Page 1206 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 2013
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I will briefly describe the way an existing school is defined in the division. An “existing school” is defined in schedule 1, section 1.96A as a government or non-government school as defined by the Education Act 2004. An existing school also includes a childcare centre licensed under the Children and Young People Act 2004, primarily for the education of young children.
The division contains three different types of exemption. Firstly, the division contains the exemption at schedule 1 for new buildings or alterations to buildings. This exemption is the only exemption that is the subject of this notice of motion and, as I have indicated, will expire on 31 March this year unless continued by resolution of this place. This exemption applies to buildings designated as class 3 and class 9b under the Building Code, such as dormitories, halls, libraries and classrooms. I will discuss this exemption in more detail shortly.
The division also contains the exemption at schedule 1, section 1.99D. This is a more general exemption for minor alterations to buildings. This exemption is subject to the condition that the development will not increase the gross floor area of the building by more than five per cent. Unlike the exemption at schedule 1, section 1.99C, this restriction applies to any buildings irrespective of their class under the Building Code. This exemption expires on 31 March 2013 and there is no provision in the regulation for this exemption to be continued by Assembly resolution.
Thirdly, the division contains a series of exemptions for developments such as flagpoles, playground and exercise equipment and school fences that apply only in very specific circumstances. For example, the exemption for shade structures applies where the height of the structure is not more than 10 metres above existing ground level, the plan area of the shade structure is not more than 200 square metres and the shade structure is unenclosed on at least two sides. Unlike the first and second category of exemptions, these specific exemptions do not expire on 31 March. They continue indefinitely.
I turn now briefly to the history of the exemptions I have described. The exemptions were implemented in response to the commonwealth government’s building the education revolution program, otherwise known as the BER. Members will recall this program was a stimulus measure put in place following the global financial crisis. The intention of the program was to provide funding for school development projects. This funding was time limited to ensure a timely economic stimulus to mitigate the effects of the GFC.
The school DA exemptions were put in place to ensure that relevant school and childcare centre building projects could be delivered with minimal delay within the time frames of the commonwealth funding availability. Specifically, the school DA exemptions meant that certain projects would not require DAs under the Planning and Development Act. This has the effect of time savings, as projects were not subject to public notification, agency referral or assessment processes normally required for development approval. The DA exemption also meant that potential delay and uncertainty from third party merit review processes in the ACAT were removed. The significant time and resource savings ensured that relevant projects could be completed in time to secure the BER funding.
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