Brett and Samantha
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Brett is autistic. His mother, Samantha, said his school excluded him from some subjects, made him sit in a ‘reflection room’ for long periods of time, and suspended him.
The school didn’t always tell Samantha exactly why they did this.
‘He was accused [on one occasion] of sexual misconduct with no reports written and no support offered or his therapists contacted,’ Samantha told the Royal Commission.
When she tried to move Brett, she discovered his original school was telling other schools that Brett was ‘uncontrollable’.
Samantha reported the school’s behaviour to the Australian Human Rights Commission, which found the school breached the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
‘I was promised by the school by not pursuing them in court that they would allow [Brett] to move schools. They broke this promise by lying to the new schools so I could not enrol him anywhere.’
Brett missed three school terms before Samantha ‘found a loophole with school zoning’, which meant one of the schools had no choice but to enrol him.
She said a member of the new school’s staff, who had objected to his enrolment, then excluded Brett from some activities. Samantha made a freedom of information request for Brett’s school record and found that his past suspensions, which she was told had been removed, were still listed.
She also discovered why he’d been suspended. One of the incidents referred to him masturbating, an incident the school did not report to his psychologist.
‘The last time he was suspended was for asking the support worker why he could not attend tech studies, and that’s when I found out they were making him stay in a room all day away from his classes.’
Samantha said the education department later sued her for unpaid school fees for a period that included Brett’s suspensions.
‘I was not allowed legal representation and was forced to appear in more than six hearings. I managed to reduce the bill … because they had not given [Brett] an education.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.