Code of Conduct

All relevant Commonwealth and State legislative and regulatory requirements will be followed. These include the Anti Discrimination Act 1977, the Sex Discrimination Act, 1984, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, the Federal Privacy Act 1988, and the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998.

Recruitment of all clients will be undertaken in an ethical and responsible manner. Offers of course placement will be based on an assessment of the extent to which the aspirations and proficiencies of the client are matched by the educational opportunity offered.

The Sturt School will adopt policies and management practices which maintain high professional standards in the delivery of education and training services, and which safeguard the educational interests and welfare of clients. The school will provide adequate facilities to deliver the nominated course and use methods and materials appropriate to the learning needs of clients.

The school will work to maintain an environment conducive to learning at all times. The school will endeavour to ensure that the staff associated with the school and the courses it runs are suitably qualified and will assist staff with training if and when it is required or deemed necessary.

Frensham Schools has 24 hour a day registered nursing care available and referral to appropriate counselling services can be provided.

All relevant principles of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 will be observed so clients may study and work in a healthy and safe environment.

All marketing conducted by the school will be conducted with integrity and accuracy and within the guidelines found in Section 22 of the Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Act 1990.

Grievance procedures incorporate both formal and informal mechanisms for the resolution of grievances. In the first instance clients are encouraged to discuss and resolve grievances with the course instructor or the centre director. In the event of an unresolved outcome the client shall put the grievance in writing, stating clearly the issues, and forward it to the Head of Sturt who will arrange a meeting within 72 hours. Should the matter still be unresolved it may be forwarded to the Head of Frensham Schools.

Any formal complaint of discrimination or harassment must be made to the Head of Sturt. All persons involved in these procedures will adhere to principles of natural justice and procedural fairness respecting confidentiality. Detailed procedures and relevant forms are set out below (Policies: Grievance Handling). A written report stating the outcome of any grievance procedure will be forwarded to the complainant.

Your Rights and Obligations

The Sturt School aims to provide students with the opportunity to study learn and develop skills in a safe and supportive educational environment. As a student you have rights and responsibilities.

Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, it is against the law in NSW to discriminate against people on the grounds of:

• sex (including sexual harassment or pregnancy)
• age
• disability (includes past, present or possible future disability)
• race, colour, ethnic or ethno-religious background, descent or nationality
• marital status
• homosexuality
• gender identification

 Detailed procedures for lodging a complaint may be found under Grievance Handling below.

Your Rights and Obligations

The Sturt School aims to provide students with the opportunity to study, to learn and to develop skills in a safe and supportive educational and social environment. As a student you have rights and responsibilities.

Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, it is against the law in NSW to discriminate against people on the grounds of:

• sex (including sexual harassment or pregnancy)
• age
• disability (includes past, present or possible future disability)
• race, colour, ethnic or ethno-religious background, descent or nationality
• marital status
• homosexuality
• gender identification

If you feel you have been discriminated against, speak to your teacher, or the Head of Sturt. If you wish to make a formal complaint, you will find a grievance/complaint form with instructions on how to use it – see Grievance Handling section below. If your complaint is not resolved you can seek advice from the Anti-Discrimination Board on (02) 9268 5555.

Discrimination
Discrimination is defined as treating someone less favourably than another because of a personal characteristic that is irrelevant to the situation.

There are two forms of discrimination:

Direct Discrimination: occurs when one person is treated less favourably because of a characteristic or attribute than another person without that characteristic or attribute, in the same or similar circumstances.

Indirect Discrimination: occurs when someone cannot comply with an apparently neutral rule/requirement/condition/practice because of a personal characteristic or attribute.

Requirements under ‘The Act’

The Federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 specifically prohibits sexual harassment in both workplace and in educational institutions. The law imposes an obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.

Staff and students must be made aware that sexual harassment is unlawful and the Sturt School is required to implement an 'anti-sexual harassment policy'.

It is necessary to have in place an appropriate 'complaints procedure' which gives guidance and correct procedures for handling specific situations covered by the policy statement.

For the information of staff a summary and explanatory notes of 'The Act' are available from the Head of Sturt.

The Sturt School has a responsibility to:

(a) establish a written policy prohibiting sexual harassment;
(b) communicate that policy effectively;
(c) establish an efficient complaints procedure;
(d) investigate all complaints quickly;
(e) take action to prevent further harassment;
(f) ensure that the harassment does not recur.

POLICY STATEMENT

1. Sturt School is committed to providing all staff and students with a working and learning environment free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Sturt School under any circumstances. All staff and students are required to honour and support this statement.
    
2. The policy in no way detracts from the School's requirements relating to appropriate professional behaviour between staff and students. An action may not constitute harassment but could still be unprofessional conduct.
    
3. The sexual harassment of staff and students is unlawful under the Federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984. This Act explicitly prohibits:
   (a) sexual harassment of a student by staff. Of course, this prohibition supplements the School's general policy requiring staff members to act in an appropriate and professional manner towards students at all times;
   (b) sexual harassment of an adult student (that is, students who are aged 16 years or older) by another adult student; and
   (c) sexual harassment of staff or applicants for staff positions by adult students or other staff.
    
4. Appropriate action will be taken in any proven instance of harassment including dismissal or expulsion of proven offenders.
   
   What constitutes sexual harassment?
    
5. Sexual harassment is any unwelcome conduct, including comments, attention or contact of a sexual nature that a reasonable person would have anticipated would cause the person subjected to that conduct offence, humiliation or intimidation. It can be verbal, physical, written or visual.
    
6. Sexual harassment has nothing to do with mutual attraction or consenting friendships.
    
7. Examples of sexual harassment may include:
   - the distribution or display of offensive pictures or written material;
   - repeated unwelcome requests for social outings or dates;
   - offensive comments about a person's physical appearance, dress or private life;
   - jokes, intrusive questioning, messages or telephone calls of a sexual nature;
   - direct propositioning or subtle pressure for sexual favours;
   - leering or unnecessary familiarity;
   - unwanted physical conduct, such as patting, pinching or touching; or sexual assault;
   - using words to describe a person which are generally accepted as contemptuous or insulting.
   
   Examples that are not harassment:
   - jokes mutually accepted as meaning no offence;
   - touching in a non-threatening, welcoming or necessary way;
   - critical comments indicating work performance deficiencies;
   - feedback and counselling;
   - mutual attraction between people.
    
8. Obvious difficulties can arise in determining what behaviour goes beyond the boundaries of what is 'welcome'. You should be careful not to risk being misunderstood and thus becoming the subject of complaint; remember that some people find particular types of behaviour offensive when others would not. The behaviour must always be considered from the point of view of the person receiving it. Innocent intention is no defence to sexual harassment.
   
   Victimisation
    
9. In relation to sexual harassment it is against the law to victimise a person who:
   - has made a complaint;
   - intends to make a complaint;
   - acts as a witness;
   - intends to act as a witness;
   - supports a victim or;
   - intends to support a victim.
   A person is victimised if threatened, harassed, harmed or subjected to any form of detriment.

POLICY STATEMENT

Grievance Handling – Best Practice Policy

Discrimination / harassment grievances must be handled:

• confidentially
• impartially
• fast

According to a clear policy / procedure that everyone knows about.

STUDENT SUPPORT PROCEDURES

All students are supported at Sturt School through a grievance process as set out below.

On induction, students are informed of the following processes and are encouraged to present any grievances following these processes.

All students receive a written report stating the outcomes of any grievance procedures, which is signed by the relevant Sturt teacher and the Head of Sturt.

1. If a student has a grievance concerning another student, or an aspect of the course, the first place for appeal is to the teacher. This may be conducted verbally or in written form using Form 1, in which case it is handed to the Teacher or to the Head of Sturt.
2. If the student is dissatisfied with the result, the student may appeal to the Head of Sturt. This may be conducted verbally or in written form using Form 1, in which case it is handed to the Head of Sturt.
3. If dissatisfied with the result, the student may appeal to the Head of Frensham Schools, whose decision in this matter will be final. This may be conducted verbally or in written form using Form 1, the Head of Frensham Schools.

CLIENT COMPLAINT / GRIEVANCE FORM 1

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