Then the anxiety hit, and the principal found herself constantly wondering when the aggrieved father would return to the school at which she then worked.

He had marched into her office shouting, "I'm going to kill you."

"It really shakes you up," she said.

"I had to call the police and get a trespass order. He would wait outside the school for me. I was really stressed."

Unfortunately, such incidents are far too common for school principals.

So common that every Victorian state school head will soon be given health checks and be monitored by doctors.

The checks will assess principals' mental health, blood pressure, heart rate, weight, waist measurements and lifestyle, according to state government tender documents. They will also include optional pathology tests.

Identities will be removed from the information and it will be collated into reports to be sent to the Education Department so that the department can understand trends and intervene.

Every principal will be given a confidential report that also foreshadows possible future health issues.

The state government initiative follows the suicide of respected Melbourne principal Dr Mark Thompson and a growing body of research into the poor health of Australian principals.

Victorian Principals Association president Anne-Maree Kliman said excessive workloads, red tape and vexatious and abusive parents were making principals sick and the health checks were a "positive step".

"I have been physically assaulted and verbally threatened by a parent. It made me realise how vulnerable I was," she said.

Ms Kliman said it was vital that principals' medical information remained confidential.

"I don't want to go to a doctor if that information goes back to my employer and is a mark against my name.".

Education Minister James Merlino said the government had a responsibility to look after the health and wellbeing of principals, and this improved outcomes for students.

"The new health checks are just one way we are ensuring our principals are safe, healthy and well supported," he said.

The Education Department estimates up to 30 per cent of Victoria's 3117 state school principals and assistant principals will use the service every year.

While it is not compulsory, principals will be encouraged to get a health check every second year.

Australian Principals Federation president Julie Podbury said many older principals already monitored their health privately, but the service could be useful for younger principals who had not considered the strains of their job.

Many principals are working at least 60 hours a week and are expected to do "more and more", she said.

"People can't sleep or they wake up traumatised thinking about things they are dealing with. You worry about trying to fill positions, budgets, facilities, or a child you don't have the resources to provide the right support to."

Philip Riley, an associate professor at the Australian Catholic University who conducts the annual principal health and wellbeing survey, said the health checks were "a defensive legal strategy" to prevent principals from suing the department.

His most recent survey, released earlier this year, found one in 10 Australian principals had thought about self-harm in the past week or indicated they had a very poor quality of life.

Dr Osborne said her colleagues supported her through the "difficult times". She's now the principal of Aspendale Gardens Primary, where she has only had pleasant encounters with parents.

She rates her health a seven out of 10 because she "doesn't do enough exercise" and works 13-hour days.

She supports the health checks but said society needed to prevent principals from getting sick in the first place.

"The workload needs to be reduced," she said.

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