Australia’s public school principals are facing a disturbing rise in violence – being assaulted by students, harassed by parents, and left traumatised by threats and abuse – with many saying they fear going to work each day.
Led by Monash University in collaboration with Deakin University and the University of Sydney, part three of the Invisible labour: Principals’ emotional labour in volatile times project investigates the profound toll that rising violence is having on principals’ emotional and physical health and wellbeing.
The latest survey, which involved 256 principals sharing 298 critical incidents, including physical attacks, stalking, and social media harassment, found more than half (65%) of principals reported experiencing violence, threats or harassment. Almost one in three said they’d been targeted by inappropriate behaviour from parents.
‘Principals carrying the load of a broken system’
One principal said being assaulted was just “another normal day at school,” while another described being too afraid to sleep after a parent posted her number plate online.
Another principal “had a recurring dream that I was shot in the head” after dealing with aggressive parents, who made threats. Principals also described checking when driving they are not being followed by certain parents.
The testimonies also echo other research which finds women principals are far more likely to be the victims of attacks from students or parents. This included being stalked and intimidated, both verbally and physically.
One female principal recounted how a male community member said to her: “Do what I say bitch. I own you; this town owns you.”
“Principals are being left to carry the emotional and physical weight of a broken system,” lead researcher Professor Jane Wilkinson said. “They’re educating our most disadvantaged kids with nowhere near the support they need.”
The report calls for urgent reforms: full funding of public schools, better protection from occupational violence, and a national summit on school safety. It also recommends mental health support for school leaders—many of whom admit to feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and at breaking point.
Denise Lofts, President of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, said principals are absorbing trauma “while maintaining professionalism, often at great personal cost.”
“They’re expected to be counsellors, crisis managers and punching bags,” she said. “But they’re human too.”
Principals lack support where they need it most
A disturbing message that emerged from the testimonies was that principals were expected to support their communities through violence and trauma with very little support themselves.
The survey found more than one third of principals (34%) were critical of their state or territory education system’s response in the aftermath of a critical incident.
One female principal in the study noted, “I had to fake how I was truly feeling so as not to look weak”.
One male principal from a rural high school described how he struggled after supporting his school through deaths in their community.
This was the most complex and hardest work I have ever done […] people need to realise that principals are humans too […].
Whole-of-government response needed
The report calls for full funding of public schools to the Schooling Resource Standard, recognising the disproportionate burden placed on under-resourced communities.
Studies show that while public school principals and schools are being held solely responsible for educating the majority of the most disadvantaged students, they lack adequate funding, services and system support. The authors of the Monash University’s latest survey warn that this is a major factor in the escalation of violence in schools.
“Decades of underfunding of our government schools means that public-school principals are the proverbial canaries in the coalmine,” Lead Monash researcher, Professor Jane Wilkinson said. “Public school principals are expected to educate our most disadvantaged students without adequate funding, frontline services, or support.”
Professor Wilkinson said the growing crisis isn’t just about student behaviour – it’s a symptom of deeper, systemic neglect.
“Violence in schools is neither inevitable nor acceptable. But principals and highly disadvantaged communities are being forced to endure the emotional and physical brunt of this underfunding that is a key factor in escalating aggression and violence.”
Another key recommendation in the report is stronger protections for principals, including clearer role expectations, independent supervision, and a coordinated national response to school violence.
Co-author, Professor Lucas Walsh, said the findings highlight the urgent need to recognise and respond to the hidden toll school leaders are carrying.
“Their stories are often horrific and we can no longer turn away from them as people and as central figures in schools throughout Australia.”