necessarily mean that the principal with automatically decide that the student is capable of making all decisions relating to their education or welfare. When deciding whether a student should be considered to a mature minor for a particular decision at school, principals and staff must also consider the human rights of any relevant parties (for example the student’s rights and their parents/carer’s rights) as set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (Charter) and must act compatibly with charter. It can be assumed that a parent is making a decision for a mature minor, if the student has not made evident an intention to make the decision independently of their parent or carer.

### STUDENTS LIVING INDEPENDENTLY

Students sometimes do not live in the day-to-day care of their parents. There are a range of reasons why this occurs. Sometimes this is because the student no longer wishes to abide by their parent’s rules. This also occurs in situations of neglect, emotional abuse family violence or where a parent is drug or alcohol affected. When a student is living independently, the student may ask that the school decide:

- • That they are a mature minor for all or some aspects of the education and welfare
- • That another adult carer who they are living with can make decisions about them instead of their parents

The College Principal must make an assessment as to whether a child has sufficient maturity, understanding and intelligence to understand the nature and effect of these decisions, taking into account the considerations set out above, after speaking to the student, relevant members of the College leadership team and other professionals supporting the student in the College. Students who live independently will not always be mature minors for all or some education or welfare decisions, but their living independently is a relevant factor for consideration in deciding whether they are a mature minor. In all circumstances when a student starts living away from their parents and notifies their school that they request to be considered a mature minor for any or all school-related decisions, the College Principal should first try to obtain confirmation from the parents or other responsible adults that the student is no longer living at home. If the College confirms that the student lives independently and decides that a student is a mature minor for all schooling decisions, the College will deal directly with the student for all decisions about schooling matters. This includes, for example, the signing their own excursion forms. If the school confirms that the student lives independently and the student is not assessed as being a mature minor for a particular decision or all schooling decisions. If there is no adult or carer acting protectively for the student and able to make decisions for the student, the College will report their concerns to the Department of Health and Human Services Child Protection and potentially Child FIRST.

### SCHOOL REPORTS AND GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

Sometimes students ask the school to stop sharing their personal information with their parents. If the school deems that student to be a mature minor for this decision, or the student is living independently, the school should agree to this request other than with respect to general information about the student’s education progress and school reports. The College will continue to keep parents informed about the student’s general educational progress ad provide them with school reports, unless the Principal considers that doing so would adversely impact on the educational, social or emotional wellbeing of the child. Such circumstances might include: