A School's Right to Dismiss Staff for Non-Abusive Touching of Students

Abstract

Abuse of students, sexual and otherwise, by teachers has received increasing attention of Australian courts in recent years and there are indications that further hearings will take place as students seek legal redress for alleged harms. Although it has long been the situation that teachers have been advised - while undertaking pre-service and in-service courses - not to touch students, there is still, nevertheless, concern among teachers and others in schools whether they are able, safely to touch students at all. Such concern has certainly been exacerbated by the community attention that the recent cases have occasioned