{"id":531928,"date":"2026-03-10T22:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531928\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T22:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:14:15","slug":"more-parents-of-students-at-victorian-schools-are-seeking-intervention-orders-against-other-children-over-schoolyard-disputes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531928\/","title":{"rendered":"More parents of students at Victorian schools are seeking intervention orders against other children over schoolyard disputes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wendy<\/p>\n

March 11, 2026 \u2014 5:30am<\/p>\n

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Fifteen-year-old Lucy* was on a school camp when she received a text so strange that she sent it to her mum in Melbourne asking, \u201cWhat is this, a scam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The message from an unknown mobile phone number asked Lucy to attend a police station \u201cfor collection of an intervention order\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"LucyLucy (right), with her mother Kate, says it was terrifying having an intervention order put on her by another student.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

The order, which police were required to serve in person, had been granted to Jordan*, a boy at Lucy\u2019s school who had allegedly touched Lucy inappropriately multiple times. Friends had witnessed the alleged incidents and encouraged Lucy to approach school coordinators to help make it stop.<\/p>\n

Lucy \u2013 who cannot be identified for legal reasons \u2013 discussed with her mother, Kate, how uncomfortable Jordan\u2019s alleged touching made her feel. Lucy spoke with her coordinator, and a school-based safety plan was put in place.<\/p>\n

But instead of providing Lucy with a safe solution, what happened next traumatised her so much that her mother, a former education worker, worries other girls and young women will be too afraid to report sexual harassment, or worse.<\/p>\n

Unbeknown to Lucy\u2019s family, rather than accepting the school\u2019s plan to address the situation, Jordan\u2019s mother made a private application for an intervention order at a children\u2019s court to ban Lucy from discussing what happened. The application stated that Lucy had reported Jordan\u2019s behaviour to the school and that Jordan needed protection to attend school safely and to stop Lucy from \u201cspreading rumours\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"LucyLucy and Kate say they were astounded to learn that it\u2019s common for children to take out intervention orders against classmates.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

Victoria Legal Aid, which eventually represented Lucy, says the interim order was granted without her in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe interim order essentially acted as a gag order on Lucy but not Jordan, who could freely control the schoolyard narrative,\u201d Kate says. After the court hearing, Jordan was heard to brag at school that he had \u201cwon the case\u201d.<\/p>\n

The order removed Lucy\u2019s ability to get support from friends and severely limited her movement at school and other students asked her why she had \u201clied\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Melbourne<\/a><\/p>\n

She became extremely anxious about inadvertently breaching the order and facing potential police charges. She developed stomach aches and couldn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very upset and scared because I\u2019m not used to that stuff, I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen and what it meant,\u201d Lucy says.<\/p>\n

Lucy was so distressed that Kate had fleeting second thoughts about seeking support: \u201cI am ashamed to admit that my first reaction to the intervention order was to wish my daughter had not reported Jordan\u2019s behaviour,\u201d Kate says.<\/p>\n

\u201c[What happened] is outrageous, there is no justice in this scenario \u2026 the legal system is being used to perpetrate more harm than protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Over<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Victoria Legal Aid, the number of intervention orders taken out between children after physical fights, online issues or personal conflict almost doubled, from 243 in 2018-19 to 472 in 2023-24, as parents at Victorian schools increasingly apply for them to deal with issues faced by their children.<\/p>\n

The number of child clients seeking help with intervention orders has also doubled. One-third of children with orders made against them were aged 10-14.<\/p>\n

Dr Lauren Codd, a psychologist and senior clinical manager at Berry Street Social Services, says the service sees children who have had orders put on them by other students\u2019 parents, and they are often excluded from school.<\/p>\n

Placing intervention orders on children who have already experienced trauma \u2013 as many respondents have \u2013 harms their prospects of recovery because attending school is protective, particularly for adolescents, Codd says.<\/p>\n

Schools are often not resourced well enough to deal with complex problems between students, and waiting lists for specialised services are months long.<\/p>\n

\"VictoriaVictoria Legal Aid\u2019s Jackie Anders says it\u2019s not known why more parents are using intervention orders against children in schoolyard disputes.<\/p>\n

Legal Aid found the orders cause schooling disruption to more than one-third (36 per cent) of children placed on them, including missing school, changing schools or leaving school altogether. A Legal Aid review of 100 closed files found half of the young people whose schooling was disrupted by such orders are neurodivergent or had mental health issues.<\/p>\n

Lawyers say the increase in orders against children is worrying and puts vulnerable children at risk of charges.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Personal safety intervention orders] are increasingly being used to manage disputes between young people, particularly within a school setting, but there is limited research into why this is occurring,\u201d says Jackie Anders, associate director of children\u2019s law at Victoria Legal Aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur lawyers have heard that many parents apply for an intervention order because they are dissatisfied with the way the school has responded to a dispute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018[What happened] is outrageous, there is no justice in this scenario \u2026 the legal system is being used to perpetrate more harm than protection.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kate, Lucy\u2019s mother<\/p>\n

Children with neurodiversity and disability can be less likely to understand and follow the order, Anders says: \u201cAs intervention order breaches attract a criminal penalty, we are concerned that the high numbers of intervention orders made against vulnerable children place them at risk of criminalisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children with disability are already overrepresented in the youth justice system, she says. <\/p>\n

Kate, Lucy\u2019s mother, says the ease with which parents can obtain interim intervention orders on other children without the accused child having the chance to tell their side of the story is harmful.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Prime<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAt no point was [Lucy] asked or was effort made by the court to find out about the situation with the school; there was this presumption she had done the wrong thing and would get on the internet or social media and run this up,\u201d Kate says.<\/p>\n

\u201cLucy is not likely to do that even without an intervention order, but here she is essentially with a gag order on her and no ability to defend herself, protect herself or advocate for herself, all because she was following school processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate says she was surprised to learn the school told Lucy that many children in the strong community of engaged parents were on intervention orders.<\/p>\n

After Lucy\u2019s family approached Victoria Legal Aid for representation, lawyers negotiated for the withdrawal of the order against her.<\/p>\n

Anders says Victoria Legal Aid lawyers have seen a significant increase in problematic intervention orders taken out against children, often by parents of classmates when mediation or other conflict resolution options should be used instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur lawyers noticed an increase in these orders against children after the COVID-19 lockdowns, which our research confirmed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018I felt very upset and scared because I\u2019m not used to that stuff, I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen and what it meant.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lucy<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that parents applying for these intervention orders are driven by a desire to ensure their child is safe at school or online. But without linking children and families to mediation or support services, these court orders don\u2019t help to resolve the root causes of disputes, and risk pushing more kids into the justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anders wants restorative programs, such as pilot program Re-engage by Jesuit Social Services, to be funded by the state government to help schools prevent conflicts from escalating to the stage where parents seek intervention orders.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"St<\/a><\/p>\n

Victoria Legal Aid recommended in a recent report that schools be given greater support to resolve disputes between students, and for the number of intervention orders against school children to be tracked. <\/p>\n

Matt Tyler, the executive director of The Men\u2019s Project at Jesuit Social Services<\/a>, says violence in schools<\/a> is a growing and pressing problem, and \u201cthere is an urgent need to better support schools and parents to address the underlying reasons for behaviours rather than relying so heavily on intervention orders in response to conflicts between students\u201d.<\/p>\n

Codd, from Berry Street, says schools need more help to manage interpersonal issues between students. \u201cWe feel demands on schools are increasing, there is huge demand on schools to provide social welfare services they are not funded or equipped enough to really provide … and a lack of early intervention services for young people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s at stake is the prospects of than young person to live a healthy, functional life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the Victorian Department of Education says safety is its top priority and that \u201cthe issuing of intervention orders is a matter for the courts and for police\u201d.<\/p>\n

*Names have been changed to protect children\u2019s identities.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"WendyWendy Tuohy<\/a> is a senior writer focusing on social issues and those impacting women and girls.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 11, 2026 \u2014 5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-531928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}