All workers at more than 3000 of the state’s schools will immediately be affected after the NSW Government on Tuesday unveiled changes to explicitly ban hate speech the code of conduct for staff across government, independent and Catholic schools.

It follows cases where prominent teachers or principals have been accused of hate speech but the State Government has felt it could not take action, Premier Chris Minns said.

“If you participate in hate speech, even if it’s not on the school grounds, then you’re not the kind of person we want shaping young minds,” he told 2GB.

“Young people are vulnerable and they’re vulnerable to a person in authority giving them bigoted information.

“We recognise everyone’s got a responsibility to stamp out hate speech as well as hate preaching in our community.”

The changes build on reforms to state and federal hate speech laws proposed after two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in December, killing 15 people.

The NSW/ACT branch of the Independent Education Union welcomed today’s announcement.

“The vast majority of schools already have guidelines preventing hate speech, but these new requirements will make it crystal clear that hate speech based on race or religion is not acceptable,” IEU NSW/ACT Branch secretary Carol Matthews said.

“We don’t anticipate teachers will be impeded in classroom discussions by the new requirements, which are based on the prohibition of hate speech in the Crimes Act.”

Teachers & School Staff for Palestine spokesperson Chris Breen said he has not yet seen the wording of the code of conduct changes, but is deeply concerned by Minns' public comments about them.

"Exactly what will be covered is unclear, but that seems to be part of the political purpose - to intimidate teachers who speak out for Palestine," Breen said in a statement.

Breen said the NSW Premier "has no business lecturing anyone on hate speech or social cohesion when he is welcoming wanted Israeli war criminal Isaac Herzog to Sydney.

"To welcome this sort of hate speech … by a man found by a UN commission to have incited genocide, whilst claiming to stand against "hate speech" is the height of hypocrisy from Premier Minns," Breen said.

NSW has proposed jail time and larger fines for those who publicly display symbols from terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic State, while controversially pushing to ban slogans like “globalise the intifada”.

The slogan has historically been used as a call for increased pressure on Israel to prioritise human rights, with the Arabic word intifada referring to uprisings in Palestine in 1987 and early 2000s.

It has become more popular in rallies in Western capitals as Israel’s military ramped up its bombing and starvation of Gaza in the past two years.

Though the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and others say it means “killing a Jew wherever you find one”, hate speech experts say its meaning is contested and warn quarantining certain words could erode legitimate political expression.

“Globalise the intifada” is a call for freedom not hate speech,” Breen said.

“The attempt to ban the phrase is Orwellian.

“It does appear that the new code of conduct could see teachers sacked for using the phrase.”

A report released by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network in September analysed the testimonies of 84 respondents to its anti-Palestinian racism in schools and found many already felt silenced and discriminated against for showing solidarity with Gaza.

One teacher reported being called into a principal’s office in 2024 and asked not to wear his keffiyeh during a school-themed day aimed at celebrating multiculturalism.

They had been asked to don the Palestinian cultural scarf on previous occasions.

Other educators cited reported censorship of discussions about Palestine.

Matthews said IEU members are committed to maintaining a high standard of professionalism and dedication to their work.

“We’ll be sharing the changes with our members in upcoming meetings and communications,” she said.

“Together with the broader union movement, the IEU opposes all forms of violence, hatred, bigotry and racism.

“It is not who we are. We reject hate speech that makes people feel threatened and unsafe. We are always stronger together.”

Lawyers have said the federal legislation, which allows the Government to outlaw groups that promote hatred and refuse or revoke visas of people who hold extremist views, could have unintended consequences on freedom of speech and political criticism.

(with AAP)