Parents left scrambling as some Australian schools introduce strict new rules banning popular Book Week costumes

Some Australian schools have introduced a raft of shock new rules for Book Week as the annual celebration of books and reading kicks off on Monday.

The unexpected crackdown has left parents scrambling to rethink costumes, with restrictions varying dramatically between schools and states.

At a Christian school in Queensland, children have been banned from dressing as some of the most recognisable characters in literature on religious grounds.

“Keeping with the Christian values of our school, we would ask that there be no wizards, witches, weapons, zombies, and the like,” the school told families.

The rule effectively excludes all characters from the Harry Potter series, which has sold more than 600 million copies worldwide and remains one of the most popular sources of Book Week inspiration.

But wizards and witches are just the beginning. A South Australian Catholic school has banned political figures and characters from fanfiction, while a Christian school in New South Wales has prohibited inflatable costumes.

A Victorian Christian school has also warned children against dressing as characters known only from the screen.

It instructed families to “select a book character and not a movie or television character unless they are devised from a book or literary event”.

Major retailers including Kmart, BIG W and Officeworks stock ready-made outfits for time-poor parents, with many costumes later recycled for Halloween.

However, at All Saints Grammar in Sydney, parents have been encouraged to create costumes themselves instead of purchasing them from costume stores.

“There’s no imagination or learning involved in hitting ‘add to cart’,” the school said.

“In fact, creating a costume together can become part of the story itself, making Book Week just as memorable as the books that inspired it.”

The new requirements have sparked accessibility concerns, with parents already contending with cost-of-living pressures and packed schedules.