Indulge me on a couple of scenarios.
Scenario 1/ You’re the Senior Administration official of a nongovernment high school. A committee of students approach you to ask for the schools support in planning and executing
a formal. You
unequivocally say NO!
Under no
circumstances will you
support a formal, in fact
you FORBID this from
taking place.
Scenario 2/ The same
committee DOESN’T
approach you and the
permission is never sought, nor granted. You’re not even aware of any formal being planned.
In both of these scenarios, the natural assumption is that a formal is not going to take place, and therefore, there is no liability exposure for the school.
If this is your assumption, then this may well be the “Ostrich Mentality” at play because you’d probably be dead wrong.
In surveys conducted of Sydney metropolitan schools, it was determined that 86% of all formal committees that were not granted permission to hold a formal, did so regardless, and used the school’s name in all relevant
booking agreements.
Here’s the really frightening part. In all of these cases, if anything should go wrong at these unsupervised events, an injury or property damage may potentially cause an automatic liability exposure to be attracted to
the school. In the case of non-government schools, a damages claim could be brought and even if successfully
defended, the cost of running such a case could financially cripple such a school. In NSW, even when you win
a lawsuit of this type, and win a costs order, the most you’ll likely receive is 2/3 of your costs, leaving you to wear the rest.
In the case of government schools, an action could be brought upon the state, and the ramifications for senior
school officials could also be damaging to careers.
In both cases, adverse publicity surrounding such a case would be potentially devastating to future enrolments.
While these are scary thoughts to have, the simplest method of avoidance is simply to support and steer such events to successful ends by taking charge and seeking reputable professionals to assist with plans.
Rebecca Ellston holds Degrees from Griffith University in Law, Majoring in Constitutional Law, also Media Communications & Journalism and a Certificate 1V in Business, Majoring in Event Management.
86% of all formal
committees that were
not granted
permission to hold a
formal, did so
regardless, and used
the school’s name in
all relevant booking
agreements.
Liability Exposure
Liability Exposure
As a school official, you've said NO to the formal. You're covered, right? You'd better sit down...
by Rebecca Ellston
In surveys conducted of Sydney metropolitan schools, it was determined that 86% of all formal committees that were not granted permission to hold a formal, did so regardless, and used the school’s name in all relevant booking
agreements.
Here’s the really
frightening part. In all
of these cases, if
anything should go
wrong at these
unsupervised events,
an injury or property
damage may potentially
cause an automatic liability
exposure to be attracted to the school.
In the case of non-
government schools,
a damages claim
could be brought
and even if
successfully
defended, the
cost of running
such a case could
fiancially
cripple such a school. In NSW, even when you win a lawsuit of this type,
and win a costs order, the most you’ll likely receive is 2/3 of your costs, leaving you to wear the rest.
In the case of government schools, an action could be brought upon the state, and the ramifications for senior school officials could also be damaging to careers.
In both cases, adverse publicity surrounding such a case would be potentially devastating to future enrolments.
While these are scary thoughts to have, the simplest method of avoidance is simply to support and steer such events to successful ends by taking charge and seeking reputable professionals to assist with plans.
Ignoring this issue is likely to bring about a greater risk than exists already.
Rebecca Ellston holds Degrees from Griffith University in Law, Majoring in Constitutional Law, also Media Communications & Journalism and a Certificate 1V in Business, Majoring in Event Management.
For the information of schools and organisers, Prom Night Events provides a cost-free and obligation-free assessment of your formal plans with 40-point checklist of legal compliance to identify whether you have any anomalies, exposures, or whether you can be upgraded to a better venue or inclusions package. Register for this service at www.prom.com.au. – ED
NEXT EDITION...
Formal Vs Exams
The battle for the attention of graduating students. 97% of Year 12’s consider the formal as more important to them than the exams.
Page 9 PROM Magazine August 2013
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