Students at Victoria’s public and private schools will be banned from using smartwatches and wired headphones next year as part of an expanded ban on phones in classrooms.
Age can reveal the national government is extending its national phone ban to all private and Catholic schools as it also strengthens laws to destroy other digital devices.
Mobile phones and wireless earbuds will be banned, while limits will be placed on smartwatches with no notifications, internet connection and recording activities allowed during school hours, under a new law to be introduced on Wednesday.
Victoria became the first state to introduce a phone ban in 2020. Many schools in other parts already had their own rules or followed similar policies. However, the government is now aiming to bring all students under the same rules – which will now include smartwatches and headphones – starting as early as 2027.
Banning phones has made students more focused in class and more social, according to an independent review of the policy. Schools also report fewer incidents involving the devices.
“The evidence shows it’s worked and now we’re moving forward, 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 with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, which oversees school registration.
The draft law, which the government will introduce to parliament on Wednesday, includes exceptions for students to use the facilities for health conditions.
Catholic schools in the Melbourne Archdiocese moved in June last year to ban the use of technology that is not essential to learning. Each of the state’s 233 private schools has previously been free to write its own policies, and some have already passed the state’s 2020 ban.
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, Braybrook, the school started a strict phone policy in 2019. Tristen O’Brien, assistant principal at the school, said after the epidemic teachers had a philosophical approach to prevention, believing that it does not teach young people to use devices safely.
“However, we have noticed that phones are becoming a hindrance to learning, and contributing to moral and social issues,” he said.
Victoria’s new school resource law
- Cell phones must be turned off and stored during school hours.
- Wearable devices must turn off notifications, internet connection or recording functions.
- Headphones are not to be used during school hours.
In 2024, the college introduced a strict policy – led by students in consultation with school leaders – that banned all devices including headphones. From the future, it will include turning off the internet connection on smartwatches as well.
If students are found using a banned device, they must collect the device the first time, their parents must collect it if it happens again, and if the behavior continues they may have to meet with the school coordinator.
Since the ban began, a school health survey has reported a 20 percent increase in students who believe the rules are applied fairly, a 10 percent increase in students who maintain good friendships and a 5 percent increase in students who feel connected to staff.
Year 12 student Macbeth Gonsalves said that before the ban, some students would go to the library with their school supplies and fire up their cell phones so they could break school restrictions and play computer games.
“I would say there is more productivity in the classrooms and fewer people playing games on their phones. But there is not much difference overall from my point of view,” he said.
Another change he has noticed is that he now plays football with friends during lunch. He said: “You are always in good physical health, and you have many bonds with your friends.
The headmaster of the school, Napoleon Rodezno said that since the school is happy with the success of its rules, the law will help all schools to have a focused approach.
“Uncertainty can bring different expectations from families,” Rodezno said. “It is when things are not stable that we find ourselves in a difficult situation.”
He said that when he joined teaching in 1996, the internet only reached schools. “Now it is available almost haphazardly to young people.
“Education has been a bit behind at times. A lot of it has to do with the fact that we’re giving kids a license without being able to drive.”
The chief executive of Independent Schools Victoria, Rachel Holthouse, welcomed the government’s “efforts to balance access to electronic devices with the need to support appropriate learning environments and student wellbeing”.
“The announcement confirms the work that many Independent schools are already doing, and independent school leaders are regularly reviewing the role of technology in their classrooms and wider schools,” he said.
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Jackson Graham is the education reporter at The Age. He was previously a journalist.Connect by email.From our partners
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