Parenting

School rules: Exclusion and non‑attendance in NSW

What happens when a child stops attending or is excluded from school - and what are the legal consequences for families and schools?
In this episode, Yolanda takes a deep dive into school law in New South Wales, joined by legal experts Carey and Brodie. Together, they unpack how schools manage attendance and discipline, the legal obligations of parents, and what compulsory schooling orders actually mean in practice.
The conversation explores school exclusion in detail, including suspensions and expulsions, and the rights students have when these decisions are made. You’ll also hear about the complex social factors that sit behind non‑attendance, the respective roles of schools, Legal Aid NSW and community workers, and why early, supportive intervention can be critical in changing a young person’s life course.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Suspension and expulsion procedures | NSW Department of Education
Disability Standards for Education | Australian Government Department of Education
Youth Law Australia | Legal Services for Young People
Shopfront Youth Legal Centre
Marrickville Legal Centre
Community Legal Centres NSW
Chapter markers:
00:03:18 - School attendance rules
00:05:17 - School refusal
00:09:18 - Compulsory schooling orders
00:24:57 - Carey's tips for community workers
00:27:40 - School discipline rules
00:29:49 - Bullying
00:31:37 - Suspension and expulsion legal issues
00:43:30 - Disability and discrimination
00:47:22 - Case studies
00:52:45 - Brodie's tips for community workers
Download the transcript. 
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529. 
 
 

Spotlight On International Social Services Australia

The ISSA is a free, national, legal and social work service that specialises in International Parental Child Abduction and returning children to their parent/families under the 1980 Hague Convention.
You can find links to their website, newsletter and social media pages below:
International Social Service Australia (ISS Australia)
ISS Australia Quarterly Newsletter January to March 2022
International Social Service Australia | LinkedIn
ISS AUSTRALIA (@iss_aus) / Twitter
International Social Service Australia (facebook.com)
You can subscribe to the CLE e-alert here: Legal Aid NSW - Subscribe
A transcript of the episode can be found here: Spotlight On ISSA Transcript PDF 
AcknowledgmentsThe music in our Law for Community Workers podcasts is Blue Highway by Podington Bear licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/Legal Aid NSW has met all our legal copyright and intellectual property obligations in the preparation of these podcasts. 
 
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529.