NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns has proposed banning mobile phones across all public secondary schools in the state if his party wins the upcoming election.
It comes as states and territories have different approaches to banning phones in schools.
Here is a breakdown of the different rules.
Phones are currently banned in public primary schools across the state but it’s up to public secondary schools to decide on an approach.
Minns wants to ban mobiles completely across secondary schools in the state, however the current government has left the responsibility with the schools.
“It is a common sense initiative that we think we will work,” Minns said.
“We’re relying on teachers to determine whether a student is looking at an SMS from a mate or a TikTok video or researching an algebra problem or studying a Shakespeare play.
“It’s not possible for them to determine that so children are more and more distracted during school hours.”
Mobile phones are banned in some independent secondary schools including Toongabbie Christian College.
Education minister Sarah Mitchell said in response to Labor’s proposal that mobile phones are already banned in primary schools and it’s up to secondary schools to decide on the best approach for their students.
“We know that a one-size-fits-all approach to mobile phones in high schools is not practical,” she said.
“We cannot ignore the role technology plays in our lives, and it is important that high school students learn how to use devices responsibly.
“Under the current policy, high schools are already able to put a phone restriction in place in consultation with students, parents and staff, and indeed – the majority of high schools already have one.”
Mobile phones were banned in government schools across Victoria in 2020.
Students are required to switch off their phones and store them securely during the day.
Queensland does not have a blanket mobile phone ban in place.
The government has given the directive to schools to decide on the level of access students have to the devices during the day.
The ban is enforced in 44 government schools.
Students aren’t allowed to use their phones in class or during recess and lunch. Some schools have even deployed lockable phone pouches.
During a tour with Minns in NSW, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the ban has been “overwhelmingly successful”.
“Our experience in South Australia is that there is no harm done as a result of a young person not touching their phone from the beginning to the end,” he said.
Mobile phones are banned across Western Australian public schools.
Children from kindergarten to year 6 who bring a phone to school will have it stored with teachers until the end of the day.
Students from year 7 to 12 are allowed to have their phones on them but must turn them off and keep them out of sight until the end of the day.
Mobile phones are banned during school hours in government schools in Tasmania.
This includes no use during recess and lunch.
Mobile phones are banned for primary school students in the Northern Territory.
Secondary students can have their devices during the day but they must be “off and away all day”.
They must be “switched off, not accessed, seen, or heard during the school and securely stored”.
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