This paper provides an analysis of Australia's legal provisions and policies regarding truancy. We examine how low frequency truants feature in Australia's truancy law and policy and highlight similarities and differences in the cultural-legal context between Australian states and territories. Similarities include requirements to attend school…

This article considers the exercise of statutory power by an Australian university, in the state of Victoria, when undertaking commercial activities that impact negatively on a local community. A single case study design is used to report on the process engaged in by the community and university to resolve this dispute. This includes consideration…

Education law has emerged as an important concern to educators in many countries around the world. While there are similarities in the range of rights that students in various countries have, there are also many differences. This book provides a comprehensive examination the status of the legal rights of students in 13 international communities.…

Although the systems of public schools differ among Australia, South Africa and the USA, all three countries recognize that religion plays a significant role in determining values. All three countries have written constitutions but only South Africa and the USA have a Bill of Rights that protects persons' exercise of religious beliefs. In…

A study of 300 Australian principals raises serious questions regarding participants' professional knowledge of school law, given the legalized state of public education. By practicing preventive legal risk management, principals can avoid many legal problems confronting schools and, consequently, provide a physically and legally safer learning…

Last year's Australian sedition laws were the latest and most controversial installment in a raft of legislation since the war on terror was announced five years ago. In this article, the author argues that, while some security measures were necessary, the recent laws have far exceeded the modest scale of the threats that confront Australians. He…

This monograph examines the question of what rights students, teachers, and parents have in Australian educational systems and how those rights relate to education in schools. Two types of rights are considered: general rights, which involve all of the participants in education (students, teachers, and parents) in their assigned roles; and…

Every day, decisions are made in universities that affect students. When a decision adversely affects a particular student, what means of redress does that student have? The circumstances in which a student has a legal claim against their university are generally unclear. Courts have traditionally tended to draw a distinction between "purely…

Explores contract law governing relationships between the student and school authorities, the teacher and the school, and the school and third parties in Australian private schools. Shows that government schools do not meet the conditions for enforceable contracts under Australian law. Includes seven references. (MLH)

Employers of teachers in public schools in Australia can be, and have been, held liable for the wrongs committed by the teachers in the course and within the scope of their employment. Analyzes the development of this vicarious liability. (54 references) (MLF)

The Australian Federal Government recently amended the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The effect of this amendment, which came into force on 1 January 2006, is to abolish compulsory up-front fees for the funding of student unions. Voluntary student unionism has been a plank of the Liberal (conservative) platform for many years, but its…

This paper examines the relationship between constitutional courts and educational policy in Australia, the United States, and West Germany in an attempt to formulate a statement describing the relative impact of state and federal governments on educational policy in countries with a federal system of government. Much of the paper discusses the…

This study is a compendium of information regarding the policy and practice of religious education in publicly-funded schools in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, in England, the United States, Australia, and with less detail, in several countries of Western Europe. Most information was acquired from published sources, but letters…

Drawing on the research of 18 international experts in education and law, this yearbook presents a review and advocacy-free analysis of litigation involving education during the previous year in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. But the bulk of the yearbook focuses on education law in the United States. The volume is…

The recent decision of the High Court of Australia in "Griffith University v. Tang" denied judicial review to a student aggrieved by the decision of a university to exclude her. This article analyses the role of judicial review of university decision-making in the United Kingdom and Australia, analysing the justification for…