The retribution against Callum and his family for making a complaint about the failure to provide him with evidence-based literacy and numeracy programs, promised by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV), has extended to the refusal to cooperate with lawful requests for documents.
On 17 December 2020, Callum’s mother Melinda respectfully requested copies of Callum’s files which she is entitled to under the Privacy Act. According to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, 30 days should be sufficient for compliance.
The requests went directly to Ms Joanne Coldabella, Acting Principal St Joseph’s School Wonthaggi, and Mr David Leslie, Principal Mary MacKillop College Leongatha. There was a six word acknowledgement of the request by each one – “I acknowledge receipt of your email”
Two months later – nothing. When a reminder of the request was sent on 16 February 2021, Ms Coldabella and Mr Leslie simply replied again “I acknowledge receipt of your email”.
In response to a commitment to pass on their tactics to the Disability Royal Commission, Ms Coldabella and Mr Leslie then quickly sent identical emails, word for word, as follows.
“Again, I acknowledge receipt of the request. Please note that the request is extremely broad and requires the school to divert considerable resources to respond. Whilst it is undertaking this task, due to the limited nature of the resources that we have and our obligations to other tasks, it is taking longer than expected.
In the circumstances it would be helpful if you were able to provide greater specificity in relation to the nature of the documents you require – for example, specific time periods, the assessments sought etc.”
Specific time periods had already been provided.
How does Callum’s mother know which assessments the school undertook when they kept most documents from her and failed to answer most of her emails?
It is now March 2021 and not one piece of paper has been received from Ms Coldabella or Mr Leslie, forcing Melinda to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
The evidence suggests that Ms Coldabella and Mr Leslie are colluding to obstruct Melinda’s request.
It seems that the schools and their lawyers have agreed on tactics to wear Callum and his family out so they give up.
However, the rights of young people with learning disorders and the hope that other students will not suffer the same fate as Callum are sufficient motivators for this family to stand their ground, despite the pressures placed upon them by the Dioceses of Sale.
In the next update, we look at the lawyers acting for the Dioceses, their cruel and intimidating tactics, and how much longer this family can cope with the pressure ….