All government schools in NSW will be forced to let girls in primary and secondary students wear pants or shorts if they want to, under changes to the schools uniform policy announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Education Minister Rob Stoke on Tuesday.
The policy change follows a move by the Queensland government, which announced in March it was re-writing its schools uniform policy to officially allow schoolgirls to wear shorts and pants, as well as skirts and dresses.
The NSW state government has simplified the policy for primary and secondary schools to a two-page document, down from 24 pages, making it easier to understand.
The policy stipulates uniforms be made from easy care fabric and "suitable for all body shapes".
Parents must also be given at least three years' notice before a school introduces changes to more expensive items of clothing, such as blazers, in an effort to protect against rising costs.
Whether the state's Catholic schools will follow the change to allow girls the option to wear pants or shorts will be up to the discretion of each individual school, of which there are 152 Catholic schools across the state.
"Our schools are not owned and operated by the government, so they are autonomous. Those decisions are made at the local level not at the system level," a spokesperson for the Catholic Education Department told SBS News.
"The schools make the decision and they would do that in consultation with their Parents and Friends Groups, so they would determine the level of need; the school wouldn't just do it and impose on parents, they would consult," the spokesperson said.
