the school and believed in responsibility, accountability and ownership.
“The language we use with our students is important. If we do it right, the suspension will go away on its own,” Armstrong said.
He said the school’s students felt known, safe and working together.
“Removal in this area is a last resort. If we want to do that [students] feel bad, then tell them how bad they are. This is not something we do.
“A good school is not a school where nothing goes wrong. What we want to do is know how to deal with it well: real relationships, boundaries and expectations.”
Australian School Principals’ Federation President Andrew Cock said the rise in suspensions likely reflected a rise in antisocial behavior and strengthened powers were justified.
“We have likely seen more departmental support implemented to allow our principals to suspend students for behavior that is inappropriate or affects the health and safety of others or impacts the operation of the school,” he said.
Cock said the decision to suspend a student is never taken lightly.
“The reality is that schools are implementing many strategies to support students,” he said. “Suspension is never the first decision made.”
He acknowledged that it was a challenging area for young people trying to push the boundaries.
Parents Victoria chief executive Gail McHardy agreed a removal order was justified when student or staff safety was at risk.
However, he said that suspensions could be reduced with earlier support and intervention.
“Governments need to ensure schools have access to specialist support, engagement expertise, healthcare staff and early intervention programs so that challenging behavior can be addressed effectively and fairly,” he said.
Carroll said students and staff need to feel safe at school.
“We make no apologies for giving principals the powers they need to implement this,” he said.
“We support principals with stronger powers to suspend students and ban adults who threaten the safety of school communities.”
Start your day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
