Victorian public and private school students will be banned from using internet-enabled smartwatches and wireless headphones next year as part of expanded restrictions on phones in classrooms.
The Age can reveal the state government is expanding its nation-leading phone ban to all private and Catholic schools as it also strengthens the rules to crack down on other digital devices.
Mobile phones and wireless earbuds will be banned, while limits will be put on smartwatches to not have notifications, internet connection and recording functions enabled during school hours, under new legislation to be unveiled on Wednesday.
Victoria was the first state government to introduce a phone ban in 2020. Many schools in other sectors either already had their own rules or followed with similar policies. However, the government now intends to bring all students under the same rules – which would now include smartwatches and headphones – starting from term one of 2027.
The phone ban has since led to students being more focused on class and being more social, according to an independent review of the policy. Schools are also reporting fewer incidents involving devices.
“The evidence shows it worked and now we’re going further, so every Victorian student, in every Victorian school, can put their phone away and focus on learning,” Education Minister Ben Carroll said.
Private and Catholic schools will be required to follow the policy as part of their compliance through the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, which oversees school registrations.
The draft legislation, which the government will introduce into parliament on Wednesday, includes exceptions for students to use devices for health conditions.
The Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools moved in June last year to restrict the use of technology devices that aren’t essential to learning. Each of the state’s 233 independent schools have previously been free to write their own policies, and some have already going beyond the government’s 2020 ban.
At Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, in Braybrook, the school initially introduced a strict phone policy in 2019. Tristen O’Brien, a deputy principal at the school, said after the pandemic teachers had more of a philosophical approach to the ban, believing it didn’t teach young people how to use devices safely.
“However, we noticed phones became a distraction from learning, and a contributing factor to behaviour and social issues,” he said.
Victoria’s new legislation for devices in all schools
- Phones must be switched off and stored away during school hours.
- Wearable devices must have notifications, internet connection or recording functions turned off.
- Headphones must not be used during school hours.
In 2024, the college brought in a stricter approach – that was student-led in consultation with the school’s leaders – that banned all devices including headphones. From next term, it will include disabling internet connection on smartwatches too.
If students are found to use a banned device, they have to collect the device from reception in the first instance, their parents must collect it if it happens again, and if the behaviour continues they might have to meet a school co-ordinator.
Since introducing the ban, the school’s wellbeing survey has recorded a 20 per cent increase in students believing rules were enforced fairly, a 10 per cent increase in students keeping good friends and a 5 per cent increase in students feeling connected to staff.
Year 12 student Macbeth Gonsalves said that before the ban, some students would go to the library with their school devices and hot spot their mobile phones so they could bypass school restrictions and play computer games.
“I’d say there’s more productivity in classrooms and less people playing games on their phones. But not much difference overall from my perspective,” he said.
One change he has noticed is he is now playing soccer with friends at lunchtime. “You stay physically fit, and you have more connections with your friends. There’s a deeper connection when you can actually talk in person,” he said.
School principal Napoleon Rodezno said that while the school was pleased with the success of its own rules, the legislation would help all schools have a consistent approach.
“The lack of consistency can bring about different expectations from families,” Rodezno said. “It is when things are inconsistent that we find ourselves in difficult situations.”
He said that when he entered teaching in 1996, the internet was only just reaching schools. “It is now accessible almost carelessly to young people.
“Education has been left a little bit behind at times. A lot of that has to do with the fact we are giving kids a licence without being able to drive the vehicle.”
Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Rachel Holthouse welcomed “the government’s efforts to balance access to electronic devices with the need to support positive learning environments and student wellbeing”.
“The announcement reinforces the work many Independent schools are already doing, with independent school leaders regularly reviewing the role of technology in their classrooms and broader school environments,” she said.
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Jackson Graham is an education reporter at The Age. He was previously an explainer reporter.Connect via email.