For the first time, the Victorian Department of Education says schools must consider climate change when choosing sponsorship partners. The change was announced on its official sponsorship policy for public schools. This is a genuinely positive shift that recognises climate considerations must shape the partnerships and programs allowed into classrooms.
Despite this progress, fossil fuel companies are still not explicitly prohibited from Victorian public schools, unlike tobacco, alcohol, gambling, firearms, junk food, religious organisations, and political parties.
This leaves a glaring loophole: coal, oil and gas companies can continue entering schools under the banner of “STEM education,” “career pathways” or “community partnerships.” As we’ve seen in Victoria and across Australia, this can look like:
- A school competition sponsored by a petrol company, offering petrol gift cards as a prize
- A gas infrastructure company dressing students in their logo while pushing discredited concepts like “renewable gas”
- Coal lobby groups distributing educational materials that downplay their role as the main cause of climate change
These activities aren’t harmless. They normalise fossil fuel brands in the eyes of children, leaving students anxious and confused, without a clear sense of causes or solutions to the defining issue of their generation.
How we got here
This shift follows progress led by Comms Declare earlier this year. In September, Education Minister Ben Carroll confirmed the Department will review its sponsorship and advertising policies to ensure they “consider climate change where relevant.”
The commitment came after Victorian MP Tim Read raised the issue in Parliament, calling for fossil fuel advertising, marketing and sponsorships to be added to the banned partnerships list.
Why this matters
Schools should be safe places for learning, not marketing channels for industries driving the climate crisis. Children deserve educational environments that reflect a safe, sustainable future, free from corporate greenwashing.
With the support of parents, teachers and our members across Australia, we’ll keep pushing for Victoria to join the ACT in moving to protect kids from fossil fuel influence.