(QLD) Make School Exclusionary Discipline a Last Resort for Students with Disability

Author: Alex Do | Publish date: 28/10/2025

Problem Identification: 

In QLD, school suspensions and exclusions are not legislated to be a last resort in response to disability-related behaviour.

Part 3, Chapter 12 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (QLD) states under what circumstances (e.g. misbehaviour or posing a safety risk) a principal is legally authorised to discipline a student through suspension or exclusion. However, it does not directly address when such discipline is appropriate regarding disability-related behaviours. 

This means that students with disability can be legally excluded even before other reasonable adjustments or supportive measures have been attempted. The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC) has highlighted that ‘repeated and lengthy suspensions prevent students with disability from receiving a safe, quality and inclusive education.’ The Centre for Inclusive Education (C4IE) further said that ‘suspension and exclusion are blunt tools that disproportionately affect children from poor and minority backgrounds’.

Context: 

Exclusionary discipline refers to the ‘suspension, exclusion and the cancellation of enrolment following instances of behaviour that a school deems to be unacceptable.’ It is also known to include informal exclusionary measures, referring to ‘informal processes… including internal suspensions that are not recorded and requests for parents to keep students at home’ (e.g. early pickups and reduced timetables). The C4IE reported that the use and effects of exclusionary discipline are ‘one of the most extensively studied topics in education and there is now decades of evidence pointing to seriously adverse effects’. 

Children and Young People with Disability (CYDA) spotlighted the experience of a student with disability where they described being ‘placed behind a screen to work separately from other students, placed outside (even in the winter) while other students learned in the classroom’ and ‘confined to his “own classroom”... all day – not allowed out for recess, lunch or PE.’

Arguments:

The C4IE found that exclusionary discipline often leads to academic and social setbacks. The DRC highlighted that this ‘can significantly affect a student’s school experience’ and that students with disability were ‘being denied opportunities for academic attainment and social development.’ The DRC also noted that this ‘can lead to reduced self-esteem and confidence’ and ‘hinder the acquisition of the skills, competencies and social networks the students require for successful transition to adulthood.’

According to Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI), exclusionary discipline was also found to ‘bring economic costs to students, families, teachers and governments alike.’ QAI found that students with disability who are subject to suspensions and do not complete Year 12 could experience an annual ‘income gap of around $41 million’. Further, QAI estimated that there is ‘$14.1 million in lost family income per year’ for their families. The C4IE reported that parents and caregivers were ‘having to cease or risk their employment, or leave their child at home unsupervised’ when exclusionary discipline was continuously applied. A CYDA survey participant reported their experience: 

I have been asked to collect my son early from school regularly. It became so difficult that I made the decision to just collect at 12 to avoid issues. In the end, my son was exempted entirely.

The DRC noted that students with disability have been disproportionately affected by school suspensions. Research found that ‘students with disability experience exclusionary discipline more than students who do not have a disability’. The DRC stated that on average, ‘students with disability received between 14 and 73 per cent more suspensions than students without disability.’ They also found that students with social or emotional disabilities are most likely to be suspended. Further, Graham et al. (2023) highlighted that neurodivergent, Indigenous and out-of-home care students with disabilities are at an even higher risk of repeated suspensions.

Advice/Solution Identification:

The QLD Minister for Education and the Minister for Disability Services should amend section 282 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (QLD) to introduce subsection ‘(5) The power to suspend a student with a disability should be exercised as a last resort, after all other reasonable strategies to avert a risk of serious harm have been exhausted.’ Further, amend section 299 to include subsection ‘(4) The power to exclude a student with a disability should be exercised as a last resort, after all other reasonable strategies to avert a risk of serious harm have been exhausted', and amend section 317 to introduce subsection ‘(2) The power to cancel the enrollment of a student with a disability should be exercised as a last resort, after all other reasonable strategies to avert a risk of serious harm have been exhausted.’

QAI has called for this. They said that this could ‘successfully ensure that all students have access to an education that meets their needs and that certain students are not unfairly and disproportionately disadvantaged in the realisation of this most fundamental of human rights.’

Precedent:

If QLD were to enact this reform, it would be nation-leading to the best of the author’s knowledge.

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Public Support: 

1. Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI)

Have a broad call for exclusionary disciplinary measures for students with disability to be a last resort:

2. Association for Children with Disability

3. Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)

4. Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC)

5. Youth Advocacy Centre

   
   

News Coverage:

• SBS - “‘He saw it as a reward’: How suspensions at home are failing some students”. Home suspensions were found to be ineffective for students with disability, which led to the creation of alternative programs aimed at providing better support. By: Aleisha Orr | 13 Nov 2024 - Read the article here.

• SBS - “Hannah's son was put in a box at school. She's one of many parents calling out the practice”. Australian schools were reported to be using ‘restrictive practices’ which they said disproportionately affected students with disabilities. They further said that these practices were being used as a first response rather than a last resort. By: Zacharias Szumer | 28 Oct 2024 - Read the article here. 

• ABC - “Queensland boy with disability suspended from school so often it's affected his ability to learn, mum says”. Students with disabilities and First Nations students were found to be disproportionately affected by suspensions in QLD state schools in 2023. By: Antonia O’Flaherty | 30 May 2024 - Read the article here.

• The Guardian - “Students as young as five with disabilities disproportionately suspended from Australia’s schools”. Suspensions of students with disabilities were noted to be on the rise. By: Sarah Martin | 1 May 2024 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more: 

• Children and Young People with Disability Australia - Their survey report revealed that a significant number of students felt excluded and were bullied at school by their peers and teachers, with many students feeling that teachers and staff lacked the necessary training to support them. Read the full report here. 

• Children and Young People with Disability Australia - This report discussed how the Australian education system was failing to provide inclusive experiences for students with disabilities, as evidenced by persistent issues such as exclusion, bullying and inadequate teacher training. Read the full report here.

• Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion - This research paper on QLD state school suspensions from 2016 to 2020 found that students with a disability were disproportionately suspended and the risk of suspension increased when these factors overlapped. Read their full paper here.

• Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability - Their report discussed the barriers faced by people with disability to inclusive education, employment and housing, including inappropriate use of exclusionary discipline against students with disabilities. Read the full report here.

• The Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology - This inquiry into suspension, exclusion and expulsion processes in SA schools found that while most SA schools were safe, exclusionary discipline like suspensions and expulsions was used too frequently for minor reasons and disproportionately affected at-risk students, particularly those with a disability, Indigenous students and students in care. Read the full report here.

• Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (QLD) - Read the full act here.

• Education HQ - The news media discussed a new report published that revealed no significant progress had been made for students with disabilities in the 2 years following the Disability Royal Commission. Read the article here.

Human Perspective: 

Content Note: This section discusses the emotional, financial, and systemic impacts of exclusionary discipline on a parent of a student with disability.

Michelle, the parent of an intelligent and creative 12-year-old student with a disability, was facing a constant battle with the school. Her child's anxiety and frustration, which arose from a lack of appropriate support and accommodations, frequently manifested as behavioural challenges that her teachers did not know how to manage. Rather than seeking to understand the root cause, the school would resort to exclusionary discipline, repeatedly suspending her child from school. This left Michelle feeling constantly at odds with the school system and emotionally exhausted from a ceaseless cycle of advocacy. The repeated suspensions disrupted her work schedule, placed a significant financial strain on the family, and left her feeling isolated and helpless as she struggled to navigate a system that seemed designed to fail her child. Michelle believed that school, which she thought should have been a place of collaboration and partnership, became a source of constant stress and conflict. Michelle felt that if the use of exclusionary discipline were better regulated, then her experience (and her child’s) would have shifted from a cycle of punishment and alienation to one of support and successful collaboration.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement: 

N/A

Support 

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Reference list: 

Association for Children with Disability. (2024, July). Snapshot from the Disability Royal Commission #1: Gatekeeping and exclusionary discipline. https://www.acd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ACD_DRC-snapshot_Gatekeeping-and-exclusionary-discipline_July2024.pdf

Dickinson, H., Smith, C., Yates, S., & Faulkner, A. (2023, May). How deep does it go? Australian students with disability and their experience of entrenched inequity in education CYDA School Education Survey 2022, Report prepared for Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA). https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/SW_CYDA_Family_Survey_May23_FINAL.pdf

Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (QLD).  https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2006-039

Graham, L. J., McCarthy, T., Killingly, C., Tancredi, H., & Poed, S. (2020). Inquiry into Suspension, Exclusion and Expulsion Processes in South Australian Government Schools. For The Centre for Inclusive Education, QUT. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/docs/support-and-inclusion/engagement-and-wellbeing/student-absences/report-of-an-independent-inquiry-into-suspensions-exclusions-and-expulsions-in-south-australian-government-schools.pdf

Graham, L. J., Killingly, C., Alexander, M., & Wiggans, S. (2023). Suspensions in QLD state schools, 2016–2020: overrepresentation, intersectionality and disproportionate risk. Australian Educational Researcher, 51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00652-6

Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion. (2024, June). QAI’s solutions to the overuse of school disciplinary absences in Queensland state schools. Submission to the Queensland Department of Education. https://qai.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/QAI-solutions-for-overuse-of-SDAs-on-students-with-disability-to-DoE-June-2024.pdf

Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. (2023, September 29). Final Report - Volume 7, Inclusive education, employment and housing. https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report-volume-7-inclusive-education-employment-and-housing

Sullivan, A. L., Van Norman, E. R., & Klingbeil, D. A. (2014). Exclusionary Discipline of Students With Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 35(4), 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932513519825