KEY POINTS
- The childcare regulator is considering banning private mobile phones by educators in childcare centres.
- Training staff to spot grooming is also being floated.
- There's also a push for a independent national student safety body.
This story contains references to sexual assault.
An independent national student ombudsman is being touted to hold the education sector to account and keep children safe.
Child safety was a key part of an education ministers meeting in Canberra on Thursday, with a renewed focus on the education sector after universities were criticised for their handling of sexual assault complaints.
Australian Federal Police and the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) also briefed ministers about an investigation into an alleged offender raping almost 100 children in childcare centres over 15 years.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said any standalone body needed to have the power to act but no date had been set for its implementation because it could need legislation.
"Whatever we do, it needs to have teeth," he told ABC Radio on Friday.
Confusion around the rules of mandatory reporting is also being investigated by ACECQA.
Training staff to spot grooming is also being floated.
The regulator is also considering banning private mobile phones by educators in childcare centres, harmonising background checks across states, and a register for educators not classified as teachers.
Education ministers agreed a working group would provide advice about concrete actions to strengthen student safety and prevent gender-based violence and sexual harm.
Universities were strongly criticised in a recent report, with parliamentarians from all sides of politics saying the sector could not be trusted to clean up its act without independent oversight following the poor treatment of sexual assault complainants.
It recommended an independent task force over a working group. The government is yet to respond.
Universities Australia (UA) welcomed the report but was silent on whether it would accept independent oversight.
However, universities were not waiting for the government's response and had already implemented hundreds of initiatives, UA chief executive Catriona Jackson said.
"I acknowledge as a sector we are not perfect," she told AAP in a statement.
"We have work to do, like every workplace and every sector, but I am proud of the work universities have done to date to address this scourge."
She pointed to two student surveys - in 2016 and in 2021 - when asked why universities should be trusted to act without independent oversight following the scathing criticism.
Sexual assault was a society-wide problem and universities could not go it alone, she said.
But the sector was also implementing education initiatives because it had a role to play in , although "teaching right from wrong starts well before adulthood".
The education ministers also agreed to a framework for , which will be released in the coming weeks.
It will be implemented in the next school year and each state and territory will work to integrate it into their own systems.
Students' privacy is a priority and $1 million will be spent to establish a set of expectations for AI programs.
The eSafety Commissioner has raised concerns the use of AI in schools could exacerbate bullying and sexual harm, including through image-based abuse and by facilitating large-scale grooming.
Education ministers will meet again next month.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at and .
Anyone seeking information or support relating to sexual abuse can contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831 or Blue Knot on 1300 657 380.
