One Nation has expanded its education platform with a proposal to ban burqas, niqabs and other full-face coverings in every Australian school, arguing students and teachers should be able to see one another’s faces for identification, communication and participation.
The policy, announced on 6 October by One Nation education spokeswoman and Victorian upper house candidate Colleen Harkin, would apply to government, Catholic, independent and Islamic schools. Hijabs, which leave the face visible, would not be affected.
Harkin said the policy was about what she described as a basic classroom standard.
“It is a simple requirement that when a student walks through the school gate, teachers and fellow students can see who they are speaking to.”
She also argued the proposal had a gender-equality dimension, saying girls should grow up knowing they were “equally entitled to be seen, heard, educated and to participate fully in Australian life”.
One Nation says Australia would not be acting alone. Harkin has pointed to restrictions on full-face coverings in at least 24 countries, including several Muslim-majority nations, as evidence that such measures are already used internationally.
There is some basis for that broader claim, although the laws differ widely in scope. France and Belgium have nationwide public-space restrictions on concealing the face, Bulgaria prohibits full-face veils in state, administrative and educational institutions, while the Netherlands and Norway have targeted restrictions in settings including schools and universities.
Italy has also moved in that direction. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced in September that her government was preparing legislation to ban burqas and niqabs in schools, alongside other measures dealing with foreign students and integration.
Harkin described the Italian approach as “common sense”.
The school face-covering policy was announced separately from One Nation’s main Victorian election education booklet, which also proposes school vouchers, changes to curriculum priorities and the removal of programs the party characterises as ideological.
According to the party’s broader education platform, government funding would follow students to the government, independent, faith-based or specialist school chosen by their parents. It also wants to strip cross-curriculum priorities, including Indigenous histories and cultures, sustainability and engagement with Asia, from some core subjects, arguing schools should place greater emphasis on literacy, numeracy, science, history and civics.
The policy puts One Nation directly at odds with Victoria’s current approach to school dress requirements.
Victorian government school councils can establish their own student dress codes, but those rules must comply with human rights and anti-discrimination legislation and support cultural and religious expression. Department guidance specifically gives the hijab and turban as examples of religious clothing that schools must accommodate.
Schools are also required to provide an exemption process where uniform rules conflict with a student’s religious belief or prevent them from meeting a religious, ethnic or cultural requirement.
Under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, Victorian educational authorities may set reasonable standards of dress and appearance, but those standards remain subject to anti-discrimination protections. Department guidance warns that even a rule applied equally to every student may amount to indirect discrimination if it disproportionately disadvantages students because of religion or another protected characteristic.
That means any attempt to impose a blanket Victorian prohibition would have to be carefully framed against existing state and federal legal protections.
One Nation argues its proposal is distinguishable from a general ban on religious dress because it applies only where the face is covered.
The distinction between the garments is central to the policy. A hijab covers the hair and neck but leaves the face visible. A niqab covers most of the face except the eyes, while a burqa generally covers the body and face, with a mesh screen across the eyes.
The proposal also revives a long-running political debate led by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
In November 2025, Hanson attempted to advance a federal bill seeking broader restrictions on burqas and other full-face coverings in public places. The move did not proceed to debate after an objection in the Senate.
Hanson has also previously worn a burqa in the Senate chamber while arguing for restrictions on face coverings, an action that attracted widespread criticism and parliamentary condemnation.
More recently, Hanson visited the Islamic College of Brisbane and discussed the issue directly with female students wearing the niqab. She acknowledged students who said wearing it was their choice while maintaining that some women could be pressured into doing so.
One Nation’s latest policy moves that debate squarely into Australian classrooms.
Supporters of the proposal are likely to argue that visible faces assist communication, identification and safeguarding, while opponents are likely to question whether a blanket prohibition would unnecessarily restrict religious freedom or disproportionately affect Muslim girls.
Victoria’s current policy takes a different starting point: government schools are secular but students may dress in accordance with their faith, provided they comply with the school’s dress code and applicable law.
There is also a practical constitutional and jurisdictional issue with One Nation’s promise of a ban across “all Australian schools”.
Education is largely administered by state and territory governments, while Catholic and independent schools operate under separate governance arrangements and overlapping state and federal laws.
A Victorian One Nation parliamentary presence could advocate changes within Victoria, but creating a uniform rule across every Australian school would require a much broader legislative or intergovernmental pathway.
Harkin is contesting the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region at Victoria’s election on 28 November.
With education already emerging as a battleground over curriculum, school choice, discipline and religious expression, One Nation’s full-face covering proposal adds another contentious issue to the campaign.
The central question is now likely to be whether voters see face visibility in classrooms primarily as an identification and communication issue, or as a matter where religious freedom should continue to be accommodated under existing school policies.
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