For the first time, NSW public schools will ask students and their families to formally acknowledge the Student Behaviour Code of Conduct (the Code) at the start of every school year.
The Minns Labor Government has overhauled the Code to be stronger and simpler, ensuring students understand their responsibilities clearly.
This updated Code reinforces the behaviours of respect, responsibility, and safety for all NSW public school students from kindergarten through to Year 12.
By requesting an annual acknowledgement, the Minns Labor Government is ensuring families play an active role in supporting improved student behaviour standards.
In the classroom, students will be explicitly taught the behaviour standards expected of them, with teachers supported with a range of resources.
This includes a new evidence guide on reinforcing positive student behaviour that will also be published as part of the What Works Best series from the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation.
High expectations for student behaviour leads to settled classrooms, which are critical for learning.
This approach builds on the comprehensive student behaviour reforms introduced by the Minns Labor Government at the start of 2024.
Those changes restored authority to principals and teachers, making it easier to manage disruptive behaviour and suspend students when necessary to maintain a productive learning environment.
The Minns Labor Government has also helped improve student behaviour through our mobile phone ban and a record investment in the teaching workforce.
At the beginning of the 2026 school year, teacher vacancies hit a 12-year low, ensuring more settled classrooms for students and fewer merged classes.
Student attendance has also increased by 15 per cent since 2022, meaning more students are in classrooms each day.
The 2026 school year serves as the transition period for schools and families to familiarise themselves with the Code. It will be fully implemented across all NSW public schools from Day 1, Term 1, 2027.
Deputy Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
"The Minns Labor Government sets high expectations for student behaviour in every public school.
"When families understand these expectations clearly, they can best help their children meet them.
"Alongside the new Code, our government has introduced a new behaviour policy, put more teachers at the front of classrooms, and decreased the number of cancelled and merged classes.
"Combined with initiatives like the mobile phone ban, it means students are more engaged in learning, with less disruption in the classroom."
