Given Australia's increasingly culturally diverse
population, it is not an uncommon occurrence for some students'
cultural traditions to 'innocently challenge' a
school's rules or provisions of an Enrolment Contract. In
these types of situations, it is very important that schools
consider their obligations under the Anti-Discrimination
Act 1991 (Qld) and the corresponding state legislation in
other States. Last year, the Queensland Civil and
Administrative Tribunal found that a School directly and indirectly
discriminated against a young student, Cyrus, on the basis of his
race (a claim for discrimination based on sex was
unsuccessful).
Background
Cyrus's culture that his family wished him to practise was a
Cook Islands / Niuean culture. As part of this culture, the
eldest son in a family does not have to cut their hair until they
are around seven to eight years of age and it is cut in a ceremony
which is a male rite-of-passage that symbolises a
