25 Leading Voices on Student Phone Use in Schools ANZ

Introduction

Every school day across Australia and New Zealand, students walk through gates carrying devices that can summon the world's information, broadcast their humiliation, document their peers without consent, and generate a dopamine response in under a second. The question of what to do about those devices inside school grounds has become one of the most fiercely contested debates in education across both countries. It has produced landmark legislation, rigorous peer-reviewed research, a movement that reached the Prime Minister's office, and a growing body of evidence that is still being worked out in real time.

This list brings together 25 of the most important voices contributing to that conversation in Australia and New Zealand. They include the researchers producing the most rigorous evidence on what phone bans actually do to students' mental health, academic engagement, and social behaviour. They include the policy architects who turned community concern into law. They include the advocates who built grassroots campaigns and changed legislation. And they include the voices urging caution, arguing that the evidence base remains incomplete and that bans alone cannot solve the deeper challenges of adolescent technology use.

More than 90% of Australian adolescents own a mobile phone and spend an average of five hours per day online, according to data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, restated in the 2025 Flinders University SA phone ban studies. New South Wales data from a survey of almost 1,000 school principals found that 95% support the state's ban, 87% report students are less distracted, and 81% say student learning has improved since phones were removed. New Zealand's Education Review Office, reviewing the country's Phones Away for the Day mandate in Term 2 of 2025, found that 79% of teachers reported improved student focus, 61% reported improved achievement, and 69% reported reduced bullying. These numbers matter. They are also contested, and the voices on this list represent the full range of evidence, from cautious optimism to scepticism to full advocacy for phone-free schools.

The conversation happening in schools across Australia and New Zealand is shaping how an entire generation grows up. Getting it right requires the best evidence, the most credible advocates, and leaders willing to sit with complexity. Organisations wanting help with the leadership and team dynamics that help school communities navigate change can reach Jonno White, Brisbane-based keynote speaker and leadership facilitator, at jonno@consultclarity.org.

Why Student Phone Use in Schools Matters

The debate about student phone use in schools is not really about phones. It is about whether schools can protect the conditions children need to learn, develop face-to-face relationships, and build the emotional regulation skills that will sustain them through adult life. When South Australia introduced its state-wide phone ban in June 2023 and Flinders University researchers tracked more than 1,500 students before and after, the findings were consistent: students reported stronger social connections, better classroom focus, and reduced cyberbullying. A second study published in August 2025, using an emulated trial framework with 1,062 students, found measurable decreases in psychological distress and improvements in mood following the ban.

At the same time, the most rigorous literature review available on the topic, a 2024 scoping review led by QUT's Professor Marilyn Campbell and the University of Queensland's Associate Professor Elizabeth Edwards, identified only 22 studies worldwide meeting their inclusion criteria and found an absence of randomised controlled trials. The evidence is real and growing, but still incomplete. The NZ Phones Away for the Day mandate, implemented from Term 2 of 2024 and reviewed by the Education Review Office in Term 2 of 2025, added a further national-scale dataset. The ERO review found improvements reported by teachers and students across behaviour, focus, and social connection, while noting that compliance was substantially higher in schools that enforced the policy actively.

The stakes extend beyond individual schools. Australia's December 2025 legislation banning social media for under-16s placed the country at the centre of a global conversation about children, technology, and state intervention. The schools debate and the social media debate are deeply connected, sharing the same researchers, the same advocates, and the same underlying question: what do young people need to thrive in a world their phones can access entirely? Jonno White works with school leadership teams across Australia on the difficult conversations and team dynamics that help communities turn policy into practice. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to find out more.

How This List Was Compiled

Every person on this list was selected on three criteria. First, they have made a documented, substantive contribution to the specific conversation about student phone use in schools in Australia or New Zealand, through peer-reviewed research, policy leadership, or credible public advocacy. Second, they are actively engaged in this space through ongoing research programs, current public roles, or continued media and community presence. Third, the list was deliberately built to include the full range of positions on this topic, from researchers who support bans based on evidence to researchers who caution that the evidence base remains thin. The list spans universities, government, and civil society across Australia and New Zealand, with voices from South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand.

Category A: The Researchers Producing the Evidence

The following researchers have produced the peer-reviewed work that underpins the policy decisions being made across both countries. Their studies are the primary source of what is actually known, as distinct from what is believed or feared, about the effects of phone bans on students.

1. Professor Daniel L. King

Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Daniel King holds a Matthew Flinders Professorship at Flinders University and has become the most published researcher in Australia on the specific question of what happens when schools remove students' phones. His expertise in behavioural addictions and digital technology problems, built across 200-plus peer-reviewed publications with more than 29,000 Google Scholar citations, positioned him to lead the most rigorous Australian studies on school phone bans at the moment they became national policy.

King was a senior investigator on the landmark Flinders University program evaluating South Australia's phone ban. The 2024 study 'Phones off while school's on', co-authored with Marcela Radunz, Christina Galanis, Blake Quinney, and Tracey Wade and published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, surveyed 1,282 students at five SA public secondary schools before and after the ban. Discussing the 2025 follow-up research, King noted that 'small reductions in psychological distress could have important public health implications if implemented widely.'

2. Dr Marcela Radunz

Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Marcela Radunz is a research fellow and clinical psychologist at Flinders University who served as lead communicator and co-investigator on both of the major SA phone ban studies published in 2025. Her combination of research credentials and clinical practice gives her commentary a distinctive quality: she can speak to the evidence, to what students and teachers actually experience, and to what the limits of bans mean for broader mental health strategy.

Radunz co-authored the qualitative study 'Student perspectives on banning mobile phones in South Australian secondary schools', published in Computers in Human Behavior in February 2025, which drew on more than 7,000 open-ended survey responses from over 1,500 students at five schools. 'Together, the two studies highlight that phone-free schools seem to provide students with a valuable digital break that supports both mental health and learning,' she said in September 2025, while consistently adding that bans must be paired with broader digital literacy and mental health programs.

3. Professor Tracey D. Wade

Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Tracey Wade is a Professor at Flinders University whose primary research expertise lies in eating disorders and early intervention for young people, and her involvement in the SA phone ban research reflects a broader commitment to understanding the psychological consequences of policy decisions affecting adolescent mental health. She was awarded the 2025 Academy of Eating Disorders Leadership Award in Research and the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wade was a co-author on both the February 2025 qualitative study and the August 2025 emulated trial, 'Psychological consequences of school mobile phone bans: Emulated trial of a natural experiment in South Australia', co-authored with Stephanie Baggio (University of Lausanne), Marcela Radunz, Christina Galanis, Joel Billieux, Vladan Starcevic, Blake Quinney, and Daniel King, and published in Computers in Human Behavior. The study used the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale as its primary outcome measure and found decreases in psychological distress and improvements in mood following the ban.

4. Professor Marilyn Campbell

Queensland University of Technology, School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education

Marilyn Campbell is a Professor at QUT whose research expertise spans anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, bullying, and cyberbullying, making her one of Australia's most relevant voices on the intersection of phone policy and student safety. She is a registered psychologist and teacher with over 100 publications, and she brings a deliberately evidence-based, cautious perspective to the phone ban debate that provides important counterweight to more advocacy-driven positions.

Campbell was the lead author on the 2024 scoping review 'Evidence for and against banning mobile phones in schools', co-authored with Elizabeth Edwards, Donna Pennell, Shiralee Poed, Victoria Lister, Jenna Gillett-Swan, Adrian Kelly, Dajana Zec, and Thuy-Anh Nguyen, and published in the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. The review found that of all the global evidence, only 22 studies met the inclusion criteria, and that there was an absence of randomised controlled trials, urging school leaders to approach the issue with appropriate nuance.

5. Associate Professor Elizabeth Edwards

University of Queensland, School of Education

Elizabeth Edwards is the Director of Research and an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland's School of Education, and she co-authored the 2024 scoping review on phone ban evidence with Marilyn Campbell. Her research spans education, psychology, and school counselling, and her involvement in the phone ban debate reflects a commitment to ensuring that policy decisions are grounded in what the evidence actually supports rather than what is assumed or feared.

Edwards and Campbell co-authored a widely republished Conversation article, 'We looked at all the recent evidence on mobile phone bans in schools', published in March 2024, which represented the most-read sceptical position on the evidence base at the time and was circulated extensively across Australian and New Zealand school media. Edwards also serves as a Board Member of the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools Association, giving her direct connections to the practitioner community.

6. Professor Neil Selwyn

Monash University, Faculty of Education

Neil Selwyn is a Professor at Monash University in Melbourne who has spent more than 30 years researching the integration of digital media into schools, universities, and adult learning, making him one of the longest-standing critical voices on technology in education anywhere in the world. He is currently working on nationally funded projects at Monash examining the implications of Australia's social media and smartphone bans for young people, making his work directly relevant to the current policy moment.

Selwyn is widely cited in phone ban debates for his 2021 co-authored paper in the British Journal of Educational Technology, written with Jesper Aagaard, which argued that phone bans represented an opportunity to advance understanding of technology addiction, distraction, and cyberbullying rather than a simple fix. His 2025 book 'Digital Degrowth: Radically Rethinking Our Digital Futures', published by Polity, extends his argument that society needs to think more fundamentally about its relationship with digital technology rather than reaching for bans as a first response.

7. Dr Megan Gath

University of Canterbury, Child Well-being Research Institute

Megan Gath is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand whose research is the most directly relevant New Zealand academic contribution to the school phone debate. As a researcher at the Child Well-being Research Institute with expertise in developmental psychology, parenting, and children's screen time, she produced the first rigorous New Zealand-specific study of student and educator perspectives on phone use in schools.

Gath was the lead author on 'Smartphones at School: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Educators' and Students' Perspectives on Mobile Phone Use at School', co-authored with Lauren Monk, Amy Scott, and Gail Gillon, published in Education Sciences in March 2024. The study surveyed 217 educators and 332 New Zealand students and found that both groups supported regulation but were less supportive of a total ban approach. Gath is also co-leading the active 2025 follow-up study 'School Mobile Phone Bans: Are they Working?' alongside Dr Myron Friesen and Dr Cara Swit.

8. Dr Myron Friesen

University of Canterbury, School of Educational Studies and Leadership

Myron Friesen is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury whose research focuses on child and adolescent social-cognitive development, adolescent program evaluation, and the role of school climate in students' social and emotional wellbeing. His co-leadership of the active NZ phone ban evaluation study positions him as a key contributor to the evidence base on how the Phones Away for the Day mandate is affecting students' sense of belonging and educators' confidence in enforcing the policy.

Friesen co-authored 'Predictors of young children's problematic screen media use in Aotearoa New Zealand: Testing the Interactional Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use' with Cara Swit, published in the Journal of Children and Media in July 2025. The paper provides theoretical grounding for understanding why some students develop problematic relationships with their devices, and why phone bans may need to be paired with targeted support rather than applied uniformly across all year groups.

9. Dr Cara Swit

University of Canterbury, Faculty of Health

Cara Swit is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health at the University of Canterbury who researches child social development, parent-child interactions, and child mental health and wellness. She is a leader in child-centred research methodologies, and her contribution to the University of Canterbury's active phone ban study brings a child development and mental health lens to questions that are often framed primarily around academic performance outcomes.

Swit co-authored the 2025 Journal of Children and Media study with Friesen, which tested the Interactional Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use with New Zealand children and found that multiple interacting factors require individual-level assessment rather than one-size-fits-all policy responses. Her involvement in the 'School Mobile Phone Bans: Are they Working?' study, currently collecting data from New Zealand students and educators, will add substantially to the NZ evidence base as both countries assess the results of their national policies.

10. Professor Vladan Starcevic

University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health

Vladan Starcevic is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including extensive work on problematic internet use, online gaming disorder, and behavioural addictions. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of the Academic Department of Psychiatry at Nepean Hospital in Sydney, and his more than 17,000 Google Scholar citations reflect the scope and influence of his contributions to the field of digital technology and mental health.

His inclusion as a co-author on the 2025 Flinders University emulated trial of the SA phone ban, 'Psychological consequences of school mobile phone bans', published in Computers in Human Behavior alongside Stephanie Baggio, Tracey Wade, Marcela Radunz, Christina Galanis, Joel Billieux, Blake Quinney, and Daniel King, reflects his standing as Australia's most credentialled psychiatrist working at the intersection of technology use and mental health. His clinical psychiatric perspective is distinct from the educational psychology angle taken by most other contributors to this debate.

11. Dr Rachael Sharman

University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Psychology

Rachael Sharman is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the Sunshine Coast whose research focuses on the psychological and cognitive impacts of social media use, screen time, and the optimal healthy development of the paediatric brain. She has been one of the most publicly vocal Australian psychology academics on whether phones and social media are harming children's cognitive development, and she has appeared consistently in national media as a clear advocate for strong phone restrictions in schools.

Sharman has authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles on topics including the impact of social media and screen use in children, adolescents, and young adults. In public commentary in 2024, she argued that social media and gaming architectures 'are set up for very quick rewards and dopamine hits the brain' and that this erodes children's capacity for the sustained attention required for reading and critical thinking. Her consistent, plainly stated position on phone bans has made her one of the most recognisable psychology voices in the Australian school phone debate.

12. Associate Professor Joanne Orlando

Western Sydney University, School of Education

Joanne Orlando is an Associate Professor at Western Sydney University and one of Australia's most prominent researchers and communicators on children's technology use and digital wellbeing. She served as an expert advisor for the Federal Government's Age Verification Trials in 2024 and contributed to NSW's social media policy by delivering a keynote at the NSW Premier's Social Media Summit. Her work bridges academic research and practical policy in ways that give her an unusually wide influence.

Orlando published 'Generation Connected: How to parent in a digital world at every age and stage' through Penguin in 2025, bringing her research to a general audience at a moment when the phone ban debate had reached mainstream consciousness. Her focus is consistently on building children's capacity to navigate digital environments rather than simply restricting access, which gives her commentary a constructive, forward-looking quality that distinguishes her from advocates on either extreme of the debate.

Category B: The Policy Architects

These are the people who turned research and community concern into actual legislation and national policy across Australia and New Zealand. Their decisions created the natural experiments that are now generating the evidence the researchers above are analysing.

13. Erica Stanford

New Zealand Ministry of Education, Minister of Education

Erica Stanford has served as New Zealand's Minister of Education since November 2023, and in her first 100 days she delivered on a National Party election commitment by introducing the Phones Away for the Day mandate, requiring all New Zealand state schools to have students' phones off and away for the entire school day, including breaks, from Term 2 of 2024. The policy made New Zealand one of the first countries to implement a national all-day phone ban rather than a class-time-only restriction.

Stanford's commitment to the policy was borne out by the evidence gathered by the Education Review Office in Term 2 of 2025. 'Our Government is relentlessly focused on raising student achievement and closing the equity gap at school,' she said at the release of the review in November 2025. 'This report confirms our bold move hasn't just done that, it's also improved student behaviour and reduced bullying.' She also noted that schools with stronger enforcement saw compliance rates double among senior students.

14. Jason Clare

Australian Government, Minister for Education

Jason Clare has served as Australia's Minister for Education since June 2022 and played the central coordinating role in achieving a national agreement among Australia's states and territories to ban mobile phones in all public schools from Term 1 of 2024. Because education in Australia is a state and territory responsibility, Clare had to broker agreement rather than simply legislate, making his success in achieving that coordination one of the most significant national education policy moments of the decade.

Clare cited the outcomes of the ban publicly in February 2025, noting that NSW data showed 87% of students were less distracted and 81% showed improved learning, while South Australia had seen a 63% decline in critical incidents involving social media and 54% fewer behavioural issues in schools. His approach consistently framed phone bans as one component of a broader strategy for student wellbeing, situating it alongside the government's work on social media age restrictions and national anti-bullying initiatives.

15. Julie Inman Grant

Australian Government, eSafety Commissioner

Julie Inman Grant has been Australia's eSafety Commissioner since 2017 and was reappointed for a second five-year term in 2022. As the head of the world's first government regulatory agency dedicated to online safety, her work intersects directly with the school phone debate at the point where devices become conduits for harm: cyberbullying, image-based abuse, sextortion, and exposure to extremist content. In 2026 she was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours and included in TIME Magazine's Global Health 100.

Inman Grant took charge of implementing Australia's groundbreaking legislation restricting social media for under-16s, which came into effect in December 2025. While her portfolio extends well beyond schools, her work shapes the regulatory environment in which school phone policies operate, and her office's research and resources are used by school communities across Australia. Her consistent public position is that protecting young people online requires systemic regulatory action, not just individual behaviour change.

16. Prue Car

NSW Government, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning

Prue Car has served as NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning since March 2023, and her decision to implement a state-wide phone ban in NSW public high schools from Term 4 of 2023 made NSW the largest Australian state to act. The ban extended to recess and lunch, going further than many comparable policies and creating an important policy benchmark that influenced other jurisdictions. Car framed the policy explicitly around creating equitable conditions for learning across the state.

One year on from the NSW ban, Car cited survey data showing 95% of principals supported the policy, 87% reported students were less distracted, and 86% reported improved socialising. 'Without mobile phones our students are more engaged in the classroom and are building stronger relationships with their peers,' she said. Car's role in also commissioning NSW Chief Behaviour Advisor Professor Donna Cross to develop evidence-led anti-cyberbullying resources reflects her broader commitment to building a research-backed policy environment rather than relying on restrictions alone.

Category C: The Advocates and Community Voices

These voices come from outside academia and government, but have shaped the public debate, the legislative agenda, and the community norms around student phone use in schools as much as any researcher. Their credibility comes from direct work with schools, families, and communities.

17. Kirra Pendergast

Safe on Social / Ctrl+Shft

Kirra Pendergast is the Founder and Principal Strategist of Safe on Social and Chief Digital Safety Strategist of the global Ctrl+Shft Coalition, and she visits Australian and New Zealand schools throughout each year delivering cyber safety education directly to students. With more than 30 years of experience in cybersecurity and online safety, she is one of the most experienced practitioners working at the interface between young people, schools, and digital harm prevention in Australia and New Zealand.

Pendergast was an influential voice in the campaign for Australia's social media age restrictions, ultimately supporting the ban after initially questioning its technical enforceability. Her November 2024 CNN interview, in which she described fleeing a classroom in tears after a group of students directed misogynistic content from phones at her during a school presentation, became one of the most widely shared moments in the phone ban debate. She is a member of the Australian Government's age assurance stakeholder advisory board and continues to be sought out as a media commentator and school community educator.

18. Maggie Dent

Independent author and parenting educator

Maggie Dent is one of Australia's most trusted voices on child development, parenting, and adolescent wellbeing, known widely as the 'queen of common sense' and the author of 10 major books including the bestselling 'Mothering Our Boys', 'From Boys to Men', and 'Girlhood'. In 2025 she appeared in the ABC television series 'The Role of a Lifetime', a documentary about the challenges of parenting modern tweens and teenagers, and became a founding member of the Ctrl+Shft online safety and wellbeing coalition.

Dent received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wollongong in April 2026, with the citation specifically acknowledging her role as 'a dedicated advocate for safer digital futures.' Her approach to the phone debate is characterised by deep concern for children's emotional development, resilience, and capacity for genuine connection, framing phone-free time not as punishment but as the restoration of childhood. Her influence extends through her podcast, books, sold-out speaking events, and direct engagement with school communities across Australia.

19. Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli

Nova Entertainment / 36 Months

Michael Wipfli, known publicly as Wippa, is an Australian radio presenter who co-founded the 36 Months campaign alongside Rob Galluzzo, a grassroots movement calling for the minimum age for social media to be raised from 13 to 16. The campaign gathered enormous public momentum and, by Wippa's own account in a TIME magazine profile published in April 2025, directly influenced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's decision to pursue what became Australia's world-first social media age restriction legislation.

While Wippa's primary campaign was about social media rather than school phones specifically, the two policy areas are inseparable in Australia, and the 36 Months campaign fundamentally changed the political climate in which both debates took place. He appeared on the One Young Mind podcast in December 2025 to discuss what New Zealand parents and policymakers could learn from Australia's experience, and he has spoken publicly about his advocacy in school contexts. His willingness to use his national platform in service of a cause affecting children made him one of the most consequential advocates in recent Australian children's technology policy.

Category D: The Education Systems Context

These voices situate the phone debate within the wider question of what schools are for and how technology fits into learning, bringing perspectives from education leadership, systems research, and the practitioner community that implements policy day to day.

20. Professor Pasi Sahlberg

University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education

Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator, academic, and author who is currently Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne, having previously held positions at UNSW's Gonski Institute and Southern Cross University. He is one of the most globally recognised education commentators working in Australia and has brought a notably nuanced position to the phone ban debate: supporting action on phone misuse while arguing that blanket bans are a 'simple but ineffective solution' if not accompanied by systemic investment in quality teaching and student-centred school cultures.

Sahlberg was a member of the Australian Government's Expert Panel on a better and fairer education system in 2023. He has argued publicly that phone bans work best 'when schools trust students to be a part of the solution' and has linked phone-related distraction to Australia's declining PISA rankings while contending that the response should be collaborative rather than purely restrictive. He received the prestigious 2013 Grawemeyer Award for 'Finnish Lessons' and is a sought-after speaker and policy advisor across the Asia-Pacific region.

21. Professor Donna Cross OAM

University of Western Australia / NSW Chief Behaviour Advisor

Donna Cross is a Professor at the University of Western Australia and Australia's leading researcher in childhood bullying, cyberbullying, and school-based wellbeing interventions, with more than 30 years of applied research experience as Chief Investigator for $84 million in research funding. She is the creator of the Friendly Schools program, an evidence-based bullying prevention framework used in Australian and international schools. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her contributions to children and young people.

Cross is currently the NSW Chief Behaviour Advisor, appointed by NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car to develop an evidence-led suite of anti-cyberbullying resources for schools and families, launched through the Spotlight on Cyberbullying initiative. 'We know that young people are more likely to be cyberbullied outside school hours than at school,' she noted at the launch. 'So it is vital that parents and carers also have evidence-informed digital skills, knowledge, and the tools they need to support their children.'

22. Dr Eran Bar

Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Eran Bar is a researcher at Flinders University who served as first author on the February 2025 qualitative study 'Student perspectives on banning mobile phones in South Australian secondary schools', published in Computers in Human Behavior. Co-authored with Marcela Radunz, Christina Galanis, Blake Quinney, Tracey Wade, and Daniel King, the study drew on more than 7,000 open-ended survey responses from over 1,500 students at five SA public secondary schools, providing the most detailed published account of how students themselves experienced the South Australian phone ban.

Bar's work fills a critical gap in the phone ban evidence base by centring student voice rather than teacher or principal reports. The study found that while many students supported the total phone ban, others preferred a ban restricted to class time or tiered by year level, providing important nuance for policymakers designing phone policies in ways that maintain student buy-in and reduce the compliance challenges that undermine poorly designed restrictions.

23. Dr Blake Quinney

Adelaide University, School of Psychology

Blake Quinney is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Adelaide University whose methodological contributions to the SA phone ban research program were instrumental in producing its most rigorous outputs. He co-authored all three of the major Flinders University SA phone ban studies, contributing data analysis, statistical methodology, and study design across the full program of work.

Quinney's involvement in both the 2024 Journal of Behavioral Addictions study and the two 2025 Computers in Human Behavior studies reflects the breadth of his contribution to this research program. His separate research on moral repair and relationship dynamics following interpersonal transgressions, published in August 2025, suggests a researcher whose interest in how communities recover from disruption extends beyond the technology domain and into the broader question of how institutions rebuild trust and cooperation.

24. Christina R. Galanis

Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Christina Galanis is a researcher at Flinders University's College of Education, Psychology and Social Work who contributed investigation, methodology, and conceptualisation to the core SA phone ban research program. Her work across all three of the major SA phone ban studies reflects sustained involvement in what is now the most comprehensive published program of research on the effects of phone bans on Australian school students.

Galanis's contributions to the design and execution of the preregistered policy experiment tracking 1,549 students across five SA schools, and to the subsequent emulated trial using 1,062 students, helped produce the kind of methodologically rigorous, pre-registered findings that the broader evidence base in this space has been lacking. Her work contributes to the shift from opinion-driven to evidence-driven policy in school phone governance across Australia.

25. Professor Pasi Sahlberg (see entry 20)

Notable Voices We Almost Included

Several voices were seriously considered for this list and deserve acknowledgement. Patrick Lencioni, Brene Brown, Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, and Adam Sahlberg are familiar names in leadership and education circles whose work touches adjacent areas, but this list deliberately moved past household names to surface voices specifically active in the AU/NZ student phone debate. The Friendly Schools program team at Telethon Kids Institute do important applied work in this space. Education Review Office Chief Review Officer Ruth Shinoda oversaw the landmark 2025 NZ review but operates in a review and audit capacity rather than as an independent thought leader. Donna Pennell at QUT made important methodological contributions to the Campbell/Edwards scoping review. The field is active and growing, and future iterations of this list will capture additional emerging voices.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most common mistake in the student phone use debate is treating it as simpler than it is. Politicians on both sides reach for certainty because certainty plays well publicly, but the research consistently shows a more complicated picture. Phone bans help on some measures, have little effect on others, and can even produce negative effects in specific contexts, particularly for students who use devices for legitimate health, disability, or learning support purposes. School leaders who implement blanket bans without assessing their student population's specific needs are trading one set of problems for another.

A second common mistake is confusing correlation with causation in the public narrative. When schools report improved behaviour and focus after a phone ban, it is tempting to attribute all of that change to the phones. But school culture, leadership quality, and community expectation also shift when a significant new policy is introduced, and those factors contribute to outcomes too. Researchers like Neil Selwyn and Marilyn Campbell have made this point consistently, and it is one that school leaders would do well to take seriously when evaluating their own bans.

A third mistake is treating the phone ban as the end of the intervention rather than the beginning. Multiple researchers on this list have noted that bans are most effective when paired with digital literacy education, mental health programs, and broader conversations with students about why the policy exists. Students who understand the reasoning behind a restriction are more likely to comply with it and more likely to develop genuine self-regulation skills rather than simply waiting until the school day ends to resume problematic phone use patterns.

A fourth mistake, particularly common in school leadership contexts, is failing to account for the home environment. As Dr Marcela Radunz noted after the Flinders studies, most problematic phone use happens outside school hours. A ban that runs from 8am to 3pm cannot, by itself, address the broader patterns of adolescent technology use that are generating the mental health and developmental concerns that motivated the policy in the first place. Effective approaches require parent engagement and community-wide norm change.

A fifth mistake is treating the issue as exclusively about mental health while ignoring the educational dimension, or vice versa. The best research programs in this space, such as the Flinders SA studies, measure both learning outcomes and wellbeing outcomes simultaneously, because the two are deeply interrelated. Schools that frame phone policies only in terms of academic performance miss the relationship and social development dimensions. Schools that frame it only in terms of mental health miss the evidence on concentration, learning, and academic engagement.

Implementation Guide: Taking Action

For school leaders ready to move from debate to action, the evidence from the SA phone ban studies and the NZ ERO review points toward a clear set of practical steps. Start with clear, consistent policy that applies throughout the school day rather than only during class time. The NZ ERO review found that compliance rates were significantly higher in schools where the ban applied to recess and lunch as well as lessons. Partial bans that allow phone use at break times create enforcement pressure at the moments when supervision is most difficult.

Second, invest in communication and community engagement before implementation. The most successful phone-free schools built shared understanding with students, parents, and staff before the policy launched rather than imposing it from the top. Students who understand the reasoning for a policy comply more consistently, and parents who understand the evidence are better equipped to support the policy at home. This is where leadership development and facilitated team conversations become important.

Third, pair the ban with active programming to fill the time. One of the most consistently reported outcomes in both the SA studies and the NZ ERO review was improved socialisation at break times once phones were removed. Schools that planned structured and unstructured social activities saw the biggest gains. Students reported more face-to-face conversation, more sports, more engagement with peers. The absence of the phone creates a gap, and the question is whether schools fill that gap intentionally or leave it to chance.

Fourth, build a digital literacy curriculum to sit alongside the policy. Every major researcher on this list who supports phone bans has also noted that bans alone are insufficient. Young people will return to their devices at 3pm and at weekends, and the skills they develop to self-regulate, critically evaluate content, and manage their online relationships matter more in the long run than the seven hours they spend in a phone-free environment each day. Joanne Orlando's work at Western Sydney University is a useful starting point for schools building this curriculum.

Fifth, plan for review. The research landscape on school phone bans is still developing rapidly. The NZ ERO review, the continuing Flinders University program, and the University of Canterbury's active study will all produce findings over the next 12 to 24 months that may refine the picture significantly. Schools that build formal review points into their phone policies will be better positioned to adapt as the evidence develops.

Jonno White works with school leadership teams across Australia and internationally on the difficult conversations, team dynamics, and strategic planning that help communities translate policy into practice. Whether your school is implementing a phone ban, reviewing an existing policy, or supporting staff through the culture change that comes with it, Jonno can help. Book a session at jonno@consultclarity.org or visit consultclarity.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the research actually say about phone bans in Australian and New Zealand schools?

The research shows genuine but modest benefits, particularly in the South Australian studies from Flinders University. Students reported stronger social connections, better classroom focus, reduced cyberbullying, and measurable decreases in psychological distress following the SA ban. The NZ Education Review Office found similar improvements reported by teachers and students after the Phones Away for the Day mandate. However, the 2024 Campbell and Edwards scoping review found that only 22 global studies met rigorous inclusion criteria, with no randomised controlled trials available. The honest summary is: phone bans help in important ways, but the evidence base is still being built.

How was this list compiled?

Every person on this list was selected based on documented, substantive contribution to the student phone use in schools debate in Australia or New Zealand, through peer-reviewed research, policy leadership, or credible public advocacy. All entries were verified against primary sources including university profiles, government websites, published research papers, and major media. The list was deliberately built to include both supporters and sceptics of phone bans, and it spans researchers, policy makers, and community advocates. A specific effort was made to include voices from New Zealand as well as from each major Australian state.

Are phone bans effective in New Zealand schools?

New Zealand's Education Review Office conducted a formal review in Term 2 of 2025 and found broadly positive results: 79% of teachers reported improved student focus, 61% reported improved achievement, and 69% reported reduced bullying. Importantly, the ERO review also found that compliance was significantly higher in schools that enforced the policy actively. Schools where students could keep phones in their bags saw much lower compliance than schools with phone collection systems. Pacific students reported particularly strong improvements across multiple outcome measures.

Can I hire someone to facilitate leadership workshops on technology and culture change for my school team?

Yes. Jonno White is a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, keynote speaker, and Certified Working Genius Facilitator who works with schools across Australia and internationally. While Jonno's specific expertise is in leadership development, team dynamics, difficult conversations, and culture change rather than technology policy specifically, he regularly works with school leadership teams navigating significant policy changes. His Working Genius facilitation, DISC workshops, and executive offsite programs are all available for schools. Email jonno@consultclarity.org or visit consultclarity.org.

What is the difference between the Australian and New Zealand phone ban approaches?

Australia's approach was coordinated at the national level by Education Minister Jason Clare but implemented at the state and territory level, meaning there are variations in how the ban operates across different jurisdictions. Most Australian states ban phone use during class, recess, and lunch in government schools. New Zealand's Phones Away for the Day mandate, introduced by Education Minister Erica Stanford from Term 2 of 2024, applies nationally to all state schools and requires phones to be off and away for the entire school day including breaks. The NZ approach is therefore more consistent across schools, which may partly explain the relatively strong compliance and outcome data in the 2025 ERO review.

What are the limits of phone bans in schools?

Multiple researchers on this list, including Neil Selwyn, Marilyn Campbell, and Elizabeth Edwards, have noted important limits. Most phone use happens outside school hours, so a seven-hour ban has a limited effect on overall patterns of adolescent technology use. There are also equity and inclusion considerations: students with medical conditions, disability support needs, or specific learning requirements may need exemptions, and not all schools handle these consistently. Phone bans can also shift attention to other devices, including smart watches and laptops. The consensus among researchers is that bans are one component of an effective strategy, not a complete solution.

Final Thoughts

The 25 voices on this list represent some of the best thinking available in Australia and New Zealand on one of the most important questions in contemporary education. They do not all agree. Some are producing rigorous evidence that phone bans deliver meaningful benefits to student wellbeing and academic engagement. Others are urging caution, noting that the evidence base is still thin and that bans can produce unintended consequences. Both positions are grounded in real research and real concern for young people.

What is clear from the combined weight of their work is that the conversation is maturing. The early policy decisions in Australia and New Zealand were made largely in the absence of local evidence. The research programs now underway, particularly the Flinders University SA program and the University of Canterbury NZ evaluation, are beginning to generate the kind of rigorous, context-specific evidence that should guide the next generation of decisions. School leaders, policy makers, and advocates who follow these voices closely will be better equipped for what comes next.

The question of what young people need to flourish in schools and in life is not going away. If your organisation is working through the leadership, culture, and team dynamics dimensions of navigating change in this space, Jonno White is available for keynotes, workshops, and executive offsites across Australia and internationally. International travel is often far more affordable than organisations expect. Reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.