Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Victorian Government Schools

Requests from former students for information or school records

Former students who are victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse by an adult working in that school may contact their former school to ask for information or records from the past. This might include asking questions about past teachers or students or requesting school records relating to them.

Former students may request information or copies of school records for many reasons, including:

• to support a National Redress Scheme application
• to support a claim for compensation through a legal process
• to help clarify or confirm a memory they may have
• to understand more about their school experience and early life.

The following guidance focusses on requests for information and school records from former students who disclose that they are a victim-survivor of sexual abuse by an adult working in a Victorian government school.

School staff do not need to know why a student is requesting information or school records so it is not necessary to ask if the student is a victim-survivor of sexual abuse. For information about requests for information from any former student, schools can follow the guidance on the department’s Requests for Information about Students policy.

Responding to requests from victim-survivors of child sexual abuse for information or school records

The department’s Restorative Engagement and Support team can support both schools and victim-survivors directly with any queries relating to requests for information or school records in relation to a person who reports sexual abuse by an adult working in a Victorian government school:

• Phone: 03 9057 4500
• Email: REST@education.vic.gov.au

Administrative release – supporting people to access their own records

There are some situations where information or school records can be released without the person needing to go through the Freedom of Information (FOI) or other formal process. This is known as administrative release.

Some examples of administrative release are:

• if the information or record is about the person requesting it (their own records)
• information about school staff criminal offences if a conviction is on the public record
• any information that is already on the public record.

Administrative release of information should be used wherever possible.

How to administratively release records to someone (about themselves)

Generally, if someone is requesting access to records that are entirely about themselves, under administrative release the school only needs to verify their identity (or sight a signed authority to release their information to a third-party, for example, a lawyer) before releasing the information.

Examples include:

• academic school reports about them
• individual enrolment and attendance records
• suspension and expulsion records about them
• newsletters, yearbooks, or school photographs of themselves
• any document that would ordinarily be provided to that person if they are or were a student.

If the principal has concerns about releasing any material, they can contact the department’s Privacy unit for advice:

• Phone: 03 8688 7967
• Email: privacy@education.vic.gov.au

Privacy unit will be able to advise on whether it may be necessary for the applicant to submit an FOI request. Schools should not attempt to redact documents themselves due to risks associated with reversing such redactions if not performed correctly. If the person has disclosed that they experienced child sexual abuse by an adult working at the school, the school can also seek advice from the Restorative Engagement and Support team.

Requests for records that are not the requestor’s own personal records

Sometimes former students will request information that is not their personal information, for example information about a former teacher.

The following information can be administratively released to former students (even though it is not a record about them):

• the name of a particular employee that was employed at the school during the time of the former student’s period of enrolment (for example, their classroom teacher at the school in 1982)
• the year level when a particular teacher taught them or the subject that a particular teacher taught while they were a student
• the dates an employee worked at a school (if they are no longer employed by the department)
• whether an employee is no longer working in a government school
• the names of other teachers working at the school while the student was enrolled
• any information that is already on the public record.

Schools must refer requests for any other records to the Privacy team (for general requests) or the Restorative Engagement and Support team (for requests from victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse for advice) for advice.

There is some information that the school and department can’t share with former students for privacy reasons, unless it is under a court order such as a subpoena or another privacy law exception applies. This includes:

• dates an employee worked at a school, if the person is still employed
• whether other students reported abuse by the same person and, if so, whether the school or department took any disciplinary action (unless that information is already public)
• whether there is a limitation on the person that prevents them from being employed at a school, unless this limitation was applied as a result of an investigation relating to the person requesting the information.

All requests for information or records that are not the student’s own records need to be considered carefully.

Where the former student has disclosed that they experienced sexual abuse by an adult working at the school, school staff must seek advice from the Restorative Engagement and Support team.

If the former student has not disclosed, school staff can seek advice from the Privacy unit.