School Negligence Claims in NSW: How Families Can Seek Compensation
We trust schools to keep our children safe. When that doesn’t happen and a child is injured, the impact can be overwhelming — emotionally and financially. A school negligence claim may help ease some of that burden.
A successful claim may cover medical expenses, ongoing care, and your child’s pain and suffering. Most are brought by parents on behalf of their child, although a child can make their own claim once they turn 18.
This guide explains who can make a claim, examples of negligence in schools, and the four steps involved in proving your case.
Am I eligible for a school negligence claim?
You may be eligible to make a school negligence claim if your child was injured at school or because of something the school was responsible for.
A school’s duty of care can extend beyond regular school hours or off school grounds if there is a clear connection to the school’s supervision, authority, or known risks — for example, at nearby bus stops, during excursions, or in circumstances linked to school activities. This includes situations where your child experiences bullying that the school knew about but failed to prevent.
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Quick reference: School negligence law in NSW
| Source/case | Key legal principle | What it means for your claim |
| Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) | The ‘breach calculus’ (Section 5B) | To prove negligence, you must show the risk was foreseeable and that a ‘reasonable’ school would have taken precautions based on the probability and seriousness of harm. |
| AA v The Trustees [2026] HCA (PDF) | Liability for intentional harm | Schools are now directly liable for intentional or criminal acts (like assault) by staff/delegates if the school’s power dynamic created the opportunity for the abuse. |
| State of NSW v T2 [2025] NSWCA | ‘Beyond the gate’ duty | The school's duty of care doesn't end at the bell or the fence. Schools must provide supervision at known risk points (like bus stops) for a reasonable time after school. |
| Stanberg v NSW [2025] NSWCA | Maintenance vs. inherent risk | While sports have ‘inherent risks’, a school is liable if the injury was caused by poor maintenance (e.g. faulty equipment) that could have been easily fixed. |
Examples of negligence in schools
Not every injury at school counts as negligence — you’ll need to prove that the risk of injury was serious and that the school could reasonably be expected to prevent it. In our experience, these are some of the specific cases where schools have been held liable for student injuries:
Schools must provide adequate supervision whenever a ‘teacher-student relationship’ exists. This isn’t limited to the classroom; it includes areas where the school knows students congregate (e.g. early arrivals at a playground), high-risk transit points (such as nearby bus stops), or unattended classrooms.
Schools have a duty to ensure their equipment is well-maintained, meets safety standards, and anything high-risk (e.g. trampolines or woodworking machinery) is only used with supervision. They must also repair all known hazards like deep potholes on ovals, decaying tree branches in play areas, or loose balcony railings.
While some risk is inherent in sport, schools must still minimise preventable harm by having equipment that meets Australian safety standards, properly maintaining all facilities and equipment, and ensuring competitors are evenly matched through appropriate age or weight grading. If injuries do occur, schools must assess and manage them properly.
The school must ensure only qualified instructors lead technical subjects like wood or metal work, and that all safety protocols are enforced.
Schools are liable if they fail to conduct a proper risk assessment for school camps, swimming programs, or overseas trips, particularly regarding water safety or transport.
Schools are legally required to have (and uphold) anti-bullying and discipline policies. Claims are often successful when the school was aware of bullying but failed to intervene. Schools may also be liable if staff ignore clear warning signs of an impending fight, such as threats made on social media or reported by other students.
Schools must manage the health needs of vulnerable students. Negligence can occur if the school fails to follow an established management plan for a student with a known condition or does not provide extra supervision or modified activities for students with physical or intellectual disabilities who are at a higher risk of self-injury.
Keep in mind, this is not a complete list — just some common examples. If you don’t see your child’s situation listed here, you may still have a school negligence claim.
Can you sue a school for bullying?
Yes, you can sue a school for bullying in NSW. However, these cases are technically demanding because you must prove the school was legally negligent in its response, rather than just proving that bullying occurred.
In many of the school bullying cases we’ve reviewed, a school will be liable if it was ‘on notice’ about the bullying and failed to take reasonable steps to stop it. This includes:
- Ignoring reports: If you or your child reported the harassment and the school failed to investigate or intervene.
- Failure to follow policy: If the school has an anti-bullying policy but failed to implement it or followed it inconsistently.
- Inadequate supervision: If the bullying happened in ‘high-risk’ zones (like playgrounds or locker rooms) where staff presence was insufficient.
Following the landmark T2 v State of NSW ruling, a school’s duty of care can extend beyond the gate or the 3pm bell in some circumstances. This means you may have a claim if:
- The bullying occurred at a nearby bus stop or park shortly after school.
- The school was aware of a specific threat but failed to provide a ‘safe haven’ (like keeping the office open for a student in distress).
- Cyberbullying occurred over the weekend, but the school knew it was making the school environment unsafe or preventing the student from attending.
Can I claim for a psychological injury?
In NSW, your child being upset, distressed or experiencing temporary emotional harm is not enough to bring a negligence claim against a school. Under section 31 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), damages for ‘pure mental harm’ are only available where there is a recognised psychiatric illness.
This requires a formal diagnosis from an appropriate specialist, such as a psychiatrist. Conditions that may meet this threshold include:
- Severe anxiety disorders.
- Major Depressive Disorder.
- Adjustment Disorder.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
A brief GP note is usually not sufficient. It must be shown that the school’s failure — for example, failing to prevent bullying — caused a clinically recognised condition that has had a significant and ongoing impact on your child’s life or education.
How much compensation will I receive?
In NSW, there is no fixed payout for school negligence. Instead, the court calculates a settlement using ‘heads of damage’ to address both financial losses and the impact on your child’s life.
As of 2026, minor claims often settle for tens of thousands, but major cases involving permanent injury or severe bullying have resulted in payouts exceeding $1.7 million.
- Non-economic loss (Pain and suffering): This is a lump sum for the physical and emotional toll of the injury. From 1 October 2025, the maximum amount for the ‘Most Extreme Case’ (MEC) increased to $804,000. To qualify, the child's injury must be assessed as at least 15% of the MEC.
- Medical expenses: Surgeries, hospital stays, and long-term physiotherapy or counselling required as a result of their injury.
- Care and support (Gratuitous or paid): If your child requires extra help due to their injury, you can claim for the cost of that care. This includes professional care from nurses or support workers, as well as care from parents, other family, or friends (as long as it’s at least 6 hours per week and provided for at least 6 consecutive months).
- Future earning capacity: If a serious injury prevents a student from working or limits them to lower-paying roles, the court calculates their lost earning potential from age 18 to the normal retirement age.
- Equipment or modifications: Home or vehicle modifications to accommodate a disability, as well as equipment to improve mobility or quality of life.
- Educational support: Tutors’ fees to help children catch up on missed school, special equipment or resources to aid their learning, or educational services such as personalised learning programs.
- Travel costs: Fuel or parking for getting to and from medical appointments.
How to prove a school negligence claim
To successfully prove a school negligence claim in 2026, you must meet four specific legal tests.
Summary table: Requirements for proving negligence
| Criteria | Legal source | Key requirement |
| Duty of Care | Common law | Prove a teacher-student relationship existed at the time. |
| Breach | Section 5B (CLA) | Show the risk was foreseeable and the precautions were ‘reasonable’. |
| Causation | Section 5D (CLA) | Prove the injury wouldn't have occurred ‘but for’ the school's failure. |
| Damage and loss | Civil Liability Act | Provide evidence of physical or psychological harm and financial costs. |
Let’s explore each of these criteria in more detail.
You must show that the school owed your child a duty of care. In NSW, schools owe their students a non-delegable duty of care, meaning they cannot avoid responsibility by shifting blame to a third party such as a bus company, camp provider or external instructor. If a child is under the school’s supervision, the school remains legally responsible for their safety.
Importantly, that duty does not automatically end at 3pm or at the school gate. NSW courts have confirmed that a school’s duty can extend:
- Before and after school hours, where students are known to be on site or waiting in predictable areas.
- At nearby bus stops or parks, particularly where staff know students congregate.
- On excursions, camps and overseas trips.
- In online environments, where cyberbullying or digital conduct affects student safety at school.
A breach occurs if the school fails to take reasonable steps to prevent a foreseeable risk of harm. Under Section 5B of the Civil Liability Act, a court looks at four factors to decide if the school was negligent:
- Probability: How likely was it that the injury would happen?
- Seriousness: How severe would the injury be if it did occur?
- Burden: Was there a simple, low-cost precaution (like raking a sandpit or fixing a gate) that would have prevented it?
- Social utility: Did the benefit of the activity (like a sports carnival) justify the risk?
Recent case example: In Stanberg v State of NSW [2025], the court found a school negligent for a long jump injury because maintaining sufficient sand depth was a ‘low-burden precaution’ the school failed to perform.
It is not enough to show a school was careless; you must prove their carelessness directly caused the injury. We use the ‘but for’ test (Section 5D of the CLA): But for the school’s failure to supervise or maintain equipment, would the injury have happened?
The school’s oversight doesn’t have to be the only cause, but it must be a ‘material’ or contributing factor. If the injury was a freak accident that would have happened even with perfect supervision, causation is difficult to prove.
Finally, you must prove that the incident resulted in actual loss. In a legal sense, this may include:
- Medical expenses: Costs for surgery, rehab, and specialised equipment.
- Non-economic loss: Pain, suffering, and the negative impact of the injury on your child’s life.
- Future economic loss: If a serious injury limits your child’s future ability to work, you can claim for the loss of future earning capacity.
To win a school negligence claim, you need evidence that addresses all four criteria — from internal school incident reports to expert medical assessments. Because every case is unique, we recommend a free consultation to determine if your specific situation meets these legal thresholds.
Do time limits apply to school negligence claims?
Yes, time limits are a critical part of a school negligence claim. In NSW, these rules come from the Limitation Act 1969, and how they apply depends on who is starting the claim and when the injury was first ‘discovered’.
1. Parents claiming for their children
You generally have three years from the ‘date of discoverability’ to start your claim. An injury is considered discoverable when you first knew (or reasonably should have known) that:
- An injury occurred
- It was caused by the school's negligence, and
- It’s serious enough to justify a claim.
Example: If a student is bullied in Year 7 but doesn’t develop a diagnosable psychological condition (like PTSD) until Year 10, the three-year clock may not start until that diagnosis is made and linked to the school’s failure to act.
2. Children making a claim (Minors)
If a child chooses to bring the claim themselves after they grow up, they generally have until their 21st birthday (three years after turning 18) to start the claim.
However, the three-year limitation period is typically not suspended if the child has a ‘capable parent or guardian’. This means if a parent was aware of the injury and the school’s negligence, the three-year clock started from that date.
3. The 12-year long-stop rule (final deadline for all claims)
In all cases, there is an absolute ‘long-stop’ limit of 12 years from the date of the incident. After 12 years, it becomes very difficult to bring a claim — you’ll need to convince the court that it’s ‘just and reasonable’ to allow your case to proceed (Section 62A of the Limitation Act).
Key exception: No time limits for child abuse claims
Under Section 6A of the Limitation Act 1969, no time limits apply to cases involving the physical or sexual abuse of a child. This means you can successfully bring cases of historical child abuse decades after they occurred.
What to do if your child is injured at school: Action checklist for parents
| Task | Why it matters |
| Take your child to the GP | Creates a legal paper trail of the injury. |
| Get a written report from the school and keep correspondence in writing | Ensures the school cannot claim they were unaware of the risk. Make sure all further correspondence with the school is also in writing. If you have a meeting with the principal, send a follow-up email summarising what was discussed. |
| Request any CCTV | If your child was injured in a specific incident, request any CCTV footage immediately. Many NSW schools overwrite footage within 14 to 30 days. Send a letter to the principal asking that the footage be preserved to protect your child’s position. Even if you are undecided about making a claim, securing the footage now protects your child’s position later. |
| Keep a receipts folder | Tracks all your out-of-pocket costs so they can be factored into your claim. |
| Monitor your child’s recovery | Keep a symptom diary, especially for psychological injuries or concussions, as these symptoms can take weeks to surface. |
| Speak to a lawyer | A lawyer can provide free advice on your rights in the situation. This is especially important if you’ve previously signed a waiver or the school has offered you a settlement. Once you accept a small payment from the principal, you may lose the right to sue for a larger amount later. |
When should I speak to a lawyer?
If your child has been injured because of school, legal advice is the best way to understand your rights. You don’t have to take on the Department of Education or a private school board alone.
Here are the specific situations where a lawyer makes a difference:
- Securing evidence: If the school is dragging its feet or refusing to hand over CCTV footage or incident reports, a lawyer can step in immediately with a formal ‘letter of preservation’ or a GIPA request to ensure vital evidence isn't lost or deleted.
- Assessing a settlement offer from the school: If a principal or a Department representative offers you a lump sum payment, do not sign anything until a lawyer reviews it. These offers are often small and come with a release clause that permanently prevents you from claiming for long-term medical care or pain and suffering.
- Claiming outside the three-year limit: If you think you’ve missed the deadline, don’t give up. We have a high success rate in petitioning the NSW courts for extensions, particularly if the injury (like PTSD) didn’t manifest until much later.
- Reaching the 15% threshold: To get compensation for pain and suffering in NSW, your child’s injury must be assessed at 15% or more of a Most Extreme Case (MEC). If a school-appointed doctor assesses your child at 14% or less, you get $0 for pain and suffering. We work with independent specialists to challenge these findings and get your child over that 15% line.
- Calculating the long-term impact: Assessing the impact of an injury on a child is complex because they’re still developing. Lawyers consider the full circumstances of the case — including things like school performance, behavioural changes, and social development — to understand how the injury has affected them. We also arrange assessments with age-appropriate medical specialists and psychiatrists to establish the lifelong impact of the injury.
- Getting court approval: After we successfully negotiate a compensation settlement, the court will need to approve it. This is a specific rule for claims involving children. Our lawyers have extensive experience in this process and will structure your settlement so it’s in line with the law and previous cases — ensuring your child receives the compensation they’re entitled to.
- Appealing a denied claim: A ’no’ from the insurer isn't the final word. If your claim was rejected, we can help find fresh evidence and appeal the decision in court.
And the best part? Because we work on a No Win, No Fee basis, there is no financial risk to your family. We cover every upfront cost, and there’s nothing to pay until we win your case.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can claim compensation if your child was injured on a school trip. When students are on an excursion, camp or other off-site activity, the school remains responsible for their safety while they are under its supervision.
If your child was hurt because the school failed to take reasonable steps to protect them, you may have grounds for a school negligence claim.
If your child is injured in a public park, liability depends on whether the fault lies with the school’s supervision or the council’s maintenance.
Under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), the school is generally responsible for the safety of students during any organised off-site activity. Recent cases like Stanberg v State of NSW have confirmed that schools must perform a ‘dynamic risk assessment’ before allowing play, ensuring the environment is safe and supervision is adequate for the specific age group and equipment.
Conversely, the local council is responsible for the physical safety and upkeep of the park itself. Councils have specific legal protection, so to successfully sue one for an injury in a public park, you must typically prove they had ‘actual knowledge’ of a specific hazard. This could be a previous report of broken equipment or uneven surfacing that they failed to act on.
A landmark 2024 ruling (Hornsby Shire Council v Salman) confirmed that councils can be held liable for ‘hidden’ hazards, like improper mulch levels, especially in settings where it is foreseeable that a supervisor’s attention might be momentarily distracted by a child.
Key considerations for public park injuries:
- School responsibility: Was the injury caused by a lack of teacher supervision or a failure to spot an obvious hazard (like broken glass) before play began?
- Council responsibility: Was the injury caused by a structural defect or a failure to meet Australian Playground Standards (AS 4685) that the council was already aware of?
- After hours and dismissal: The school may still be liable for injuries in a nearby park shortly after the bell if they knew of a specific risk (like a brewing fight) and failed to provide a safe haven or adequate staff presence.
Even if the deadline for making a school negligence claim has passed, you may still be able to proceed by asking the court to extend the time limit with a reasonable excuse.
Examples of reasonable excuses include:
- Delayed symptoms: The injury or condition (such as PTSD or depression) only became apparent after the incident.
- Hidden severity: The full impact of the injury wasn’t clear at the time.
- Unaware of material facts: You didn’t know, or couldn’t reasonably have known, a material fact about the case, such as not knowing that your child was injured or that the injury was caused by the school’s negligence.
Most school negligence claims take between 18 months and 3 years to resolve. The exact timeline depends on a few factors, including:
- The evidence required: To build your case, you’ll need to gather extensive evidence, including internal school incident reports, CCTV, and supervision rosters via Government Information (Public Access) Act (GIPA) (freedom of information) requests.
- How long the injury takes to stabilise: You need to wait for your child’s injury to ‘stabilise’ (known as reaching Maximum Medical Improvement) before starting your claim. This ensures you’re compensated for the full impact of the injury.
- Whether the school disputes your claim: If the school or its insurer denies liability, the process moves to a formal settlement conference or a court hearing. This can add months or even years to your claim timeline.
Over the years, our lawyers have developed processes to streamline your claim and secure compensation in a pre-trial mediation, saving you the time and cost of a formal court hearing.
If your child has been injured and you’re not ready to start a formal negligence claim, you may still recover medical expenses through the school via an ‘unlitigated claim’.
- Small claims (under $1,000): The school principal can assess and pay minor costs directly, such as a single dental repair or specialist consultation. You must provide receipts and a brief explanation of the accident. The school cannot formally admit liability.
- Larger claims (over $1,000): Significant or ongoing medical costs are handled by the NSW Department of Education’s legal services. The principal forwards your letter of claim and receipts to a specialist solicitor, who investigates the incident. This process resolves claims without going to court, though pain and suffering are not covered.
- Student accident insurance: Some schools, particularly Catholic, Independent, or certain public schools, offer accident insurance that may pay out even if no one was at fault. Check your child’s school for coverage details.
While faster than formal claims, unlitigated claims only cover financial losses. For full compensation, including pain and suffering, a school negligence claim is still the best option.
You cannot make a school negligence claim without proving fault, but you may be eligible for compensation if your school has student accident insurance.
Many parents are unaware that some schools (particularly Catholic and Independent schools, and some public schools via their P&C) have this insurance.
Unlike a negligence claim, this insurance can often pay out even if the school did nothing wrong. For example, if a child simply falls while running.
- Public schools: Check with your P&C; some pay a small annual fee per student to provide 24/7 accident cover for all enrolled children.
- Private or catholic schools: This is often included in your school fees. It usually covers the gap between Medicare or private health and your actual out-of-pocket costs.
