Hampton Park Secondary College principal David Finnerty is refusing to sign the legal document because he says it is evidence of the Department's "gross level of mistrust" in principals. Mr Finnerty said he was compliant with the new standards and had signed a document confirming this. He said it was the first time in his 23-year career as a principal that he had been asked to sign a statutory declaration. "The issue is the lack of trust," he said. "There are principals so irate by this requirement that they are thinking of pulling the pin. I am not scared by these bullying tactics." Mr Finnerty recently received a letter from the Department saying his decision posed a "significant risk" and the school could be deregistered. Fairfax Media has obtained similar letters which the Department sent other principals.

Mr Finnerty said if he was forced to sign the declaration he would write "signed under duress", rendering it useless. He said he was prepared to lose his job over the saga. The Opposition's education spokesman Nick Wakeling said the Andrews government had shown "very little confidence" in principals, who needed more support. "Principals move heaven and earth to make our schools safe and happy places, and Daniel Andrews must provide principals with the support they need," he said. Australian Principals Federation president Julie Podbury said she had been contacted by dozens of principals who were refusing to sign the declaration because they found it "deeply offensive".

She said it was an "absurd" request because state school principals were government employees who already had to meet certain obligations under their contracts. "I have never seen principals so angry," she said. "This is an absurdity, they haven't thought it through." She said signing a statutory declaration was never part of the laws governing the new standards, which came into effect last year. The Education Department is refusing to say how many schools have been threatened with deregistration. A spokesman said principals and school council presidents of all state, Catholic and independent schools were required to sign the statutory declaration.