Tuesday, 17 June 2025

Patrick School of the Arts

Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (19:11): (1185) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Education, and the action I am seeking is for the minister to reverse the decision preventing year 7, 8 and some year 9 students from being enrolled in the Patrick School of the Arts located in Prahran. The school is Australia’s leading industry performing arts institution and offers programs for years 7 to 12 as well as tertiary programs. The Department of Education and Virtual School Victoria, that is VSV, have created an enrolment crisis and total confusion. Students and families are caught in a web of contradictory directives.

In October 2024 VSV advised that students were required to attend auditions held by Creative Australia-approved companies for 2026 enrolments, yet none of these companies were informed of this requirement, none are willing to undertake this process and, critically, none specialise in musical theatre, the core focus of the school. All new students applying for the school and currently enrolled students in years 7, 8 and 9 have to undertake this new endorsement application – or ‘no endorsement’ application, depending on what email you read from VSV – to get into the school, essentially shutting out all new applicants for years 7 8 and 9 and affecting current students wanting to enrol. The confusion deepened in June when VSV contradicted their own advice, stating these same companies ‘can’t refer your students’ but ‘can refer their own students’. This makes no sense when none of these approved organisations are even secondary education providers. Minister, families are preparing for July auditions with no clarity about enrolment pathways. When the school sought clarification, they were told both the VSV principal and deputy principal are on leave until term 3, after auditions conclude. The acting principal admits, ‘This is outside of my portfolio.’

The administrative bungle is devastating families. I have been contacted by one family with a current enrolled year 7 student who has been informed that despite that she successfully completed year 7, VSV will no longer allow her to enter year 8, but that she can return in year 9. Her parents moved closer to Prahran and the school so she could attend. Her local high school does not even have a vacancy for her in year 8. This forces a one-year gap in her secondary education journey. What an absolute disgrace. Parents have invested in their children’s artistic education, students have committed to specialised training and a vital community institution faces potential collapse.

The school is so well regarded that its alumni are in the world tour of Moulin Rouge!, Beauty and the Beast and even The Lion King producers have called the school to request auditions with its students. If this is not rectified, students will miss extraordinary training and development, the school will lose enrolments and Victoria will lose its ability to contribute to a vital arts scene. We cannot allow illogical decisions to destroy this institution and dash the dreams of young artists. The viability of arts education in Victoria depends on your immediate action. The July auditions cannot proceed without clarity, and our community cannot afford to lose this cultural cornerstone to administrative chaos. The time for action is now, Minister. I call on you to resolve the VSV criteria confusion.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind members about the use of the word ‘you’.