There is a rich international history in social justice scholarship focusing on the practices of educational leadership and leaders in areas of disadvantage. Research suggests that principals who have a clear focus on social justice will tend to exhibit a range of normative practices. This paper examines the social justice understandings and practices of three primary school principals working in areas of social disadvantage in Victoria, Australia. Each of the principals expressed their understanding and belief that their role as principal was as an instrument of justice for the children in their communities, yet all simultaneously held notions of deficit expressed through the discourses of meritocracy and aspiration, and through the othering of their communities. In this paper I argue that while educational leaders with a deep understanding of social justice leadership are critical in arresting the reproduction of disadvantage through schooling in disadvantaged areas, the reality is that leaders who see themselves working for social justice may have disjunctions in their understandings and practice, which has implications for their communities. This suggests that idealized, normative understandings of social justice leadership (what should be) do not capture practice on the ground (what is).