{"id":71650,"date":"2026-08-14T03:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T03:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/71650\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T03:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T03:12:28","slug":"warrnambools-kings-college-principal-sacked-after-complaints-prompt-investigations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/71650\/","title":{"rendered":"Warrnambool’s King’s College principal sacked after complaints prompt investigations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The principal of a regional Victorian Christian college has been sacked after complaints about his alleged behaviour with students forced investigations by two education regulators and Victoria Police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

King’s College Warrnambool principal Allister Rouse was dismissed this week after nine years in the job, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards some senior students. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The complaints triggered mandatory reporting obligations, and the school was required to inform Victoria Police and the Victorian Institute of Teaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Victoria, the Reportable Conduct Scheme requires schools to notify authorities about allegations of child-related misconduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The school initially declined to confirm why Mr Rouse had left, telling families he had left the college well-positioned to build on growth.<\/p>\n

But in a letter to families last night, the school said it had alerted authorities to the allegations and commissioned an external investigation by a Melbourne-based law firm that specialised in reportable conduct.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Allister Rouse’s photos remain visible on the school’s website and social media accounts. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

King’s College chairman, Ian Pech, said the investigator’s report found Mr Rouse had breached the college’s policies and the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) code of conduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We recognise that this news is difficult and concerning for members of our community, particularly for students and families who may have been directly affected,” Mr Pech said in the letter to families.<\/p>\n

The ABC has confirmed the VIT, which oversees teacher registration and professional standards, is investigating a complaint regarding the school.<\/p>\n

“As the matter is currently under regulatory assessment, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” VIT chief executive officer Martin Fletcher said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The ABC also understands the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), which regulates schools and training colleges, has also launched its own investigation.<\/p>\n

It is understood the Social Services Regulator is working with both authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victoria Police’s Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation team (SOCIT) investigated reports of inappropriate behaviour in April, and deemed no criminal offence had occurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The matter was referred to the Department of Education,” a police spokesperson said<\/p>\n

Mr Rouse did not respond to questions and remains registered as a teacher with the VIT.<\/p>\n

Do you know more?\u00a0Contact Pat McGrath using pjmcgrath@protonmail.com<\/a> or Daniel Miles using danielgmiles@protonmail.com<\/a>If you require more secure communication, please choose an\u00a0option on the confidential tips page<\/a>‘A caring Christian education’<\/p>\n

King’s College is a kindergarten-to-year-12 Presbyterian school with 279 students that was established in the south-western Victorian town in 1986.<\/p>\n

The private, co-educational school was founded by the Warrnambool Presbyterian Church, with a mission statement to help students navigate faith “in a changing world”.<\/p>\n

Mr Rouse’s profile remains visible across the King’s College website, where he is described as the principal and chief executive.<\/p>\n

“King\u2019s College provides a caring Christian education to effectively prepare confident young people as lifelong learners equipped to know and serve God in a changing world,” the website reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Allister Rouse was named principal of King’s College, Warrnambool, in 2017. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

The school is owned and operated by Warrnambool Presbyterian School Ltd, a non-profit company formed to run the school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Rouse’s departure comes as the school prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding with a function in its auditorium today.<\/p>\n

In a principal’s welcome still featured on the school’s website, Mr Rouse said King’s College reflected a “Christian worldview, in which students are encouraged to explore aspects of faith and their outworking in the world in which they live and interact”.<\/p>\n

“We continually strive to help young people understand that Christian values and thinking apply to every area of life in a world in which morals and values are important and do matter.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A letter sent to parents at King’s College on Monday failed to state why Allister Rouse had left the school. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

In a LinkedIn post uploaded last month, Mr Rouse said he was interested in connecting with other educators and leaders who were passionate about shaping the future of education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Rouse disabled comments on the post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before he joined King’s College in 2017, Mr Rouse was the deputy principal of Flinders Christian College in Carrum Downs, and the Director of Teaching at Waverley Christian College in Wantirna South.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Financial records show King’s College is dependent on state and federal funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It received $4.7 million in Commonwealth grants last financial year, along with $842,544 in state government funding and $1.4 million school fees.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

King’s College is located three hours’ west of Melbourne in Warrnambool. (Supplied)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The principal of a regional Victorian Christian college has been sacked after complaints about his alleged behaviour with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[99777,22,21,4838,99776,1019,46257],"class_list":["post-71650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-allister-rouse","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-investigation","tag-kings-college","tag-school","tag-warrnambool"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}