Make a complaint about your school

Information and guidance about how students, parents, carers, and community members can make complaints about government schools.

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How to make a complaint

We know that sometimes things don’t go as planned or expected, and you might feel disappointed. We want to hear from you.

Complaints can be raised by students, parents, carers, or community members. A parent or carer can also authorise someone to raise a complaint on their behalf, such as a support person or advocate.

Some types of complaints are not part of our complaints policy. Refer to the Exclusions section below to understand the options available to you for these types of complaints.

When working through a concern or complaint, everyone must:

listen to each other’s views
work towards a solution
be cooperative, respectful and kind
respect people’s privacy and keep things confidential.

Schools and department staff must follow the law, department policies, and the code of conduct for Victorian public sector employees.

Resources for students

Resources are available to support students through the process of raising a problem or issue at school. These resources provide practical information in a student-friendly way and align with the Department’s Compliant Resolution Policy and the Child Safe Standards.

Find more information on the Complaint Resolution resources page.

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Step 1: Speak to the school

It’s always okay to talk to the school about your concern, and it’s important to resolve complaints as early as possible. The best place to raise your concern is directly with the school.

If you are a student, parent, or carer, ask to speak to the teacher or another member of the teaching staff. If the matter is unresolved, arrange a time to talk to the Principal or another member of the school leadership team.

If you are a community member, contact the school directly via phone or email.

Remember, some issues are complicated and might take more time to handle.

Before you approach a teacher or other school staff member

be clear about the issues you want to discuss
focus on the facts and the things that are affecting the student (if applicable)
remember you may not have all the facts yet
think about how the matter could be resolved
check our policies and the school’s policies. You can ask the school for a copy of their complaints policy, or it may be on their website.
be realistic about what the school can do. If your concern is about the principal and you don’t want to talk to them directly, call the department at 1800 338 663 or email enquiries@education.vic.gov.au.

Step 2: Speak to the department’s regional office

If you talked to the school and have concerns about their response, call the department at 1800 338 663 or email enquiries@education.vic.gov.au. A staff member will record your complaint and explain the next steps.

You will get a chance to explain your concerns and what solution you want. Every effort will be made to resolve the issue within 30 school days. If the issue is complicated, it might take longer to solve.

We might not be able to fix your complaint exactly how you want. We can only solve problems in ways that follow department values, policies, and the law.

Step 3: Ask for a Central Office Review

You can request a Central Office Review if:

you are a student, parent, carer, or their authorised representative
you have received an outcome from a regional office within the last 30 days (exceptional circumstances may be considered)
you believe we have made an error in relation to department policy. You will need to tell us what you believe we have done wrong. If you do not, it is unlikely we will accept your request. We will aim to consider your request within 10 school days.

If your request is accepted, a senior officer in the department’s central office will consider whether any of the decisions or actions taken by the school or regional office were unreasonable or incorrect in relation to department policy.

The senior officer may decide:

your case should be re-considered
the original decision was correct and nothing further will happen
the school or department should make improvements. The senior officer will contact you to tell you the outcome within 60 school days from the day your request for Central Office Review was accepted. If the issue is complicated, it might take longer to solve.

If you are unhappy with the department’s response, you can contact the Victorian Ombudsman by phone (03) 9613 6222 or via the Victorian Ombudsman website.

Exclusions

We have separate review or appeal processes for some situations. Where a separate review or appeal process is available, you should follow that process. Some of these processes are referenced below. If you are unsure of which process to follow, call us on 1800 338 663 or email enquiries@education.vic.gov.au.

Compensation claims

The department has a separate process for families to make claims for compensation for injuries or property loss or damage that are alleged to have been caused by negligence of the department. Talk to your school’s principal for advice on how to submit a compensation claim related to personal injury or property damage. You can read the department’s Claims for Property Damage and Medical Expenses policy for additional information.

Complaints about Catholic schools

If your concern is about a Catholic school, refer to complaints - Victorian Catholic Education Authority.

Complaints about Independent schools

If your concern is about an independent school, refer to make a complaint - Victoria Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA).

Employee misconduct allegations

If you have a complaint about a specific employee’s behaviour, it is always best to raise the complaint with their direct manager. For school staff, such as teachers, this would be the principal. Allegations of certain types of behaviour that are grounds for action under Division 10 of Part 2.4 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (see policy guidelines) must be referred to the accused employee’s manager in the first instance, who is responsible for managing the complaint in compliance with the Managing Conduct and Unsatisfactory Performance policy.

Enrolment appeals

If you have applied to enrol your child at a school that is not your neighbourhood school, and your application has been denied, refer to the enrolling in school page for information about the enrolment appeal process.

Expulsion decisions

If your child has been expelled, visit the if your child is expelled from school page for information about the expulsion process, including information about how to lodge an appeal.

Family Law matters

If you have family court orders in place, you should provide a copy of the court order to the school. Disputes between parents/carers about the interpretation or implementation of family court orders should be referred to the court.

Fraud and corruption allegations

If you have any knowledge or reason to believe an employee, contractor, or service provider has been involved in fraudulent or corrupt conduct, we encourage you to report fraud or corruption.

Freedom of Information decisions

Find out how you can apply to access your personal records that are held by the department by submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).

International Student Program (ISP) complaints and appeals

Complainants should be referred to the procedures set out in the ISP Complaints and Appeals Policy and ISP Complaints and Appeals Procedure or to contact the International Education Division (03) 7022 1000 or international@education.vic.gov.au.

Ongoing School Community Safety Orders (SCSOs)

For information about SCSOs, including the appeal process, refer to information for parents and carers.

Privacy complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, refer to make a privacy complaint.

School council election complaints

Refer to the Election complaints section in the School Council – Elections policy.

Student exchange program complaints

For complaints about student exchange programs or organisations refer to make a complaint - Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)

Victorian school curriculum and examination complaints

For complaints about school curriculum and examinations refer to complaints handling policy and procedure - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)

Contact a Koorie education coordinator

If you would like help or advice from our Koorie education team, call us at 1800 338 663 or email enquiries@education.vic.gov.au.

Using a support person

You can have a support person to help you at any time while making a complaint.

The support person can be someone in your family, a friend, a community member, or someone from a support agency. You can find a list of advocates on the disability groups and networks page.

The support person can:

help you clarify the issues
discuss difficulties you’re having about the complaint
help create a good working relationship between you and the school
help you understand our policies and any resolutions proposed.

Let the principal know you want to use a support person when making the complaint. You should provide their name, contact details and relationship to you.

Get support for students with disability

For information about working with your school to help support a student who has a disability, refer to working with education providers if your child has additional needs.

You can also refer to this resource, provided by the Australian Government Department of Education, which includes advice about steps to raise concerns and resolve a complaint with your school.

You can consider seeking support from a disability advocate. Advocates can help explain terminology the school uses and can help you express your point of view. Advocates cannot make decisions for you.

Request an interpreter

If you need an interpreter to talk to your school, call the National Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450. For further information, please refer to the department’s interpreting and Translation Services page.

Report religious or racial discrimination

Everyone in our school community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. Discrimination or abuse based on religion or race is not tolerated in our school communities.

There are ways you can report religious or racial discrimination. If your child has been the target of, or has witnessed, religious or racial discrimination or abuse, we encourage you to report it to your school. They will provide the appropriate action and support.

If you are not comfortable reporting to the school, or are not happy with the school’s response, you can contact our Report Racism hotline:

on 1800 722 476 (available 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays)
via email at report.racism@education.vic.gov.au

Report sexual abuse if you’re a current or former student

If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse as a student at a Victorian government school, either recently or in the past, we encourage you to report it to us and the police.

Information on access to counselling assistance and other supports, and how to make a claim for compensation is available on our report sexual abuse if you’re a current or former student page.

Policies

Schools must have a policy that explains how they will handle your complaint and give you a copy if you ask. Schools and department staff must also follow the department’s complaints policy.

It may be useful to read some of the policies as they may relate to the issues you wish to raise:

Privacy information

We must handle personal, sensitive and health information in accordance with:

the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (VIC)
the Health Records Act 2001 (VIC).

The information you give us will be used to assess and respond to your complaint. This information is stored securely and used mainly by people who handle the complaint. Information may be used outside of the complaint handling process when necessary and allowed by law. For example, if there was a serious risk to the safety of someone.

For privacy reasons, schools cannot discuss steps taken in relation to another student or family, or staff members.

You can request access to information about you held by us. To request access, first speak with the person handling your complaint. You may need to lodge a freedom of information request.

You can also read the schools’ privacy policy and the department’s privacy policy.

Education & training Parents & carers

Updated 26 March 2026

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