Indefinite suspension for drug-dealing teacher

A former teacher and drug dealer whose crimes were revealed after the murder of two people in his home has been indefinitely prohibited from returning to the classroom.

While a special education teacher sat on an upstairs toilet, two people involved in a planned drug deal were shot and killed.

He was then charged and pleaded guilty to four counts of supplying a dangerous drug and one count of possessing a thing to use in connection with supplying a drug.

The Queensland College of Teachers suspended his teacher registration in May 2021 and cancelled it in September 2023.

In an application before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), the college sought to determine whether disciplinary action had been established and whether a sanction should be imposed.

The college said it would be sufficient for the teacher to be subjected to a two- to three-year prohibition from reapplying for registration or permission to teach, already served.

QCAT members Lee Benjamin, Noel Jensen, and Richard English said this was “manifestly inappropriate”.

They have instead imposed an indefinite prohibition.

“In our view, the community expects the education system, to which children are entrusted, to have zero tolerance for teachers using hard drugs and moonlighting as drug dealers, and not afford those who do a second chance,” they said.

The members added that there were attempts by the teacher to minimise the offending, and “serious questions remain” as to his ongoing mental health diagnosis in the context of drug use.

In his submissions, the teacher said the trial judge viewed his various “minor drug charges” favourably by not recording a conviction. A conviction for a serious criminal offence would have meant the automatic cancellation by the college.

The members said it was not accurate to suggest the trial judge indicated the teacher’s career should be “protected”.

What the trial judge actually did was not seek to fetter the tribunal’s discretion about the teacher’s registration.

“We have determined that indefinite prohibition is the most suitable sanction under the circumstances to maintain confidence in the teaching profession, and provide specific and general deterrence to other teachers from engaging in unacceptable conduct,” the members said.

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