Northern Territory Education: Legislation, Ethics, and Schools Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of education legislation, ethical conduct, and school operations, focusing on the Northern Territory of Australia. It examines key aspects such as the Education Act of 2015, departmental strategic plans, and teacher registration acts and regulations. The report explores the objectives and guiding principles of the Education Act, as well as the strategic plan for 2018-2022, outlining compliance strategies for schools like Darwin High School. Furthermore, it addresses the responsibilities of teachers, registration processes, and the Criminal Code of the state and territories. The report also delves into relevant legislation for school canteen operations, analyzes the impact of non-compliance incidents, and suggests strategic initiatives to prevent future occurrences. Overall, the report emphasizes the importance of ethical and professional behavior within the education system, ensuring safe and supportive learning environments for students.

Legislation, Schools,
and Professional and
Ethical Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ..........................................................................................................................................3
Education Acts and Departmental Strategic Plans......................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
Teachers registration Acts and Regulations................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
Criminal Code of state and Territories........................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
Relevant legislations for the operations of school canteen.......................................................10
Impact of the three incidents where the non compliance of the law at canteen have occurred
...................................................................................................................................................10
Suggestions of the strategic initiatives taken in the above three incidents to avoid its co-
occurrence. ...............................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Every profession have an ethical code which they are suppose to follow. Similarly, there
are ethical and behavioural codes for teachers teaching in schools and others. It is expected form
the teachers that they have strong character traits like: honesty, fairness, patience, lawfulness,
etc. There are many duties and responsibilities of which teachers are obliged to when dealing
with the students and practising their professions (Thielking, Skues and Le, 2018). Teachers are
supposed to behave ethically and professionally, they must always be king, respectful to their
students. They shall not show any kind of favouritism or partiality. This report is based upon the
Education act of Northern territory, Australia and the strategic planning of the department of
education which are to be implemented by the schools in Australia. This report also explain the
compliance of the legal rules and regulations by the schools in Australia to achieve the
objectives.
TASK 1
Education Acts and Departmental Strategic Plans
The Northern territory of Australia education act, 2015 came into force on 20th
November in the year 2020. This act provides access to all the children of the northern territory
to education according to their abilities and needs.
Objectives:
The main objects of The Northern territory of Australia education act, 2015 are stated in
section.3 , which are as follows:
 To provide children and the young people with education that is appropriate fro them.
 To ensure that the programs of education are made in accordance to fulfilling the needs
of the children and young people (Curchin, 2019) (Briggs and Hawkins, 2020).
 To facilitate such an effective education program to the children and young people that
they have effective transition to employment or for the further education.
 To facilitate that the school operations have safe learning environment and also that they
are supportive.
 The act also provides with the involvement of both parents and communities in the
government schools by their governance.
 To look that the schools are registered and the non government schools are also assessed.

Guiding Principles:
There are 7 Guiding Principles which involves every person who is included in the
administration of the education. All these are stated in the act under Section.4. They are as
follows:
 Every student shall receive proper and quality education which can help them in reaching
their potential so that this can maximise their achievements and make contribution to
community.
 Education helps in providing foundation for the advancement of social and economy of
the territory (Gryglewicz, Childs and Soderstrom, 2018).
 The staff of the schools and students are all entitled to environment that is safe.
 Parents are the most important as they have vital role in their children's education.
 All the best outcomes of the education of any student are all achieved by the parents,
community, schools and the non governmental organisation with which they are working
with.
 The environment of learning should be appropriate culturally and reflect territory's
diversity.
 There are three things that plays very important role in students engagement with
education and also with the outcomes of achievement. They are: social context, family
context and also general well-being.
The NT Department of Education Plan (2018-2020)
This is the new strategy planned by the Department of education for the year 2018- 2022
which is to be complied by all the educational institutes in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The main goal of this is the engage children and students to grow and to achieve.
The framework of 2018- 2022 is the strategic plan which is framed by the department of
education to provide with the future direction to educational institutes for the five years (Epstein
and Crisp, 2018). This commits very strongly with the education system by providing
engagement opportunities to every child so that they grow and achieve success in future. This
strategy have 5 main areas of focus. They are as follows: School Leadership: In this the school will have a vision where they are expected to raise
their performance standards and be such a school that have an improvement agenda.

 Quality Teaching: Teachers plays a major role in influencing the progress and
achievements of students and also support them by delivering quality of teaching and
learning. Differentiated Support: In this the resources will be allocated to the schools in a planned
and systematic manner as each school have their own and varied improvement agendas. Community Engagement: In this the school will plan to work with parents and
community so that they can help benefit all the children they are serving (Stevens and
Wurf, 2020).
 Data and accountability: The data are to be accessible so that it can help by assisting the
society in determining the best choices available for their children for growth and their
learning.
Compliance of the Strategy 2018-2022 provided by the NT Department of Education by the
Darwin High School, NT, Australia
Darwin high is a secondary school, which is located in the Northern Territory, Australia.
The school has planned many strategies and guiding principles provided by the act so that they
can achieve and comply with the strategic framework of 2018-2022. This is explained with the
help of given table below:
Objectives How objectives are
achieved
Guiding principle or
strategic plan
followed
Suggestions for the
improvements
To increase the
number to more than
80 percent of students
who are attending
school.
The improvement was
made in attendance by
the school by
improving the trial
setup of the VET
courses so that the
errors in the data of
attendance which was
captured can be
reduced.
To make improvement
in the process of the
follow up by the
teacher of roll
marking.
Monitoring of the
unexplained absences
and following it by the
attendance officer.
There is need of an
improved system of
communication
between the school
with both the parents
and students so that
they are encouraged to
notify the legitimate
reasons for their
absence.

To increase student's
retention in years 10-
12
To achieve this
objective the schools
develop the skills and
knowledge of the
teachers to deliver the
course. Teachers are
given access to the
facilities needed and
provided with
appropriate resources.
Implementation of
STEAM learning I.e.
Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and
Mathematics and also
the learning based on
projects.
It is recommended that
the school must
monitor and track
students needs and
accordingly develop
mechanism. This will
attract more students
as the needs of the
students are also
considered by the
school.
To increase the
opportunities of
engagements for the
staff members, all
students and parents.
The calender of all the
specific dates are
mentioned on the
website of school. The
school provided
parents with various
opportunities to get
involved with school
activities so that they
can capture the voice
of community.
Engagement of the
parents of students at
school. Providing
parents an opportunity
to increase their
community
engagement by
making conversations.
It is recommended that
school continue to
provide parents with
opportunities to
engage themselves and
also the school should
monitor the parents
engagement so that in
case they are not
involved, the school
encourage and
motivates them for the
same.
Well being of staff
and their satisfaction
The school supported
its staff by involving
them and taking
initiatives that were
subsequent for their
well-being.
Ensuring that all staff
have opportunities for
their feedback and self
development.
The school must
develop a professional
learning plan for
whole of the school.
This will help staff in
continuance of

Opportunities were
provided to the staff to
mentor and shadow
from their prat-
teaching experience
for the process of
continuous
improvement plan.
opportunities of
professional
development.
Education Act’s objectives mapped to department (agency) and school
Education
Act
(NT Act)
Dept Educ
Strategic
Dept Educ
Framework
(Operational)
Dept
Educ
Annua
l
Report
School
Strategic
School Annual
Report
Education
Programs
Appropriate
& responsive
School
Leadership
School will raise
their performance
standards and focus
on improvement
agenda (Remišová,
Lašáková and
Kirchmayer, 2019).
Nil Increase the number to
more than 80 percent of
students who are
attending school
improving trial
setup of VET
courses so that
the errors in
the data can be
reduced.
Effective
transition
from school
to work
Quality
Teaching
Teachers will
influence progress
and achievements
of students and
support them by
delivering quality
Nil increase student's
retention in years 10-12
schools
develop skills
and knowledge
of teachers and
give access to
facilities of

of teaching. resources
Safe and
supportive
Differentiate
d Support
resources will be
allocated to schools
in planned and
systematic manner
for improvement of
agendas
Nil Well being of staff and
their satisfaction
taking
initiatives
subsequent for
well-being.
Opportunities
were provided
for the process
of continuous
improvement
plan.
Involve
parents &
community
Community
Engagement
work with parents
and community to
benefit children
(Rae, Cowell and
Field, 2017).
Nil increase the
opportunities of
engagements for the
staff members, all
students and parents
School Council
(Lloyd‐Hazlett
and Foster,
2017)
Non
government
schools
Data and
accountabilit
y
data kept accessible
to help assist
society in
determining the
best choices
available for
children.
Nil Nil Not Applicable
TASK 2
Teachers registration Acts and Regulations
In the Northern Territory of Australia, the teachers are registered and regulated under the
Teachers Registration (Northern territory) Act which came into force in the year 2016. The board
under this act plays crucial role in supporting individuals in teaching profession with

enhancement of their practices and increasing the participation of them in the said profession
(Strevens and Field, 2019).
Responsibilities of teachers
The responsibilities of the teacher under the said act to which teachers are expected to comply
with are as follows:
 It is the responsibility of the teachers to see that they remain eligible or authorised for the
registration to practice under the said profession. The teacher must have required
qualification, must be competent, must be fit and possess good character, must have
sufficient professional experience to practice.
 It is the duty of the teachers to meet the practice standards given in the act to carry out
teaching activities.
 They are responsible to notify the board of their good character and their fitness for the
role of teaching (McVeigh and Heward-Belle, 2020).
 The teachers are responsible to conduct themselves in such a manner that is appropriate
and professional.
Registration and renewal of registration of teachers
The teachers comply to this act firstly by registering themselves as teacher with the board
under the act. Once the registration is done the teachers do not get indulge in any illegal activity
which could take away their registration of practice. The conduct is constantly been maintained
by the teachers so that they do not practice unethically. The teachers under this act get
themselves registered. When an application is filed for the registration to the board, it is checked
by the board of members on various different ground like: eligibility of the teacher is checked,
whether the person is fit for this profession or not is also verified and then the registration is
granted on prescribed fee. The validity of such registration is for 3 to 5 years depending upon the
type of registration granted. Once the registration is term is expired, the person is required to
renew their registration. Renewal is granted with the same procedure and is provided for
maximum of 2 to 5 years depending upon the type of renewed registration granted to the teacher
(Jackson, 2017).
Renewal of registration of teachers
For the basic requirements for the renewal of registration, there are few evidences which
will be required by the board. They are:

 Professional experience letter is to be presented showing 180 days of practice in teaching.
 Professional development for a minimum of 100 hours.
 The criminal history of the applicant is checked to confirm whether they are fit and have
good character to be appointed as a teacher.
If all the above conditions are fulfilled and the documents are presented to the board by
the teacher then the registration is processed and granted easily.
Penalty for non compliance
Non compliance of the rules and regulations under the act is punishable and the teachers
will be liable under the said act. If a teacher is teaching without registration or is working
unauthorised then they are liable under the law for penalty of 50 units.
When any teacher forgets to renew their registration and make application after the term
of proper registration is expired then they should apply for new registration instead of renewing
their old registration as a remedy. This way the penalty of the 50 units would not be imposed
upon the teacher and the formalities will be completed on time.
TASK 3
Criminal Code of state and Territories
There are many teachers who have behaved unprofessionally and not complied with the
ethical conduct of teaching profession. The conduct was of criminal nature and for the same they
were prosecuted criminally under the Criminal Code (NT).
Case Study 1:
In this case, a Darwin teacher was found guilty for having sexual relationship with a
student aged 13. the man got arrested after the parents of girl made a complaint in the police
station after finding their daughter in that man's house late at night. Upon finding the girl at his
place, the man stated that he fell in love with that girl therefore he was having sexual relationship
with her. To this the court sentenced him with imprisonment for having sexual intercourse with a
girl of age where she do not have authority to give consent upon the same.
Sections of The NT criminal Act which was applied in this case: Section. 127.

This section clearly states that if any person is involved in sexual intercourse with a child
who is under 16 years of age will be guilty for the offence (Podger, 2017). The person will also
be liable for punishment which will be that he will be Imprisoned for 16 years.
This situation could have been avoided by the school by imposing restrictions upon
meeting with the teachers outside the school premises. The school must do regular inspection in
this regard and also make strict policies so that such offence do not re occur.
Case Study 2:
This is the case of a school teacher named Natalie who was helping a student aged 15
with his maths homework. While she was helping the boy with homework, situations arises and
soon they were indulge in sexual intercourse. This was a crime as the age of the boy was not
legal to have such relationship with a teacher and also it is illegal in the NT jurisdiction. They
continue to do it for many times at each others place. After continuous happening of this, the
victim went to the police station and made complaint about the same. The teacher was arrested
for the crime and the matter was taken to the court.
Sections of The NT criminal Act which was applied in this case: Section. 127.
According to this section, getting involved with a child who is under the age of 16 years
into sexual intercourse with or without consent is punishable under the said act (Mutekwe, 2020).
The act also provides with the punishment of imprisonment under this section. Any person who
is involved in this crime will be liable for the punishment for upto 16 years in imprisonment.
To prevent such crimes from happening at the school, the school must take effective
measure to prevent it like:
 monitor the activities of teachers at the campus and their relations with the students on
campus.
 Make policies and regulations so that such situations can be avoided in future.
 Impose the restrictions upon the teachers and on students from meeting outside the
school premises.

TASK 4
Relevant legislations for the operations of school canteen
The Northern territory School Canteen guidelines that came into force in 1997 are the
guidelines provided by the department of education on how the operations are to be regulated in
the school canteen in Northern Territory of Australia (Curtis, Martin and Broadley, 2019). The
main purpose of the act is to ensure that the meal provided to the children is nutritious or not.
The food provided to the children must be safe and healthy. The law have provided with various
guidelines which are to be followed by the canteen, such as:
 Menu of all the items to be included and kept in the school canteen.
 Regulations relating to the safety of food which includes food poisoning, personal
hygiene, temperature controlled, etc.
Impact of the three incidents where the non compliance of the law at canteen have
occurred
Incident 1: The canteen was not controlling pest due to which the food was getting
contaminated.
Incident 2: The canteen management was not taking care of their personal hygiene while
working in the canteen and preparing food for the students.
Incident 3: The canteen was keeping cooked food along with the raw food items at same place
instead of keeping it at different places. Due to this cross contamination of food is happening and
contaminating both the raw food and cooked food.
Suggestions of the strategic initiatives taken in the above three incidents to avoid its co-
occurrence.
Incident 1: The strategy that could be used by the school canteen to control the pest are as
follows:
 They could have kept the place neat and clean so as to avoid the attraction of pest. Using safe insecticides at the canteen with proper care and protection to the food kept,
could have controlled the pest.
Incident 2: It is important that the school canteen and the people who are engaged in preparation
of food for the students care about their personal hygiene. To avoid its re- occurrence, it is
advised that they should wash their hands always before and after the preparation of the food.

Washing of hands is very important before touching any food item at the canteen. This will help
in the prevention of spread of germs and diseases at the canteen.
Incident 3: To prevent the cross contamination of the food which generally happens when the
cooked food is kept with the raw food items at the same place. When both the food item comes
in contact they most of the time contaminate the food items. This also leads to causing food
poisoning. This can be avoided by keeping food at two different areas at their designated places
so that they do not come in contact with each other. Also to keep the place clean and
management of the place systematically will prevent cross contamination of food.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that the ethical behaviour of teacher and their
professional conduct is very important so that they are eligible for the profession of teaching.
Any unprofessional behaviour or conduct done by them could take away their registration as a
practising teacher. There are various guidelines which are made by the department of education
especially for the teachers so that they carry out their practices efficiently. There are many cases
of misconduct and unethical practices of the teachers found in the Northern Territory of
Australia. For this very reason, the department of education have made many new laws and
regulations so that the ethical and professional conducts of the teachers can be maintained.

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