Staff should deal with critical incidents in line with the 
Critical Student Incident Protocol (22KB)
Definition
A critical student incident is defined as a situation where a student's mental health or emotional well being may be at risk and where there is a likelihood of self harm or harm to others. Examples of this would be attempted suicide, a severe mental health episode, involvement in a traumatic event, threatening or violent behaviour.
Protocols
1. Staff of the University should immediately contact Student Services when they become aware of a critical student incident. The agreed contact sequence is as follows:
- Manager, Counselling Service (0438794675)
- General Manager, Student Support (0417373064)
- Pro Vice-Chancellor Students (0400945765).
Where the situation involves an immediate threat, such as a violent or armed student, the University Security should be contacted (Ext. 6666) prior to contacting the above individuals.
2. Student Services staff will provide advice as to appropriate strategies for managing the critical student incident. Typical strategies can include referral to internal services (University Counsellor, Student Adviser, International Student Support Officer, Equity Adviser) referral to external agencies (Orygen Youth Mental Health, State Crisis Assessment Team, Victoria Police). Additional strategies include advice for mediated in class behaviour, behaviour management strategies, etc
3. Depending on the nature of the incident University staff should consider taking disciplinary action by referring the matter to the Student Discipline Committee. Where there are good grounds to remove a student from campus whilst the matter is considered by the Student Discipline Committee, the Procedure for Student Exclusion can be invoked. 2 Further information on the Discipline and Exclusion procedures can be found at:
http://gpps.vu.edu.au/studentdiscipline/cid/1/parent/1/t/studentdiscipline
4. The normal decision maker is the Head of School within a faculty or the Director within a service area. These staff should assume the primary point of responsibility within the affected area and liaise with the nominated Student Services staff.
5. Depending on the nature of a critical student incident, the General Manager, Student Support will normally convene a Critical Student Incident Group to manage each incident. Such a Group would include the General Manager, Student Support; the Manager, Counselling Services; and the Head of School or nominee. The Manager, Security and the Manager, International Student Support would participate as appropriate.
6. The Critical Student Incident Group shall:
a. Manage the incident until its immediate resolution providing advice on a consistent University position
b. Identify any extra information needed, issues, tasks and external agencies and individuals and allocate tasks.
c. Establish a means of communication and meet on an as needs basis
d. Document the history of the incident and any antecedents based on information from all members of the Group.
e. After the incident is over hold a debriefing meeting to ensure that any lessons learnt from the process inform future processes.
7. The General Manager, Student Support will liaise with the PVC Students who will in turn liaise with the DVC Capital and Management Services as the Convenor of the University Emergency Management Team. Where the incident poses a wider critical threat to the University, the PVC Students will recommend to the DVC Capital and Management Services that the EMT should convene and assume the management of the critical student incident.
