Lisa Darmanin (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian schools are facing a growing crisis in principal recruitment and retention. Stress, burn-out and escalating workloads are driving inexperienced leaders out of the system and discouraging others from stepping up. One crucial yet under-recognised part of this pressure is the role that principals play in holding their school communities together, creating safe socially connected environments and supporting students with increasingly complex needs.

Just last week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting with researchers involved in an important national study examining this hidden reality: the emotional labour carried by government school principals. Led by the fantastic Professor Jane Wilkinson and Fiona Longmuir, the study undertaken by Monash University in collaboration with Deakin University and the University of Sydney reveals how principals are increasingly expected to manage physical threats, gendered violence and systemic neglect, often without adequate support or recognition. This is a really important study. Principals from 256 government schools shared their experiences as part of the study, and I thank all of those who participated.

What the researchers found will come as no surprise to the teaching community. Principals are no longer just seen as educational leaders. Increasingly, they and their teachers have become first responders. Managing violence, threats and abuse is becoming a normalised feature of school leadership, unfortunately. A 2022 analysis of workers' compensation claims found that educators claim for assault related injuries at a rate 74 per cent higher than the average and that their rate of mental health claims is 33 per cent higher. Over 64 per cent of principals described critical incidents involving physical violence, threats of violence, gendered violence, sexual harassment or sexual abuse. These incidents stem not only from students but from parents, staff and community members, and principals are left to manage not only the crisis but the aftermath on top of all of the other important work they do leading their schools.

The study also exposes clear gendered impacts. Female principals face disproportionate levels of harassment and gendered violence compounded by societal expectations of care and self-blame. Male principles meanwhile reported pressure to suppress vulnerability, reinforcing harmful norms that leadership must also appear stoic. This research matters because it makes visible what has too often been minimised or ignored. It provides an evidence base for change and a clear warning that, without better support, we risk losing the very leaders holding our public schools together.

Importantly, this study and their work are not finished. The research team will deliver a fourth report in 2026, looking at how our school systems can better recognise, support and protect principals and create thriving school communities through policy, legislation and funding. If we want strong, safe and connected public schools we must ensure the leaders at their centres are properly supported not just in policy but in practice.

This is why the government's investment in public education matters so deeply. The Albanese Labor government has reached agreements with every state and territory to put all public schools on a path to full and fair funding under the schooling resource standard. Investment in schools is not just about buildings, the curriculum or class sizes. It's about supporting the people who hold our school communities together every day. So I want to thank Jane and Fiona for their important work.

With my last remaining minute I want to briefly mention healthcare access in the electorate of La Trobe, in my home state of Victoria. Having two preteen sons, I am often made well aware that I can miss most of the up-to-date cultural references. Wuthering Heights and Heated Rivalryare all the rage now, apparently, but the thing that I'm genuinely excited about is the opening of the Pakenham Medical Urgent Care Clinic. It's at 17 John Street, just behind the Pakenham Marketplace, and is open seven days a week with extended hours. No appointment is required—just your Medicare card. This clinic is one of 137 Medicare urgent care clinics nationwide that provide free walk-in care for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses, easing the pressure on our hospital emergency departments. As you've heard before, having more urgent care clinics means that four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare urgent care clinic.