Bullying incidents will be triaged, recorded and responded to with urgency and care, under the NSW Anti-Bullying Framework released today by the Minns Labor Government.
All 3,120 government, Catholic and independent schools have committed to implementing anti-bullying policies consistent with the NSW Anti-Bullying Framework – the first sector wide approach to tackling bullying in the country.
For the first time, schools will only be registered if they have policies that clearly set out how they prevent bullying, how they support affected students in a timely way, typically within two school days, and how they record actions taken.
Schools must also introduce a triage process, so urgent cases are addressed immediately with student safety coming first.
Schools will begin implementing the framework next year and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) will conduct spot checks from Term 1, 2027, to ensure all schools are meeting the requirements.
The new approach follows a directive in late 2024 from Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car, asking NESA to work with the NSW Department of Education, Catholic Schools NSW and Independent Schools NSW to develop an evidence-based, best-practice model.
The work was guided by leading behaviour expert Professor Donna Cross OAM and shaped through extensive consultation – including input from more than 370 individuals, over 40 groups of parents, students, teachers and school leaders, and advice from 20 international experts across 10 countries.
The Framework aligns with recommendations from the Australian Government’s Rapid Review, ensuring NSW schools meet both state and national expectations. It means all NSW schools will have anti-bullying policies built on the same four mandatory criteria: prevention, response, implementation and community partnerships.
To support the rollout, NSW government, Catholic and independent school sectors have committed to sharing resources, materials and professional learning to help teachers and principals implement this nation-leading approach.
From Monday, the Anti-bullying Framework and supporting resources, including practice examples and recommended actions, will be made available at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/school-regulation/nsw-anti-bullying-framework
Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said:
“Our government is committed to addressing the scourge of bullying and will continue to work with all schools to stamp it out.
“Deputy Premier Prue Car established a process, so bullying is addressed for all students, no matter which school they attend.
“Under our approach, for the first time, every NSW school will follow a common, evidence-based approach to preventing and responding to bullying.
“Thanks to the work of Professor Donna Cross and our partners in the Catholic and Independent school sectors, along with the Commonwealth Government, we now have a framework built on extensive local and international expertise.
“This means schools can identify the strategies that work best for their students, backed by high-quality research and evidence, and put them into practice where they’ll make the most difference.”
Emeritus Professor Donna Cross OAM said:
“There is strong evidence, both locally, nationally and internationally that shows some approaches to reducing bullying are more helpful than others.
“In meeting with teachers, principals, students and families, it’s clear that schools in NSW have been working hard to reduce bullying in their communities.
“This Framework is designed to support schools with high quality evidence to identify where they should focus their efforts and resources to reduce bullying behaviour, and to stop doing what the research tells us is ineffective.”