Canberra education officials forced to release information about teacher misconduct, including ‘serious’ sexual abuse and violence

The ombudsman has found it is “in the public interest” to reveal damning details of misconduct by teachers in Canberra schools.

Low level bureaucrats in the ACT education directorate spent months trying to block the public release of most of an internal document that reveals horrific misconduct by teachers in Canberra schools, including serious sexual misconduct.

The document obtained under freedom of information laws, also reveals teachers from Canberra school watched graphic pornography at work and committed serious acts of violence against students.

The directorate was forced to release more information over the Christmas holidays following a damning decision by the ACT Ombudsman, who said the release of more information about dodgy teachers to the media was “in the public interest" and would enhance government accountability.

Senior Assistant Ombudsman Symone Andersen, said in her review of the directorate’s FOI decision, that it was “not immediately apparent” why bureaucrats redacted some of the most serious details of a document summarising teacher misconduct in Canberra schools.

Students in Canberra schools have suffered from sexual and physical misconduct at the hands of teachers.

The more recent version of the document, released with fewer redactions, shows the directorate had at first tried to avoid revealing a teacher was facing allegations of engaging in “misconduct of a sexual nature — inappropriate touching, crossing professional boundaries, inappropriate and overly personal or intimate conduct towards them including physical contact with them.”

An unnamed investigator substantiated three of the four allegations against the teacher, and the document reveals police also investigated the case, however it is unclear whether any charges were laid.

In a separate incident, details of which the department also tried to avoid releasing at first, a teacher had “inappropriate verbal and physical contact with a student” but, as of last year, remained working.

The ACT education directorate spent months trying to avoid the release of information about teacher misconduct in Canberra schools.

In yet another incident the department at first refused to release details of, a teacher “admitted to throwing a chair across the room at a student” but still has the right work in the classroom.

That case was not the only act of physical violence against a student, with another teacher disciplined for shouting and pulling a child with “with significant force”.

A teacher is also being probed over allegations they altered student marks, and the document suggests that investigation is ongoing.

The Canberra Star has previously revealed a teacher had been busted watching pornography on a work computer, but the later version of the document showed another teacher had “repeated access of multiple explicit and adult pornographic material” at work, and “at home on a supplied … work laptop”.

That teacher also accessed “explicit adult pornographic sites” while on sick leave, but is expected to resume teaching after a year off.

Documents detailing the cases in greater detail are expected to be released in coming weeks.