• Victorian high School student awarded $290,000 for school bullying

The Supreme Court of Victoria has approved an out of court settlement of $290,000 in favour of a 17 year old girl over bullying incidents in a Victorian secondary school. The pay out is believed to be one of the largest for a school bullying case and signals the need for schools to improve how they deal with bullying .

In this case, the girl claimed that the bullying began when she was in Year 7 and continued for over 18 months when her parents removed her from the school. The girl suffered depression, agoraphobia and eating disorders and is still under treatment. The girl’s mother sued the Education Department on her behalf for negligence and failing in its duty of care.

• Compensation for victims of young bullies to be re-considered

In another school bullying case where the victim was a primary school child, the Supreme Court of Victoria paved the way for victims of young bullies to seek compensation through the courts. (BVB v Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal [2010]VSC 57 (5 March 2010)).

In this landmark ruling, the court overturned a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) decision which refused to compensate a girl because her attackers were under 10-years old and ordered that the applicant’s application be reheard and re-determined.

While this matter is yet to be determined by VCAT, it is worth noting Justice Cavanough’s comment that “one cannot be other than surprised that so much harassment was [meted] out to a quiet child for so many years without more active intervention calculated to protect her in application of the declared policies of the Department”.

• Advice to schools

• Establish clear and concise anti-bullying policies with case scenarios
• Re-iterate the policies to students, teachers and parents on a regular basis
• Watch out for instances of bullying and take early remedial action
• Do not ignore complaints of bullying