Principals receive green light to suspend, expel students caught behaving badly outside school hours

Victorian principals will be given the authority to suspend or expel students caught assaulting, bullying or threatening other students or teachers outside of school hours, amid a crackdown on bad behaviour.

Victorian students engaging in serious misconduct outside of school hours could face suspension or expulsion under new powers granted to principals designed to crackdown on bad behaviour.

The Herald Sun can reveal school leaders will soon have the authority to discipline pupils whose actions – both in person and online – outside school grounds risk the welfare of their peers and teachers.

This power is currently limited to incidents occurring within the school gates, restricting principals’ abilities to discipline students for bullying, threatening or assaulting peers after school.

The new measures will come into effect from July 21 – the first day of term three – and will bring Victoria in line with NSW and South Australia where principals already have authority to discipline students for off-campus misconduct.

The expanded powers could help principals discipline students caught up in fights outside of school.

Just last week a schoolboy was threatened with a machete at a Truganina McDonalds.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll will announce the changes on Wednesday, with the intent they will send a “clear message harmful behaviour outside of school or online has consequences”.

“The safety of students, teachers and school staff is our top priority – we’re investing in programs that foster more respectful schools and acting to protect school communities,” he said.

“This builds on our nation-leading ban on mobile phones in schools and our support of a social media ban for kids – keeping kids safe in the classroom and online.”

Principals will be encouraged to use the expanded powers only when necessary to protect their school community, with suspensions and expulsions to be issued on a case-by-case basis.

The state government has also invested $4.2m into ensuring peer-on-peer sexual assault victims receive targeted therapeutic support through Sexual Assault Services Victoria.

Wednesday’s announcement follows a series of recent incidents where students have used social media or met up in public spaces to bully, harass and intimidate their peers.

The expanded powers could also help principals discipline students who are cyber bullies.

On Friday, a schoolboy was allegedly attacked with a machete in a Truganina McDonald’s bathroom by a 15-year-old boy, with the incident filmed and shared online.

Meanwhile, a number of social media pages dedicated to rating and shaming school students – some featuring photos and videos of pupils in uniform – remain active, with schools having limited power to intervene.

There’s also been an increase in incidents where students have used artificial intelligence to generate explicit fake images of their peers, often shared on social media.

It’s anticipated the new reforms will bolster student and staff safety beyond school grounds, create safer learning spaces, support pupils who need extra help with behaviour and protect teachers from violence.

Ben Carroll will announce the new powers on Wednesday. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Dohertys Creek P-9 College Principal Tami-Jo Richter said the expanded powers would provide school leaders with more “breathing space” to put safety plans in place and work with students’ families following an incident.

“What happens on social media, online chat spaces and even if there was an altercation or threatening situation (outside school), you’ve got to manage the repercussions that might come from that in your school environment the next day,” she said.

“So being able to have some discretion around that and some other options is certainly going to support principals to put things in place and give better security and reassurances about safety.”

Ms Richter added the penalties students could soon face for their behaviour outside of school would prepare them for the “grown-up consequences” they might face for their actions when they’re older.

“We’re preparing them for the world so I think having some realistic consequences around particular (behaviours) is important,” she said.

The new powers build on the $10.4m invested in the 2025-26 state budget to expand the School-wide Positive Behaviour Support program.

Originally published as Principals receive green light to suspend, expel students caught behaving badly outside school hours