ABSTRACT

Independent state MP for Murray Helen Dalton is sponsoring a parliamentary petition calling for specialist endometriosis education classes for boys and girls to be funded across New South Wales public high schools. The petition has gained more than 1,700 signatures since it was launched in August.

ABC News Australia

NSW MP Helen Dalton sponsors petition for endometriosis classes in public high schools

Sep 25, 2026, 5:06 PM

Context

The hour-long Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program (PPEP) Talk program, delivered by presenter Polly Levinson, has been taken to teenage students across schools for almost four years, she said. It began in 2019 following the launch of the National Action Plan for Endometriosis, and currently runs in independent and Catholic schools across the country and in state schools in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

The NSW Department of Education will next year launch a pelvic health and endometriosis education program, which it says aims to support teachers discussing the condition. Ms Dalton said it made more sense to support the existing PPEP Talk program offered by the Pelvic Pain Foundation.

A peer-reviewed 2022 study on menstrual health education in Australian schools found personal discomfort meant some Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) teachers lacked confidence when teaching puberty and menstruation.

Trudi Beck, who co-founded an endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic in Wagga Wagga, said young women often spent too long tolerating pain before seeking medical intervention, and that awareness from an early age could prevent further health issues in later life, particularly in regional areas where access to support was limited.

About one in seven Australian girls and women have endometriosis, according to the source.

All Perspectives

Helen Dalton, independent state MP for Murray: Ms Dalton said it made more sense to support the existing PPEP Talk program offered by the Pelvic Pain Foundation. She said it could be particularly challenging for male teachers to deliver education around endometriosis, saying: "I think that they would find it a little bit difficult to speak to the girls about that, and the girls obviously would be probably hesitant to speak to a male about that." She added: "Whereas the program is run by women that understand women's issues."

Polly Levinson, PPEP Talk presenter: Ms Levinson said: "Australian teachers are not super comfortable teaching about puberty, because it goes beyond biological processes." She said: "We often find students appreciate not having to divulge really deeply personal information about their reproductive health to their potentially male PE teacher, who they're going to see for basketball tomorrow." She said clinical educators have been able to pick up on congenital conditions in conversations with students after the classes, and that "That opportunity for students to talk one-on-one with the educator at the end of the session is something teachers have really told us they find immensely helpful, as well as the students themselves."

Trudi Beck, co-founder of a Wagga Wagga endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic: Dr Beck said young women often spent too long tolerating pain before seeking medical intervention, saying: "They are suffering these things often in silence, and only present when they get iron deficiency, which is a direct result of the heavy periods that's causing them to miss a lot of school." She said awareness from an early age could prevent further health issues in later life, which she said was especially important in regional areas where access to support was limited. She said: "Some of the women in this region are travelling 200 to 300 kilometres each way to access care," and "We need to work on targeting younger women where we can work with prevention of long-term consequences of undiagnosed endometriosis."

NSW Department of Education: The department will next year launch a pelvic health and endometriosis education program, which it says aims to support teachers discussing the condition.

Position not represented in the source reporting: NSW Department of Education; Pelvic Pain Foundation.

Gaps & Unknowns

The source does not state how many NSW public high schools the petition's proposed classes would cover, or what they would cost.
The source does not state the NSW Department of Education's response to the petition or to Ms Dalton's argument that the existing PPEP Talk program should be supported instead.
The source does not state what the more than 1,700 signatures would require for the petition to be debated or acted on in the NSW parliament.
The source does not state the sample size, method or funding of the peer-reviewed 2022 study it cites.
The source spells the program both PPEP Talk and PEPP Talk.
The source does not state the origin of its figure that about one in seven Australian girls and women have endometriosis.

Sources & Further Reading

ABC News Australia — original

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