Parents of Victorian special school demand independent probe into decades of abuse claims

Parents of children who attended Latrobe Special Development School in eastern Victoria have compiled a chronology of alleged abuse and presented it to Premier Ben Carroll and other state MPs, requesting an independent inquiry. The allegations, gathered by Voices for Special Needs, cover physical, mental and sexual misconduct over an almost 20-year period, including student-to-student assaults and inappropriate behavior by staff.

Leanne Vella, the group's spokesperson, is also pressing for video cameras in special-needs classrooms and on school buses to provide added safety. Disability rights advocate Julie Phillips warned that the closed culture of such schools can conceal abuse, noting Latrobe may have a higher number of unaddressed sexual offences than comparable institutions. Former education support worker Anne, who spent more than two decades at the school, said she reported incidents to senior leaders but was ignored and later suffered PTSD.

The Department of Education cites a 2021 independent culture review that led to a plan of 34 actions, most of which were completed by the end of 2022, and claims no new allegations have emerged since. Nevertheless, families and their representatives, including MP Melina Bath, continue to call for a fresh, one outlet's review of historical child-safety complaints across Victorian specialist schools.