The report provides findings from the ARC Discovery Grant research project: Invisible Labour: Principals’ Emotional Labour in Volatile Times. It investigates the rising violence in Australian schools and its profound impact on the emotional labour of public-school principals. 

Drawing on 298 critical incident testimonies from 256 public school principals, corroborated by stakeholder interviews, case studies and a policy audit, the research reveals how principals are increasingly expected to manage physical threats, gendered violence and systemic neglect – often without adequate support or recognition.

Violence in schools is neither inevitable nor acceptable. Principals are bearing the emotional and physical brunt of escalating aggression, often in silence. This report calls for a whole-of-government response that recognises emotional labour as central to educational leadership and prioritises the safety, wellbeing and sustainability of Australia’s public school principals. The report provides recommendations at national, state/territory and school level.

Key findings

• Over half of respondents described a critical incident involving physical violence, threats of violence and/or gendered violence, sexual harassment or sexual abuse.
• Female principals face disproportionate levels of harassment and gendered violence.
• Collegial peer networks, peer clinical supervision and occupational health and safety work groups dedicated specifically to principals’ health and wellbeing offer vital emotional support.