'Reckless shake-up': union calls out government change to keep kids in school

A change to how the government tackles low school attendance has been labelled by the teachers' union as a "reckless shake-up".

Student attendance levels have still not returned to pre-COVID levels, and the NSW Teachers Federation says the Department of Education's move to cut Home School Liaison Officers (HSLO) will not help.

The department, however, says the change to its Home School Liaison program was intended to fix, not fracture, an overworked system.

HSLOs were introduced in 1986 and were intended to help families and schools support students who were struggling to stay in school.

Currently, HSLOs are required to hold teaching qualifications.

The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation comprehensively reviewed the program for the first time since its introduction, releasing a report in March 2026.

The report said that it was important to have a program to bolster school attendance, due to increasing incidents of school refusal because of emotional distress, which happens without antisocial behaviour, and with the knowledge of parents.

While the program was having a small positive effect on student attendance, the workforce needed to be extended to meet demand, the report found.

Losing connection with students

In an online statement from April 30, the NSW Teachers Federation urged the Education Minister to slam the brakes on the "reckless departmental shake up" of the school attendance policy.

The NSW Teachers Federation representative from Maitland Grossman High School, John Grimes, criticised the decision to slash 113 HSLO positions, and replace them with non-teacher-exclusive roles.

He said HSLOs were effective as they had a direct link with the schools and local communities.

"We feel that if the role is not filled by a teacher, the person doing the job will not have that connection with the education system or understand all parts of the department," he said.

Mr Grimes was also concerned that the new roles would not be based in every region they supported.

He said Maitland had HSLOs who had been living in the community for years and had multigenerational links with families and communities.

"We don't see that as acceptable," he said.

Mr Grimes said having the jobs locally in Maitland allowed for the teachers to help students access region-specific industries such as mining in the Hunter.

As a local union representative, Mr Grimes had seen first hand how HSLOs had supported students in the Maitland area.

He noted one high-schooler who had a history of family trauma and very low school attendance rate.

An HSLO worked closely with the family and found that the student had a career goal that they felt was unachievable.

He said by helping the student select career-relevant electives, their attendance increased and they began going to school daily.

In another example, a primary school student with a background of mistrust between the school and the family, was barely going to school.

The HSLO noticed that the student wasn't listening to them and helped the family find accessible pathways to get their hearing tested.

"This meant that when the student turned up to school, they could actually hear, engage with learning all the social aspects," he said.

The proportion of NSW public school students attending school 90 per cent or more of the time has decreased in the past eight years.

According to the Department of Education, attendance levels hit an historic low in 2022, with overall levels across all year levels dropping 22.5 per cent from 67 per cent in 2021 to 44.7 per cent the following year.

While 2025 semester 1 levels increased to 59.8 per cent, it was still lower than pre-COVID levels of 72.6 per cent in 2019.

In 2025, the primary attendance level was 68 per cent while secondary was 47.8 per cent.

For Aboriginal students it was 37 per cent, and for students in regional areas it was 50.5 per cent, and for remote areas it was 35 per cent.

Strengthening support 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said teachers currently working as HSLOs could apply for the reformed specialist positions or return to classroom teaching.

"These roles will be based in various locations across the state and are designed to strengthen support for students and families facing severe attendance challenges," they said.

The new workforce required a qualification in either social work, community services, youth work, education, psychology, counselling or a related human services field.

Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison backed the department's move to redesign the roles into a specialist workforce with skills in social work and coordinated family support.

The Newcastle Herald understands the department chose to reform the roles to refocus on the most disadvantaged students and those who need broader support.

Just under 30 HSLO roles will be kept until the end of the year while the department transitions to the new roles.

Changes are due to take effect from Term 3 2026, and the department believes it will introduce a clearer, more consistent and intensive model of intervention for students.

The roles will be based with the local Department of Education Student Wellbeing Support teams.