NT government to begin referring parents for income management if children skip school
Northern Territory parents who consistently fail to send their children to school will now be referred for income management under a plan to keep kids on track.
Parents who consistently fail to send their children to school will be referred for income management under a Northern Territory government plan to keep kids on track.
The measure will begin from Term 4, only applies to those parents receiving government income support, and comes on top of truancy fines of up to $370 introduced last year.
It is a plan that has previously drawn criticism from Aboriginal and justice groups who say income management is paternalistic, punitive, and fails to address the root causes that lead to children skipping school.
But NT Education Minister Jo Hersey said keeping young people in the classroom improved their chances of success, and was part of the CLP’s broader strategy to reduce crime and strengthen community safety.
“Every child deserves an education, and every parent has a responsibility to get their child to school,” Mrs Hersey said.
“Labor failed children and families by letting school attendance collapse, hiding kids on secret lists, and cooking the books instead of fixing the problem.
“We know that children who regularly miss school are more likely to disengage, fall into anti-social behaviour and ultimately into crime.
“This is about helping families meet their obligations and supporting young people to build a better future.
“If parents don’t want to be income managed, the message is simple: get your kids to school.”
The CLP government reintroduced school attendance officers in November last year to tackle the Territory’s shocking attendance statistics – which dropped 0.5 per cent to 72.6 per cent in Term 2 this year.
The government has nonetheless claimed the program a success, pointing to 6000 compliance visits resulting in 328 students returned to classrooms.
The income management referral will be led by the Education Department’s school attendance team, with an immediate focus on parents and caregivers of students on the Intensive Support Roll.
In January this year Minister Hersey received correspondence from Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations informing her that Section 123SCA of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) (the Act) allows for state and territory child protection officers to refer individuals to enhanced income management.
Subsequently, the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Education and Training has been working on the necessary work to enable income management referrals for matters relating to chronic absenteeism to be implemented.
Chief Minister and Cabinet has been engaging with the Australian Government Department of Social Services to finalise an acceptance of referrals from the Department of Education and Training through an exchange of letters.
Student Engagement Advisors will undertake the responsibility of income management referral for chronic absenteeism on behalf of the department.
Speaking to the NT News in June, the teachers union president Michelle Ayres said the CLP’s approach to school attendance was “a simplistic response to a deeply complex problem”.
“Both punitive and reward-based approaches focused solely on getting students into classrooms have limited, short-term effects,” Ms Ayres said.
“When disengaged students are sent back to school without notice, without planning, and without access to behaviour or learning support, teachers are left to absorb the impact, often in classrooms that are already stretched and overcrowded.”
Justice activists Tabitha Lean and Debbie Kilroy also previously spoke out against measures to fine parents whose children repeatedly missed school.
“We are looking at a policy that disproportionately harms poor and Aboriginal families, already among the most targeted by the legal system,” they said.
“This cycle will, predictably, lead to increased incarceration rates among people who, instead of being supported, are penalised for conditions rooted in socio-economic hardship.”
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Originally published as NT government to begin referring parents for income management if children skip school
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