A whistleblower who leaked attendance data highlighting an outback school's truancy crisis is preparing to appeal a punishment imposed by Western Australia's Department of Education.
In the latest twist in the long-running saga, Brock Burston has launched a GoFundMe page to help fund his appeal to the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
A directions hearing on March 3 will take place before the Public Service Appeal Board, which hears cases publicly unless there are special circumstances.
The Kununurra resident said on the GoFundMe page that he was fighting a punishment handed down by the department last year, after mediation failed.
"The director general delivered her outcome and penalty, which called for my family's immediate transfer out of the Kimberley region. I was to be relocated to an unspecified location for an unspecified time in a supernumerary position," he said.
"Shortly after, I lodged an appeal with the West Australian Industrial Relations Commission.
"Being reasonable, I agreed to engage in the mediation process. I represented myself, having exhausted my legal funds."
Department 'persecution'
The sequence of events leading to the appeal began in late 2020 when Mr Burston was an Education Department participation coordinator in the East Kimberley.
He raised concerns about student attendance plans being rolled out at Halls Creek District High School for at-risk children, in an anonymous note sent to the local shire.
The note also included internal data showing attendance rates were worsening — currently they sit at 26 per cent for secondary students.
The Department of Education referred the leak to police, who searched Mr Burston's home and charged him, but a Kununurra Magistrate ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The department restarted its own probe into Mr Burston's conduct after the court case concluded.
Last year, the ABC revealed the rollout of the attendance plans in Halls Creek in 2020 was botched, prompting a government inquiry and apology from then Education Minister Sue Ellery, who promised more meaningful action on the ground.
Mr Burston's supporters say that inquiry and apology vindicated him as a legitimate whistleblower.
Mr Burston described himself on the GoFundMe page as an advocate for the children of Halls Creek.
"For the past nine years, I have worked in the Kimberley education region with at-risk youth and their families who are disengaging or have disengaged from school," he said.
"For the past 20 months, my family and I have been publicly defamed, persecuted, harassed and bullied by the Department of Education."
Department 'recommended a penalty'
Department of Education Professional Standards and Conducts executive director Mary Brown said Mr Burston had been given full procedural fairness during its investigation, and the opportunity to put forward his position.
"At the conclusion of the disciplinary process, the department recommended a penalty for Mr Burston's conduct," she said.
"Mr Burston is challenging the penalty in the Industrial Relations Commission.
"The department will not be making further comment as the matter is before the commission."
Mr Burston has been stood down on full pay since mid-2021.
