Teacher prohibited from reapplying for registration following sexual relationship with student

The following is a summary of a recent decision made by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) regarding a Queensland teacher’ registration. All names have been removed.

The full decision can be viewed on the Supreme Court Library Queensland website .

A former teacher has been indefinitely prohibited from reapplying for registration following a QCAT hearing that determined they engaged in a sexual relationship with a student.

The QCT investigated allegations the teacher had engaged inappropriately with the student, whom they had taught for five years and was 17 years old at the time of the alleged conduct.

Following its investigation, the QCT applied to QCAT to decide whether a ground for disciplinary action had been established and if the teacher should be sanctioned.

For a period of time before the sexual relationship developed, the teacher was found to have engaged in conversations with the student about their mental health – without approvals or records of their communication.

The inappropriate relationship developed further when the teacher sent the student over 2,000 text messages in periods of intense messaging and met them several times outside school, including at the student’s home.

The teacher was alleged to have engaged in sexual intercourse with the student on at least two occasions, with their intense messaging found to have ceased soon after.

Further inappropriate conduct committed by the teacher included kissing the student in the school gym and sending nude photographs of themselves and their genitalia – accompanied by sexual commentary – to the student.

The primary evidence that the teacher had engaged in a sexual relationship with the student came from the student’s disclosures to Queensland Police and Department of Education investigators.

During interviews, the student disclosed the instances of sexual intercourse and the text message containing the image of the teacher’s genitals. The student also recounted that their relationship with the teacher had changed when the teacher provided their mobile phone number, seemingly to discuss the student’s mental health struggles, but progressed to messaging about meeting in a park.

When the teacher was interviewed by Department of Education investigators, they initially denied the allegations of providing their mobile number or communicating with the student outside school. However, they soon admitted to providing their number to discuss the student’s mental health and confessed to sending sexually explicit text messages. The teacher denied all claims of seeing the student outside school, engaging in sexual intercourse, and sending an image of their genitals.

QCAT determined that the teacher’s denials of not engaging in sexual intercourse with the student were not credible, and that their initial lies to investigators further impugned their credibility.

QCAT also determined there was a significant body of circumstantial evidence to support the student’s narrative, including knowledge about the relationship by other students and claims by the teacher’s former partner at the time of the alleged transgressions that they had discovered searches of young students on the teacher’s Facebook account.

QCAT found that the teacher failed to maintain professional boundaries and exploited the vulnerable student’s trust, with their behaviour falling below the standard generally expected of a teacher. It found there were numerous aggravating features to the teacher’s conduct, including leveraging the student’s psychological fragility to further their own sexual gratification.

Furthermore, QCAT considered that there was no evidence presented by the teacher indicating remorse for their conduct. QCAT found the teacher had a clear sexual interest in students, had demonstrated a lack of insight into the seriousness of their conduct and had not meaningfully participated in the disciplinary process. QCAT stated that an order indefinitely prohibiting the teacher from reapplying for registration served as an “empathic denunciation of the gravity” of the teacher’s conduct.

QCT reflection

QCAT’s decision to indefinitely prohibit the teacher from reapplying for registration underscores the gravity of their severe breach of trust and professional standards.

As outlined in the Professional Boundaries: A Guideline for Queensland Teachers, all teachers must maintain clear boundaries with students to safeguard their welfare and uphold the integrity of the profession. Professional boundaries are breached when a teacher misuses the power imbalance in the teacher-student relationship.

In this matter, several warning signs and breaches of professional boundaries were evident:

• Inappropriate personal communication: The teacher initiated and engaged in extensive personal communication with the student, including over 2,000 text messages. These communications were not documented or approved, leading to violations of the Code of Ethics for Teachers in Queensland, namely the values of integrity and care.
• Unapproved support for mental health: While supporting students’ mental health is a vital aspect of teaching, the teacher failed to follow appropriate protocols, such as involving school counsellors or obtaining necessary approvals. When teachers become confidants, friends or counsellors of students (where counselling is not a part of the teacher’s legitimate role in the school), a dual relationship is created. In this matter, this created a situation where boundaries were blurred, and the student’s vulnerability was exploited.
• Physical and sexual misconduct: Some of the teacher’s most egregious breaches of professional conduct included meeting the student outside school, kissing them on school grounds, and engaging in sexual intercourse. Sending sexually explicit messages and images further compounded their misconduct, violating both the Professional Boundaries and Code of Ethics’ underlying principle of prioritising student welfare.
• Exploitation of trust and authority: The teacher’s behaviour exploited the student’s trust and their position of authority, which is a fundamental violation of the professional standards expected of educators.

This matter serves as a stark reminder of the critical need for teachers to remain vigilant in maintaining professional boundaries. The guideline outlines several preventative measures that could have mitigated this situation:

• Transparency: Teachers must ensure all interactions with students are professional, documented, and, where necessary, conducted in the presence of others.
• Adherence to protocols: Teachers should refer students requiring mental health support to qualified professionals and avoid engaging in personal counselling.
• Awareness of warning signs: Teachers must recognise and address behaviours that may signal boundary violations, such as excessive personal communication, targeting emotionally vulnerable students, or meeting students outside school settings. As professionals, teachers owe a high duty of care to students and must be prepared to consult a trusted supervisor about any concerning conduct or behaviour of colleagues.

Glossary of terms

Prohibited:

QCAT can restrict a teacher from reapplying for registration or permission to teach for a period of time or indefinitely and may also impose conditions if they reapply for registration in the future.

Investigation:

The purpose of a QCT conducted investigation is to gather all relevant information to enable a practice and conduct body (e.g. QCAT) to decide whether a ground for disciplinary action against the teacher exists.

Background

The QCT refers serious practice and conduct matters to QCAT.

QCAT makes decisions on the matters, including any disciplinary action to be taken against a teacher. The QCT enacts these decisions.

QCAT is an independent tribunal that resolves disputes on a range of matters and is part of the Courts and Tribunals division within the Department of Justice.

Visit the QCT practice and conduct matters webpage for more information about our role in the process.