Queensland College of Teachers v Osborne

The Queensland College of Teachers brought proceedings against Kim Osborne, a registered teacher, seeking a disciplinary sanction against her registration for being unsuitable to teach. The basis for this was a series of offences of dishonesty that occurred outside her role as a teacher. The matter was heard and determined by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). The central legal issues in this case revolved around the appropriate disciplinary sanction to impose on Ms Osborne, given her history of dishonesty and whether requiring her to disclose her offences and the disciplinary outcome to potential employers would be just and equitable. The Tribunal also considered the balance between the potential benefit to the community and the potential detriment to Ms Osborne's employment prospects.

The Tribunal found that Ms Osborne's registration should indeed be suspended, as the College had proposed. However, the Tribunal modified the conditions attached to the suspension. It did not consider it necessary or desirable for Ms Osborne to provide her employer with the QCAT decision or to authorise the employer to communicate with the College. The Tribunal reasoned that if Ms Osborne was legally obliged to disclose her offences and the disciplinary outcome to an employer, then such a disclosure was not necessary. Conversely, if she was not under such a legal obligation, then requiring her to disclose the information might make it nearly impossible for her to obtain or keep a job. The Tribunal concluded that the potential detriment to Ms Osborne outweighed the potential benefit to the community, as she did not pose an unacceptable risk of dishonesty within the workplace.

In light of the above, the Tribunal made the orders proposed by the College, subject to the modification regarding disclosure to employers. Specifically, Ms Osborne's registration was suspended for six months, but the suspension was made conditional on her compliance with certain conditions for 18 months. These conditions included completing a course of education in professional ethics, providing written evidence of course completion to the College, and bearing all costs and expenses related to the course. The six-month suspension was suspended immediately, provided that Ms Osborne complied with the conditions and was not subject to any disciplinary proceedings under the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 for the period of 18 months.