Victorian Parents Refused Any Way Out Of Gender Lessons For Five-Year-Olds
Nearly 40 parents at a Melbourne state primary school are asking to pull their five-year-olds out of a "Gender and Identity" unit. So far, the school has told them that isn’t an option.
Opt Out? Not an Option.
Parents at Caulfield South Primary School, a government school in Melbourne's south-east, received an email during the beginning of the fourth term 2026 telling them their prep children would take part in a unit called "Gender and Identity". Thirty-seven of those parents signed a letter to principal Rohan Cooper this week. They asked the school to recognise withdrawal requests for lessons involving sex, sexuality and gender identity, and to tell parents at every year level that they have that right.
The letter points to lesson material that tells teachers to explain to five-year-olds that some people feel they did not get "a good match for their body parts", and to introduce the terms transgender, gender diverse and non-binary. It also cites a case study about a child described as a transgender girl who is told she cannot play on the girls' sports team, and who is advised to reply that the teacher says she belongs there.
Parents who raised their concerns directly got nowhere. News24 has seen correspondence in which at least one parent was told the program has no opt-out. Mr Cooper has since said he is seeking further advice from the Department of Education and has pointed parents to its complaints process.
An Opt-Out That Stops Exactly Where The Ideology Starts
The school's answer rests on a technicality. School council president Jackie Dzienciol told parents that the Department's withdrawal policy covers only the sexual health component of health education, and does not extend to the Respectful Relationships curriculum.
Yet the Department's own Sexuality and Consent Education policy says schools need not seek parental permission for sexuality education, and also says a parent or carer may decide not to allow their child to take part in sexual education. In other words, parents are told the right exists for one set of lessons about sex and sexuality but not for another, even when the subject matter overlaps. Prep mother Courtney Schneider told News24 the school was splitting hairs.
One Nation's Victorian deputy leader, Colleen Harkin, pointed to a second inconsistency. Victorian Government policy, she noted, says schools cannot force students to sing the national anthem if their parents object on religious, cultural, philosophical or other grounds. A child can be excused from singing our national anthem, but not from lessons on gender identity.
"Compulsory" Is Not An Answer
A Department spokesperson did not directly answer why the withdrawal policy does not reach Respectful Relationships, or whether the Department would review how it applies the policy. The spokesperson said instead that delivering Respectful Relationships was an accepted recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence and is compulsory in all Victorian government schools.
That answer does not explain what a unit introducing five-year-olds to gender identity has to do with preventing family violence, or why the unit should exist at all. By the Government’s own figures, the scheme has cost taxpayers $129 million since 2016. Parents pay for it, and they still cannot withdraw their own children from it.
The "Gender and Identity" title matches Topic 7 of the Department's Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching materials. The Department's own Royal Commission recommendations page describes those teaching and learning materials as optional. If the materials are optional for schools, the claim that parents have no choice is very hard to defend.
Parents Are Afraid To Speak
Mrs Schneider told News24 that between 60 and 80 people were part of the group discussing the issue, and that parents were willing to put their names to the letter because they want a say in what their children are taught. She also said many are reluctant to speak publicly because they fear retribution, including the risk of losing their jobs. At least one family is considering withdrawing their prep child from the school because of the program.
Parents should not have to choose between their livelihoods and their right to object to what their children are taught. In March 2026, the Australian Christian Lobby reported that a poll found 57% of Victorians oppose primary school children being taught gender ideology.
Labor Imposed It. The Opposition Is Silent.
Victorians vote on 28 November. One Nation has vowed to scrap the mandatory Respectful Relationships program if it wins, and Ms Harkin said that until then parents should at the very least be able to see exactly what is taught and opt out. Family First's upper house candidates Bernie Finn and Jane Foreman have called for the removal of all gender ideology from Victorian classrooms and the restoration of parents' right to know.
Successive Labor governments have built, expanded and defended this program. The question for the alternative government is whether it will end it, or give parents the right to say no. We have been unable to find a public commitment from the Liberal-National Coalition to scrap the program or to guarantee a parental opt-out. Parents are entitled to an answer before they vote.
What You Can Do Now
Sign the Family in Danger petition calling on the Education Departments of every state and territory to stop teaching gender ideology under the banner of "Respectful Relationships". You can sign the petition here.
Last updated: 8 November 2026 22:54