Thirty-seven parents at a Melbourne primary school have formally demanded the right to withdraw their five-year-old children from lessons on gender identity, challenging Victoria’s compulsory Respectful Relationships program.
The parents, whose children attend Caulfield South Primary School in Melbourne’s south-east, sent a letter to principal Rohan Cooper this week after being informed that their Prep children would participate in a unit titled “Gender and Identity”.
The letter raises concerns about the introduction of what parents describe as “contested concepts concerning sex and gender identity” to children in their first year of primary school.
According to News24 Australia, the parents specifically objected to teaching material that advises educators to explain that some people feel their bodies do not match their gender identity and may describe themselves as transgender, gender diverse or non-binary.
The petition also refers to a classroom case study involving a transgender girl named Stacey. In the example, Stacey is told she cannot play on the girls’ sports team and is advised to respond: “Our teacher says I belong on the girls team.”
The parents are asking the school to recognise withdrawal requests from lessons involving sex, sexuality and gender identity. They have also called for families across every year level to be notified of their right to withdraw children from relevant lessons.
School says there is no opt-out
The dispute intensified after parents were reportedly informed that there was no opt-out provision for the Respectful Relationships program.
News24 Australia reported that at least one parent received correspondence stating: “There is not an ‘opt-out’ for this program.”
In response to the formal letter, principal Rohan Cooper said he was seeking further advice from the Department of Education and directed parents to the department’s complaints process.
School council president Jackie Dzienciol also responded, explaining that departmental withdrawal provisions applied to the sexual health component of health education but did not extend to the Respectful Relationships curriculum.
The parents argue that the distinction leaves families unable to withdraw children from lessons addressing gender identity, despite the department’s policy allowing parents to exclude their children from sexual education.
Courtney Schneider, a mother of three whose youngest child is in Prep at the school, said the distinction was failing to address parents’ concerns.
“If I can’t be assured that I can protect my children from an ideology that I think is inappropriate, then my child is not in a situation where there are safeguards in place,” she told News24 Australia.
Schneider also raised concerns about the messages she believes the material could convey to young boys and girls about sex, identity and personal boundaries.
One Nation promises to scrap program
The controversy has attracted political attention ahead of Victoria’s November 28 state election.
One Nation Victoria deputy leader Colleen Harkin has pledged that the party would abolish the Respectful Relationships program if elected.
Harkin, a former classroom teacher and education director at the Institute of Public Affairs, described the curriculum as “an activist agenda”.
She argued that lessons addressing gender identity were inappropriate for children of Prep age and said parents should have the right to know exactly what is being taught and withdraw their children if they object.
Harkin also questioned why Victorian schools allow parents to prevent their children from being compelled to sing the Australian National Anthem on the grounds of religious, cultural, philosophical or other beliefs, while no equivalent withdrawal option applies to Respectful Relationships lessons.
Parents seek answers from Victorian Government
The Victorian Department of Education did not directly answer News24 Australia’s questions about why the withdrawal policy for sexual health education did not extend to Respectful Relationships or whether the policy would be reviewed.
Instead, a department spokesperson said delivery of the program followed an accepted recommendation from Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence and was compulsory in all Victorian government schools.
The Respectful Relationships initiative is intended to promote respectful relationships, gender equality and the prevention of family violence.
However, the dispute at Caulfield South Primary School has exposed a growing disagreement over how those objectives should be taught to younger children and whether parents should have greater control over their participation.
News24 Australia also reported that at least one family was considering withdrawing its Prep child from the school, partly because of the program.
Schneider said she had been consulted by other families concerned about the curriculum. She estimated that between 60 and 80 people had participated in discussions about the issue, although only 37 parents signed the formal letter.
She urged parents to examine the curriculum materials and raise questions with their children’s schools.
The dispute now places parental choice, curriculum transparency and the scope of compulsory education at the centre of a wider debate over Victoria’s school system.
Source: News24 Australia, Caroline Marcus, November 6, 2026.