An Australian mother is outraged that her 14-year daughter obtained contraceptive pills through her school nurse. She says she has been robbed of her parental rights.

Suzanne, not her real name, did not know her daughter was sexually active before her husband discovered the pills in her daughter's school bag.

It is really hard to get your head around the fact that when your child goes on an excursion they need to have a permission slip signed by the parent, but the school is within its rights to take a child to the doctor to be put on the pill," she told Geelong Advertiser.

Bellarine Secondary College principal Colin Sing defended his school, saying staff were bound to protect students' welfare and privacy.

It is the second time in two years the school has been embroiled in such controversy. In 2006, a Leopold mother complained she could not stop the school's nurse helping her daughter get a contraceptive implant.

Sing conceded privacy regulations could be at odds with parents' wishes.

"In cases that involve health professionals, there are even more stringent regulations in relation to protecting the privacy of students in their care," Sing said.

"Where a student is deemed at serious risk or there is imminent threat to the student's health and safety, the student can be referred to a general practitioner."

Suzanne said the school nurse encouraged her daughter to talk to her mother about having sex but she chose not to.