Statute law imposes on parents, and persons acting in the capacity of a parent, an obligation to compel their children between prescribed ages to attend a government or approved non-government school. This will generally mean that students are required to attend school between age six and the completion of Year 10 or turning 17 (whichever comes first). There is generally a requirement for youth to undertake full-time training, paid work or a combination of both through to the age of 17 – see, for example, Education Act 1990 (NSW) s 21B; Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) s 2.1.1; Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) ss 4(1)(b), 9. (There is also the option of home education, with a parent needing to be registered to provide this to his or her child, but this, of course, is not relevant to this chapter.)

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) also prohibits discrimination in employment based on a protected attribute such as ‘race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin’ (s 351(1)). The discrimination on the basis of religion may be permissible in faith-based non-government schools and is discussed further in this chapter.

Ethics can be considered from a variety of theories or understandings. For the purposes of this chapter we will consider ethics from the viewpoint of the individual teacher, in addition to the professional expectations of teachers to behave in a right and proper manner that are externally imposed. This dual perspective will be used when considering actions and decision making undertaken with fellow teachers, school administration or leaders in a teacher’s school, and most importantly, when interacting with students entrusted into a teacher’s care or with their parents/caregivers.

The act of teaching generally takes place in relative isolation. Other professions are most often conducted in the presence of others with similar, and often identical, interests in a given outcome. Professional examples include medicine, law and architecture. The act of teaching is different because it usually involves a direct relationship with a class and this takes place in the absence of other members of the profession.

This introduction is designed to give readers an overview of or a refresher on the basics of Australia’s legal system. While many readers will be familiar with these basics, others might not be so this material has been included to inform the specific discussion of law that follows in this book’s substantive chapters.

Duty of care in an educational context is concerned with the safety and wellbeing of students. It is a term we hear all the time in schools. It is imperative to have a clear understanding and working knowledge of when and where the duty is owed and where it is not. Duty of care is part of the tort of negligence where typically a student becomes injured on school grounds or at a school event and his or her family wants to seek a remedy. This is usually in the form of financial compensation for the loss suffered and for any ongoing treatment costs. The circumstances in which a plaintiff is likely to proceed and win a case in the tort of negligence is now well established in law. This chapter discusses the duty of care and how it operates in schools. The discussion covers the defences used by schools to reduce or avoid their responsibility in such matters. The second half of the chapter outlines several of the significant judicial cases in school law, highlighting what they have decided about the liability and legal position of schools and school authorities.

Sometimes life does not go to plan. The breakdown of any family unit and the reality of parents separating can be heartbreaking for everyone involved, particularly children (Relationships Australia, ). In Australia there are a significant number of children living in separated families and moving regularly between the two homes as a part of their normal routine. The Australian Institute of Family Studies reported that in 2017, 47.1 per cent of divorces involved children under 18 years of age (Australian Institute of Family Studies, ).

This chapter considers the importance of evaluation in understanding the effectiveness of your health promotion program and highlights the value of knowing why something does or does not work. It outlines basic evaluation methods used in health promotion, and considers the benefits and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative methods respectively.

The media plays an important role in the communication and perception of health issues, and this chapter explores ways to incorporate the media into health promotion campaigns. It compares and contrasts the strengths and weaknesses of different communication channels, and provides concrete advice on how to develop a communication strategy and write a press release. It also considers how to identify the news value in your health communication.

This chapter provides a brief overview of health and how it is influenced by different contextual factors. It describes the guiding frameworks of health promotion and how these are applied to address health challenges. It concludes with a preliminary exploration of how communication can support the acheivement of desired health promotion goals.

This chapter considers the future of health issues and how health promotion will be needed and challenged. The chapter discusses the relationship between the environment and human health through the lens of concepts including the Ottawa Charter, systems thinking approaches and One Health. A detailed discussion of health promotion relating to the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of clear health communication, while also considering the ways personal beliefs, societal expectations and different cultures can affect the implementation and success of health communication. Finally the chapter looks at the ways in which health promotion will need to respond the diverse needs within society in order to increase equality and inclusion.