The Victorian government will strengthen School Community Safety Orders from 2027, expanding measures designed to tackle harassment, threats and online abuse directed at teachers and school staff.
Education Minister Ben Carroll announced the changes on Friday following an independent review and consultation with schools, parents and carers.
The deputy premier said teachers and school leaders should not have to endure harassment, intimidation or threats while doing their jobs.
''Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and at school – and we have zero tolerance for abuse, including online,'' Mr Carroll said.
The orders, first introduced in 2022, allow principals to ban adults from school grounds and restrict contact with staff when behaviour poses a risk.
Under the changes, principals will be able to issue immediate verbal directions requiring a person to leave school grounds.
The threshold for issuing an order will also be lowered, making it easier for schools to intervene before situations escalate.
The reforms will expand the scheme to capture harmful conduct on social media, messaging platforms and other online forums.
The announcement follows a consultation that attracted more than 1100 responses through the Engage Victoria platform.
Teachers and principals described verbal abuse, aggressive conduct, unreasonable demands and online attacks that made it harder to do their jobs.
Examples included repeated contact through personal social media accounts, public accusations against staff, threatening online posts and fake online profiles targeting school employees.
Australian Catholic University professor Theresa Dicke said the changes were a sensible refinement of a policy already serving an important purpose.
"When behaviour becomes threatening or abusive, principals need practical tools to protect staff and students while those relationships are repaired," she told AAP.
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said school staff were too often subjected to physical and psychological harm from adults within school communities.
"We cannot retain the public school workforce we need for the future if they don't have safe workplaces and safe work-related online spaces," he said.
The government said more than seven in 10 adults subject to a safety order complied with its requirements, indicating their effectiveness.
The orders will remain a measure of last resort, used only when other interventions have failed or are inappropriate.
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