Latest data from an Australian Catholic University survey shows violence against school principals has surged by up to 150 per cent since 2011 – escalating fears an attack by a parent or student will end in tragedy. Source: Daily Telegraph.
Australian principals are too scared of being attacked to leave their offices at school drop off and pick up times, with a former school leader warning, “someone is going to die”.
The dire warning comes as 15 years of data shows violence against Australian school leaders in government, Catholic and independent schools has soared by up to 150 per cent since 2011.
Principals are being punched, kicked, pinned against walls, followed home, stalked by cars with headlights off, pelted with rocks, having chairs, tables and bookshelves thrown at them, been threatened with death and rape, and forced to hide in locked rooms.
Research shows between 37.8 and 75.8 per cent of Australian principals experienced violence last year.
Professor Phil Riley, a former principal and the founder of the research, said the “tragic” violence being fuelled by parents and students could claim a leader’s life.
The data, from Australian Catholic University’s Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey, which started in 2011, shows students were behind 75.7 per cent of threats of violence and 95.7 per cent of physical violence against principals last year.
Parents were behind 66.1 per cent of threats and 18.5 per cent of physical violence in 2025.
Chief investigator Professor Theresa Dicke said violence had jumped substantially since 2011 due to a systemic and societal shift, but it would not be tolerated at other workplaces. She called for co-ordinated action on workload, psychosocial safety, and preventing violence and aggression.
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‘Someone is going to die’ – school experts issue dire warning as violence against principals surges (By Mary Papadakis, Daily Telegraph)
