A kindergarten teacher has been censured for sharing details of her principal's "sensitive" diagnosis to parents and another teacher without consent.
The teacher took a photo of the personal document while in the principal's office and shared its details with multiple people. The brief lapse in judgement resulted in her being censured by the Teacher's Disciplinary Tribunal.
The details of what happened were outlined in a recently released report. The teacher and principal's names, as well as the school, were all suppressed.
In May 2021, the teacher was at the kindergarten for a mentor meeting on a day when no students were onsite.
Following the meeting, she was in the principal's office with an administration assistant and spotted a medical certificate containing details of a diagnosis – the nature of which has also been suppressed.
The administrator asked the teacher to take a photo of the certificate and send it to them. She did so, but also sent the picture to a friend who was a parent at the kindergarten. She went on to tell another parent about the diagnosis later in the week.
She also approached another teacher, asking if staff were aware of the diagnosis. The colleague did not know about the principal's diagnosis before she was approached.
After being contacted by the first parent, the other teacher told the principal that their medical certificate had been shared.
On discovering the sensitive information had been shared among staff and parents, the principal was "distressed".
"The incident interfered with her professional relationships, including with the Board, and overall added 'incredible stress' to her personal situation," the summary of facts read.
In a meeting two years later, the teacher expressed remorse for her actions.
In 2025, the teacher claimed she had "lost her career" and that, as she could not return to the school, she had "no future as a teacher".
"She further said that she considered the matter 'closed' for the last four years," the report said.
She has since stopped teaching, and did not hold a practising certificate.
In its ruling, the tribunal said: "While this was a relatively brief error of judgment, it involved her copying highly personal and sensitive information then disseminating it (albeit not widely)."
It said character references demonstrated "she has much to offer the teaching profession were she to re-enter it".
"I accept the seriousness of my conduct and am grateful for the opportunity for this matter to conclude," the teacher said in her submission.
"My sincere hope is to move forward, rebuild stability for my children, and close this chapter without further financial or reputational burden."
The teacher's actions did not meet the threshold for serious misconduct, but were still counted as misconduct.
She was censured and ordered to pay $1410 in costs.
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