A father in Queensland has been prohibited from entering his daughter's primary school for an entire year following a heated confrontation over bullying allegations. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, confronted both a young student he accused of bullying his daughter and school staff he claimed were failing to act.
The Escalation to a School Ban
The situation was not an isolated incident. The parent had previously received formal warnings in August 2022 and June 2023 for what the school deemed 'unacceptable conduct' towards another parent. This earlier behaviour resulted in a 60-day ban from the school grounds, setting a precedent for the more severe action that would follow.
The decisive event occurred in May of this year. Documents from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) detail that the man approached a young student on school property. He told the child, 'Next time you come near my family and you harass (child's name) I am going to get her older sister to start harassing you. Do you understand? We've had enough. Stay away from our family.'
Confrontation with School Staff
The following day, the situation intensified when the father entered the school's administration office and launched a verbal tirade against teachers. He was recorded yelling, 'It's okay, just run the school how your doing. Say hi to social media because I'm going to take all your jobs your f***ing jobs your c***s.'
He continued with threatening language, stating, 'If you're asking us to leave – we'll leave that's fine – but be prepared... and if you ever touch (child's name) again I swear to f***ing God. You keep your hands off my child. Do you understand? Do not touch my child.' This direct confrontation with staff marked the final straw, leading to the imposition of the year-long ban.
Tribunal Upholds the Decision
The father attempted to challenge the ban through a QCAT hearing, arguing that the school was to blame for not addressing the bullying and claiming his actions were not threatening. He even pointed to an apology email he had sent to the school. He sought to have the ban shortened to attend his daughter's graduation.
However, QCAT member Christopher Taylor upheld the full one-year ban. The tribunal was scathing in its assessment, describing the father's actions as 'disgusting', 'atrocious', and 'egregious'. Mr Taylor stated that the behaviour 'could not be condoned as being reasonable in any circumstance'.
In his ruling, he emphasised that an adult should never approach a young child in such an 'intimidating' and 'threatening' manner. 'There is no justification for it. It must be the subject of an admonishment,' Mr Taylor said, adding that the father had failed to satisfy the tribunal that he would not repeat such conduct.
