Page 1879 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2022
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a concern has been raised in relation to a non-government school’s compliance with the act. This is intended to ensure that the registration standards advisory board has visibility of concerns raised and reviewed in relation to non-government schools’ compliance with the act. This visibility is important, as the registration standards advisory board has a role in assessing potential regulatory action that can be as a result of the concern raised.
A government amendment is proposed to replace the word “standards” with “review” in reference to registration review guidelines. This is to correct a mistake in the original drafting which referred to “registration standards guidelines”. A government amendment is also proposed to remove section 117 from the bill. This amendment is required to remove duplicative provisions that require proprietors and other people involved in managing non-government schools to participate in registration reviews. These requirements are already outlined at sections 125T and 125U.
For the registrar’s action on completing the registration review, there needs to be closure for participants, which is why the government’s amendments clarify that the registrar “must” take action under this section rather than “may” take action. This also provides more clarity to the responsibilities of the registrar.
Non-government schools which are currently registered under the pre-amendment act require clarity around their registration status. Therefore, a government amendment is proposed to amend the transitional provisions relating to the registration to state that all non-government schools which have been registered prior to the commencement of the bill will transition to ongoing registration and continue to be registered once the bill commences.
Government amendments are proposed to the dictionary definitions in the bill related to the levels of the education provided by a school and the definition of “school” itself. For the purposes of the act, “school” does not currently include preschool, as this is regulated under the commonwealth Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010. This has been clarified in the government amendments. (Extension of time granted.)
In schedule 2 of the Education Regulation 2005, a government amendment clarifies that non-government schools are only required to consult students, parents and staff on school policies and procedures outlined in schedule 2. The current wording requires all policies to be developed in consultation with students, parents and staff. However, not all operational policies impact on and therefore require consultation with all of these stakeholders.
A government amendment is also proposed to the example accompanying 2.6 of schedule 2 to state that the proprietor of a registered school must ensure that a written statement is prepared annually, describing how the school has complied with the registration standards during the year. This example has been updated to state that this can be done either through publication on the school’s website or in their annual report.
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