Safe Access to Schools Amendment Act, 2026

Passed the Legislature 86 to 4

Bill 12 amends the Safe Access to Schools Act to change the date on which that Act is repealed.

The Safe Access to Schools Act, passed in 2024, lets cabinet set access zones around schools by regulation. Inside a zone a person must not block access, disrupt a class or school activity, take part in a protest, try to persuade someone not to attend or teach, or intimidate anyone, with exceptions for students, people at work and lawful picketing; police may arrest without a warrant. The 2024 Act wrote its own expiry into section 9: July 1, 2026. Bill 12 replaces that date with July 1, 2028, so the zones and the prohibitions run two more years.