Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 (Qld)

Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001

An Act to provide for the accreditation of non-State schools, and deciding the eligibility of non-State schools’ governing bodies for Government funding for the schools, and for other purposes

Chapter 1    Preliminary

Part 1    Introduction

1   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 .

2   Commencement

(1)  The following provisions of this Act commence on the date of assent—

(a)  sections 4 , 132 , 176 and 219 ;

(b)  parts 1 and 2 of chapter 5;

(c)  schedules 2 and 3 .

(2)  The remaining provisions of this Act commence on 1 January 2002.

Part 2    Objects

3   Objects of Act

(1)  The objects of this Act are—

(a)  to uphold the standards of education at non-State schools; and

(b)  to maintain public confidence in the operation of non-State schools; and

(c)  to foster educational choices in the State; and

(d)  to provide the basis for the efficient allocation of Government funding for non-State schools.

(2)  The objects are to be achieved mainly by—

(a)  establishing the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board; and

(b)  establishing an accreditation regime for the accreditation of non-State schools complying with the accreditation criteria; and

(c)  establishing the Non-State Schools Eligibility for Government Funding Committee; and

(d)  establishing a formal process for deciding the eligibility of a non-State school’s governing body for Government funding for the non-State school.

Part 3    Interpretation

4   Dictionary

The dictionary in schedule 3 defines particular words used in this Act.

5   Meaning of school

A school means a non-State school.

6   Meaning of non-State school

(1)  A non-State school means a school (in the ordinary meaning of the word) established to provide the following types of education—

(b)  primary education;

(c)  secondary education;

(d)  special education.

(2)  However, a non-State school does not include the following—

(a)  a State educational institution within the meaning of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4;

(b)  for a child registered or provisionally registered for home education under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 —the child’s usual place of residence;

(c)  a place where a child undertaking primary, secondary or special education receives tutorial help relating to the education;

(e)  TAFE Queensland under the TAFE Queensland Act 2013 ;

(f)  a place used only to provide education and care or regulated education and care;

(g)  a place used only to offer a curriculum that is, or is a variation of, the whole or part of the primary or secondary curriculum of a foreign country.

(3)  In this section—

education and care means education and care provided by an approved education and care service under the Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland).

regulated education and care means regulated education and care within the meaning of the Education and Care Services Act 2013 , but does not include education and care provided in the course of providing primary education, secondary education or special education.

7   School not operated for profit

For this Act, a school is not operated for profit only if any profits made from the school’s operation are used entirely to advance the school’s philosophy and aims, as stated in the school’s statement of philosophy and aims.

7A   Meaning of prohibited arrangement

A prohibited arrangement is a contract or arrangement entered into by a school’s governing body or proposed governing body and a for-profit entity not dealing with each other at arm’s length.

7AA   Meaning of director

A director, of a school’s governing body, is—

(a)  if the governing body is a company under the Corporations Act—a person appointed as a director of the governing body; or

(b)  if the governing body is a RECI Act corporation—

(i)  a declared director of the governing body; and

(ii)  if all declared directors of the governing body, for the time being, nominate a person as a director of the governing body—the person; or

Note—

The governing body must give the board a notice under section 167 (4) within 14 days after a nomination.

(c)  otherwise—a person who is, or is a member of, the executive or management entity, by whatever name called, of the governing body.

8   Application of provisions

(1)  This section applies if a provision of this Act applies another provision of this Act for a purpose.

(2)  The other provision and any definition relevant to the other provision apply with any necessary changes.

(3)  Subsection (2) is not limited merely because a provision states how the other provision is to apply.

Chapter 2    Accreditation of schools

Part 1    Accreditation criteria

9   Prescribing accreditation criteria

A regulation may prescribe criteria (the accreditation criteria), relevant to a school’s accreditation, about the following—

(a)  the school’s administration and governance arrangements;

(b)  the school’s financial viability;

(c)  the school’s educational program and student welfare processes;

(d)  the school’s resources;

(e)  the school’s improvement processes.

Part 2    Accreditations

Division 1 Preliminary

10   Offence of operating a school without accreditation or provisional accreditation

A person must not operate a school unless—

(a)  the school is accredited; or

(b)  subject to section 25 , the school is provisionally accredited.

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

11   Governing body of provisionally accredited, or accredited, school

(1)  A school’s governing body may apply for the accreditation of the school.

(2)  To be eligible to apply, the governing body must be a corporation.

(3)  The governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school must always be a corporation.

Note—

If the governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school is not a corporation, that is a ground for the cancellation of the provisional accreditation under section 70 or the accreditation under section 63 .

12   Type of education

(1)  A school may only be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide the following types of education—

(b)  primary education;

(c)  secondary education;

(d)  special education.

(2)  A school may provide education in the preparatory year only if the school is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide primary education for at least years 1 to 3.

(3)  To remove doubt, it is declared that a school that is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide primary education or secondary education, is not also required to be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide special education for the education of persons with a disability.

12A   Provisional accreditation, or accreditation, is for 1 type of education

(1)  Each provisional accreditation, or accreditation, of a school must be for 1 type of education only.

(2)  However, a school may be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide more than 1 type of education.

13   Mode of delivery of education

A school may only be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to use the following modes of delivery of education—

(a)  classroom education;

(b)  distance education.

13A   Special assistance

(1)  This section applies to a school that is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide primary or secondary education.

(2)  The school may be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide special assistance.

(3)  The provision of special assistance is the provision of the type of education mentioned in subsection (1) —

(a)  to relevant students; and

(b)  without tuition fees.

(4)  In this section—

compulsory participation phase see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 231.

compulsory school age see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 9.

eligible option see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 232.

full-time, in relation to participation in an eligible option, see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

relevant students means students who—

(a)  would not otherwise be—

(i)  enrolled at and attending school while of compulsory school age; or

(ii)  participating in an eligible option full-time, or in paid employment for at least 25 hours each week, during the compulsory participation phase; and

(b)  are not provisionally registered, or registered, for home education under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , chapter 9, part 5.

school, for the purposes of the definition relevant students, includes a State school.

14   Duplicate application prohibited

(1)  This section applies if an application has been made for the accreditation of a school to provide a type of education at a location and the application has not been decided by the board.

(2)  The applicant may not make another application for the accreditation of the school to provide the same type of education at the location.

15   Application of Working with Children Act, ch 8

For the Working with Children Act, chapter 8, a person is taken to be a person carrying on a regulated business under that Act by being a director of the governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school.

Division 2 Applications for accreditation

Subdivision 1 Applications

16   Procedural requirements for application

(1)  An application for the accreditation of a school must—

(a)  be made to the board; and

(b)  be in the approved form; and

(c)  be accompanied by—

(i)  the fee, if any, prescribed under a regulation; and

(ii)  copies of current positive notices or current positive exemption notices for all the directors of the school’s governing body.

(2)  The approved form must require the inclusion of the school’s student-intake day that is to apply if the board provisionally accredits the school.

(3)  Also, the approved form must require the inclusion of details of each of the following attributes the school must have if the board decides to grant the application—

(a)  the school’s governing body;

(b)  the land on which the school is to operate;

(c)  the curriculum model the school is to follow;

(d)  the mode of delivery of education to be used at the school;

(e)  the years of schooling the school is to offer;

(f)  if the school operates from more than 1 site—the years of schooling the school is to offer at each site;

(g)  whether the school is to include boarding facilities;

(h)  whether the school is a coeducational or single-sex school;

(i)  if the school is an establishment phase school for a sector of schooling—the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling;

(j)  if the school is to provide special assistance—the sites at which special assistance is to be provided.

Note—

Also, a special assistance school may temporarily provide special assistance at other sites—see part 3A.

(3A)  A site must not be an attribute for the purposes of subsection (3) (j) if the school is to provide education other than special assistance at the site.

(4)  In addition, the approved form must require the inclusion of—

(a)  an indication about whether or not the applicant seeks Government funding for the school; and

(b)  if the applicant seeks Government funding for the school—the aspects of the school’s operation for which the Government funding is sought.

17   If applicant seeks Government funding for the school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant seeks Government funding for the school; and

(b)  the board is satisfied—

(i)  the school will not on its establishment be operated for profit; and

(ii)  the applicant is not a party to, and does not intend to enter into, a prohibited arrangement in relation to the operation of the school; and

(iii)  there is no direct or indirect connection between the applicant and a for-profit entity, and there will not on the school’s establishment be a direct or indirect connection between the applicant and a for-profit entity, that could reasonably be expected to compromise the independence of the applicant when making financial decisions.

(2)  The board must as soon as practicable after receiving the application—

(a)  give the committee—

(i)  a copy of the application; and

(ii)  copies of the documents that accompanied the application; and

(b)  give the Minister a notice stating—

(i)  that the board has received the application; and

(ii)  the day the application was received.

17A   Further information or documents

(1)  Before deciding whether it is satisfied about a matter mentioned in section 17 (1) (b) , the board may by notice given to the applicant require the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires for it to make the decision.

(2)  The notice may state that the information or document must be verified by a statutory declaration.

(3)  The applicant is taken to no longer be seeking Government funding for the school if, within the stated time, the applicant does not comply with the requirement.

17B   Board not satisfied about particular matter

If the board decides it is not satisfied about a matter mentioned in section 17 (1) (b) , it must as soon as practicable give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

Subdivision 2 Provisional accreditation of schools

18   Decision to provisionally accredit school

(1)  The board must consider the application and decide whether it is satisfied—

(a)  the applicant is suitable to be the school’s governing body; and

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(b)  the school will comply with the accreditation criteria within the school’s provisional accreditation period.

(2)  If the board is satisfied of the matters mentioned in subsection (1) , it must decide to provisionally accredit the school subject to the school having the following attributes (the attributes of provisional accreditation)—

(a)  the attributes, mentioned in section 16 (3) , stated in the application;

(b)  any other attribute agreed to by the applicant and board.

(3)  If the board decides to provisionally accredit the school, it must as soon as practicable issue a certificate of provisional accreditation to the applicant.

19   Decision to refuse to provisionally accredit school

(1)  If the board is not satisfied of the matters mentioned in section 18 (1) , it must decide to refuse to provisionally accredit the school.

(2)  If the board decides to refuse to provisionally accredit the school, it must as soon as practicable give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(3)  The decision does not take effect until—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

(4)  If the board decides to refuse to provisionally accredit the school, the application for the accreditation of the school ends on the day the decision takes effect under subsection (3) .

20   If applicant seeks Government funding for the school

(1)  This section applies if the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant seeks Government funding for the school.

(2)  The board may make a decision about the school’s provisional accreditation before receiving notice of the Minister’s decision on the application for Government funding for the school.

(3)  However, if the board has not received the notice, it may not refuse to provisionally accredit the school for a reason about the financial viability of the operation of the school under a provisional accreditation or accreditation.

(4)  Subsection (5) applies if the board has received notice of the Minister’s decision not to grant the application for Government funding for the school.

(5)  The board must not decide whether to provisionally accredit the school until after—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

21   Failure to decide to provisionally accredit school

(1)  Subsection (2) applies if the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant seeks Government funding for the school.

(2)  If the board fails to decide whether to provisionally accredit the school within 9 months after the board receives the application—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to provisionally accredit the school; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(3)  Subsection (4) applies if the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant is not seeking Government funding for the school.

(4)  If the board fails to decide whether to provisionally accredit the school within 6 months after the board receives the application—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to provisionally accredit the school; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(5)  This section is subject to section 22 .

22   Further time to make decision

(1)  This section applies if the board considers it needs further time to make a decision on whether it is satisfied of the matters mentioned in section 18 (1) because of the complexity of the matters that need to be considered in making the decision.

(2)  The applicant and board may at any time before the final consideration day agree in writing on a day (the agreed extended day) by which the decision is to be made.

(3)  If the board fails to make the decision by the agreed extended day—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to provisionally accredit the school; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(4)  In this section—

final consideration day means—

(a)  if the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant seeks Government funding for the school—the day that is 9 months after the board’s receipt of the application; or

(b)  if the applicant indicates in the application that the applicant is not seeking Government funding for the school—the day that is 6 months after the board’s receipt of the application.

23   Form of certificate of provisional accreditation

(1)  A certificate of provisional accreditation of a school must be in the approved form.

(2)  The certificate is for the school and is not personal to the school’s governing body.

(3)  The school’s governing body must display the certificate in a prominent place at the school.

(4)  If a school is provisionally accredited for more than 1 type of education, a single certificate of provisional accreditation may relate to all the types of education concerned.

24   Provisional accreditation period

(1)  A school’s provisional accreditation remains in force for the period, not more than 3 years, stated in the certificate of provisional accreditation.

(2)  The last day of the period must be the day that is 1 year after the school’s student-intake day.

25   Operation of provisionally accredited school before its student-intake day

The governing body of a provisionally accredited school must not operate the school before the school’s student-intake day.

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

Subdivision 3 Decision on applications

26   Further information or documents to support application for accreditation

(1)  Before deciding an application for the accreditation of a school, the board may by notice given to the applicant, require the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires to decide the application.

(2)  Also, the board may by notice given to the applicant, require the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires to decide whether to provisionally accredit the school under section 18 .

(3)  The notice may state that the information or document must be verified by a statutory declaration.

(4)  The applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application if, within the time stated in the notice, the applicant does not comply with the notice.

(5)  When giving a notice under subsection (1) , the board must have regard to the time remaining for the board to decide the application under section 27 .

(6)  When giving a notice under subsection (2) , the board must have regard to the time remaining for the board to decide whether to provisionally accredit the school under section 18 .

27   Decision

(1)  This section applies to a provisionally accredited school.

(2)  The board must consider the application for the accreditation of the school and decide, after assessing the school under subdivision 4, whether it is satisfied—

(a)  the applicant is suitable to be the school’s governing body; and

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(b)  the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(3)  If the board is satisfied of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) , it must decide to accredit the school subject to the school having the following attributes (the attributes of accreditation)—

(a)  the attributes, mentioned in section 16 (3) , stated in the application;

(b)  any other attribute agreed to by the applicant and board.

28   Steps to be taken after application decided

(1)  If the board decides to accredit the school—

(a)  it must, as soon as practicable, issue a certificate of accreditation, for the school, to the applicant; and

(b)  the applicant must return the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after receiving the certificate of accreditation.

(2)  The school’s provisional accreditation is cancelled when the applicant receives the certificate of accreditation.

(3)  If the board decides to refuse to accredit the school, it must as soon as practicable give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(4)  The decision to refuse to accredit the school does not take effect until the latest of the following days—

(a)  the day of effect stated in the information notice;

(b)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision;

(c)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

(5)  The school’s provisional accreditation is cancelled when the decision to refuse to accredit the school takes effect under subsection (4) .

29   Failure to decide application during school’s provisional accreditation period

(1)  If the board fails to decide the application within the school’s provisional accreditation period—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to accredit the school; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(2)  The decision does not take effect until the later of—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

(3)  The school’s provisional accreditation is cancelled when the decision takes effect under subsection (2) .

(4)  This section is subject to section 30 .

30   Further consideration of application

(1)  This section applies if the board considers it needs further time to make a decision on whether it is satisfied of the matters mentioned in section 27 (2) because of the complexity of the matters that need to be considered in deciding the application.

(2)  The applicant and board may at any time within the school’s provisional accreditation period agree in writing on a day (the agreed extended day) by which the application is to be decided.

(3)  If the board fails to make the decision by the agreed extended day—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to accredit the school; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(4)  The decision does not take effect until the later of—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

(5)  The school’s provisional accreditation is cancelled when the decision takes effect under subsection (4) .

31   Return of certificate of provisional accreditation to board

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board decides, under section 27 , to refuse to accredit a school; or

(b)  the board is, under section 29 or 30 , taken to have decided to refuse to accredit a school.

(2)  The applicant must return the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after a decision to which this section applies takes effect, unless the applicant has a reasonable excuse.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(3)  However, subsection (2) does not apply if the applicant made an application for a review of the decision and was successful in having the decision overturned.

Subdivision 4 Assessment of schools

32   Initial assessment of school

(1)  The board must after the assessment day start an assessment of a provisionally accredited school, to decide whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  In this section—

assessment day means—

(a)  a day agreed to by the applicant for the accreditation of the school and the board; or

(b)  the day, of which the board has notified the applicant, that is—

(i)  at least 60 days after the giving of the notice; and

(ii)  within 6 months before the end of the school’s provisional accreditation period.

33   Report by assessor

(1)  To assess a school under this subdivision, the board must obtain a written report from an assessor about whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

34   Further assessment of school

(1)  Subsections (2) and (3) apply if, after the assessment of a school under section 32 , the board—

(a)  is satisfied the applicant for the accreditation of the school is suitable to be the school’s governing body; and

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(b)  is not satisfied the school is complying with the accreditation criteria; and

(c)  is satisfied the school will comply with the accreditation criteria within 1 year after the end of the school’s provisional accreditation period.

(2)  The school’s provisional accreditation period is extended by 1 year.

(3)  The board must as soon as practicable—

(a)  give the applicant notice of the outcome of the assessment; and

(b)  issue the applicant with another certificate of provisional accreditation stating the school’s extended provisional accreditation period.

(4)  Before the end of the school’s extended provisional accreditation period, the board must conduct another assessment of the school to decide whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(5)  The board may only conduct an assessment of the school, under subsection (4) , if it has given the applicant notice of the assessment within a reasonable time of at least 30 days before the start of the assessment.

(6)  The board may conduct not more than 3 assessments of the school under subsection (4) .

Subdivision 5 Certificates of accreditation

35   Form of certificate of accreditation

(1)  A certificate of accreditation of a school must be in the approved form.

(2)  The certificate is for the school and is not personal to the school’s governing body.

(3)  The school’s governing body must display the certificate in a prominent place at the school.

(4)  If a school is accredited for more than 1 type of education, a single certificate of accreditation may relate to all the types of education concerned.

Division 3 Additional assessment of certain schools

Subdivision 1 Assessment when school first starts to operate within a sector of schooling

36   Application of sdiv 1

This subdivision applies to a school—

(a)  that was an establishment phase school for a sector of schooling; and

(b)  that has started to operate, within the sector of schooling, on the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling.

37   Assessment of school

(1)  The board must after the assessment day start an assessment of the school, to decide whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  The board may conduct not more than 2 assessments of the school under this section.

(3)  In this section—

assessment day means—

(a)  a day agreed to by the board and the school’s governing body; or

(b)  the day, of which the board has notified the governing body, that is—

(i)  at least 6 months after the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling; and

(ii)  within the last year of schooling for the sector of schooling.

38   Report by assessor

(1)  To assess a school under section 37 , the board must obtain a written report from an assessor about whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

Subdivision 2 Assessment when school starts to operate within a sector of schooling at new site

38A   Application of sdiv 2

This subdivision applies to a school that has started to operate, within a sector of schooling, at a site (a new site) at which the school has not previously operated within the sector of schooling.

38B   Assessment of school

(1)  The board must after the assessment day start an assessment of the school in relation to the provision of education within the sector of schooling at the new site, to decide whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  The board may conduct not more than 2 assessments of the school under this section.

(3)  In this section—

assessment day means—

(a)  a day agreed to by the board and the school’s governing body; or

(b)  the day, of which the board has notified the governing body, that is—

(i)  at least 6 months after the day the school starts to operate within the sector of schooling at the new site; and

(ii)  within the last year of schooling for the sector of schooling at the new site.

38C   Report by assessor

(1)  To assess a school under section 38B , the board must obtain a written report from an assessor about whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

Subdivision 3 Assessment of special assistance school using temporary site

38D   Application of sdiv 3

This subdivision applies to a special assistance school that is providing special assistance at a temporary site.

38E   Assessment of school

The board may assess the special assistance school to decide whether it is complying with the temporary site criteria.

38F   Report by assessor

(1)  To assess the special assistance school under section 38E , the board must obtain a written report from an assessor about whether the school is complying with the temporary site criteria.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

Division 4 Investigation of suitability of school’s governing body

39   Suitability of governing body

(1)  This section applies if the board is deciding—

(a)  whether a school’s governing body that is the applicant for the accreditation of the school is suitable to be the school’s governing body; or

(b)  whether the governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school is suitable to continue to be the school’s governing body; or

(c)  whether the proposed governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school would be suitable to be the school’s governing body.

(2)  The board may have regard to the following—

(a)  the governing body’s relationship with other entities;

(b)  whether the governing body has appropriate guiding principles and procedures for identifying, declaring and dealing with any conflict of interest a director of the governing body may have relating to an aspect of the operation of the school;

(c)  the conduct of the governing body, or its directors, relevant to the operation of the school.

(3)  If a director of a school’s governing body does not have a current positive notice or current positive exemption notice, the board must decide that the governing body is not suitable to be, not suitable to continue to be, or would not be suitable to be, the school’s governing body.

(4)  Also, in making its decision, the board may have regard to each of the following—

(a)  if any of the governing body’s directors have been convicted of an indictable offence—the nature, and circumstances, of the commission of the offence;

(b)  if the governing body has been convicted of an offence—the nature, and circumstances, of the commission of the offence.

(5)  Subsections (2) to (4) do not limit the matters to which the board may have regard in making a decision mentioned in subsection (1) .

(6)  In this section—

conflict of interest includes a potential conflict of interest.

convicted, of an offence, means being found guilty of the offence, on a plea of guilty or otherwise, whether or not a conviction is recorded.

indictable offence includes an indictable offence dealt with summarily.

40   Investigation

(1)  The board may investigate a school’s governing body that is the applicant for the accreditation of the school to help in deciding whether the governing body is suitable to be the school’s governing body.

(2)  The board may investigate the governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school to help in deciding whether the governing body is suitable to continue to be the school’s governing body.

(3)  The board may investigate the proposed governing body of a provisionally accredited, or accredited, school to help in deciding whether the governing body would be suitable to be the school’s governing body.

41   Criminal history reports for investigation

(1)  In investigating the governing body or proposed governing body of a school under section 40 , the board may ask the commissioner of the police service for—

(a)  a written report about the criminal history of the governing body or a director of the governing body; and

(b)  a brief description of the circumstances of a conviction mentioned in the criminal history.

(2)  The commissioner of the police service must comply with the request.

(3)  The duty imposed on the commissioner of the police service to comply with the request applies only to information in the commissioner’s possession or to which the commissioner has access.

41A   Report by assessor

(1)  Before making a decision mentioned in section 39 (1) (b) , the board may obtain a written report from an assessor about the matter.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

Division 5 Periodic demonstration of compliance with accreditation criteria

42   Demonstration of compliance

(1)  The board may, once every 5 years during a school’s accreditation, give the school’s governing body a notice requesting the governing body to give the board information or a document that may help the board in deciding whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria.

(2)  The governing body must comply with the request within 6 months after the giving of the notice.

Part 3    Changes in provisional accreditation period, attributes of provisional accreditation or attributes of accreditation

Division 1 Changes in provisional accreditation period

43   Application

(1)  The board may, on application by the governing body of a provisionally accredited school, extend or reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period.

(2)  Subsection (1) applies even if the period has already been extended or reduced under this section.

(3)  The application must—

(a)  be made to the board; and

(b)  be in the approved form; and

(c)  be accompanied by the fee, if any, prescribed under a regulation; and

(d)  be made at least 90 days before the school’s student-intake day (the 90 day period).

(4)  However, the board may consider an application for the extension of a school’s provisional accreditation period made within the 90 day period if the board is satisfied that unforeseen circumstances preventing the school from complying with the accreditation criteria arose within the 90 day period.

44   Further information or documents to support application

(1)  The board may, by notice given to the applicant, request the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires to decide the application.

(2)  The applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application if, within the stated time, the applicant does not comply with the request.

(3)  When giving the notice, the board must have regard to the time remaining for the board to decide the application.

45   Failure to decide application

(1)  If the application is for an extension of the school’s provisional accreditation period and the board fails to decide the application by the school’s student-intake day—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to grant the application; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(2)  If the application is for a reduction of the school’s provisional accreditation period and the board fails to decide the application by the school’s revised student-intake day—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to grant the application; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(3)  In this section—

revised student-intake day, of a school for which application has been made to reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period, means the school’s new student-intake day if the board were to decide to grant the application.

46   Decision about application

(1)  The board must consider the application and decide—

(a)  to extend or reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period in the way sought in the application; or

(b)  to extend or reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period in a different way to that sought in the application; or

(c)  not to extend or reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period.

(2)  The board may decide to extend the school’s provisional accreditation period only if the board is satisfied unforeseen circumstances prevent the school from complying with the accreditation criteria within the period.

(3)  The board may decide to reduce the school’s provisional accreditation period only if the board is satisfied the school will comply with the accreditation criteria within the reduced period.

(4)  If the board makes a decision under subsection (1) (a) , the board must as soon as practicable give the school’s governing body notice of the decision.

(5)  If the board makes a decision under subsection (1) (b) or (c) , the board must as soon as practicable give the school’s governing body an information notice about the decision.

(6)  A decision under subsection (1) (b) or (c) does not take effect until—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

47   Change in school’s provisional accreditation period

(1)  If the board makes a decision, under section 46 (1) (a) , in relation to a school, the school’s governing body must return the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after the governing body receives notice of the decision under section 46 (4) .

(2)  If the board makes a decision, under section 46 (1) (b) , in relation to a school, the school’s governing body must return the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after the decision takes effect under section 46 (6) .

(3)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue another certificate of provisional accreditation to the governing body to replace the certificate returned to the board.

48   Change in school’s student-intake day

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board makes a decision, under section 46 (1) (a) or (b) , in relation to a school; and

(b)  the school is not yet in operation.

(2)  If the school’s provisional accreditation period is extended, the school’s student-intake day is changed to the day that is 1 year before the last day of the extended period.

(3)  If the school’s provisional accreditation period is reduced, the school’s student-intake day is changed to the day that is 1 year before the last day of the reduced period.

Division 2 Changes in attributes of provisional accreditation on application by school’s governing body

49   Application to change attribute of provisional accreditation

(1)  A provisionally accredited school’s governing body may apply to the board to change an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school.

(2)  The application must—

(a)  be in the approved form; and

(b)  be accompanied by the fee, if any, prescribed under a regulation.

(3)  If the application is about a change in the school’s governing body, the application must also be accompanied by copies of current positive notices or current positive exemption notices for all the directors of the proposed governing body.

50   If applicant is eligible for Government funding for aspect of operation of school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the application is about a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school, other than a change in the school’s governing body; and

(b)  the change relates to an aspect of the operation of the school for which the governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school (the relevant operational aspect).

(2)  If the change will result in the school being allowed to operate within a new sector of schooling, the approved form must provide for the inclusion of the sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling.

(3)  The board must as soon as practicable—

(a)  give the committee—

(i)  a copy of the application; and

(ii)  copies of the documents that accompanied the application; and

(b)  give the Minister a notice stating—

(i)  that the board has received the application; and

(ii)  the day the application was received.

51   Further information or documents to support application

(1)  Before deciding the application, the board may, by notice given to the applicant, require the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires to decide the application.

(2)  The board may require the information or document to be verified by a statutory declaration.

(3)  The applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application if, within the stated time, the applicant does not comply with a requirement mentioned in subsection (1) .

(4)  When giving the notice, the board must have regard to the time remaining for the board to decide the application.

52   Decision of board

(1)  The board must consider the application and either grant, or refuse to grant, the application.

(2)  If the application is about a change in the school’s governing body, the board may decide to grant the application only if the board is satisfied—

(a)  the proposed governing body would be suitable to be the school’s governing body; and

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(b)  if the school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school and the intention is for the proposed governing body to also be eligible for Government funding for the school—

(i)  once the change is effected, the school will continue to be a school not operated for profit; and

(ii)  the proposed governing body is not a party to, and does not intend to enter into, a prohibited arrangement in relation to the operation of the school; and

(iii)  there is no direct or indirect connection between the proposed governing body and a for-profit entity that could reasonably be expected to compromise the independence of the proposed governing body when making financial decisions.

(3)  If the application is about a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school, other than a change in the school’s governing body, the board may decide to grant the application only if the board is satisfied, that after the change is effected, the school will comply with the accreditation criteria.

(4)  If the board decides to grant the application, the board must as soon as practicable give the applicant a written notice (a change notice) stating—

(a)  the decision; and

(b)  the day (the change day) before which the change must be effected.

(5)  If the board decides to refuse to grant the application, the board must as soon as practicable give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

52A   Deemed eligibility for Government funding

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school; and

(b)  the application is about a change in the school’s governing body; and

(c)  the intention is for the proposed governing body to also be eligible for Government funding for the school; and

(d)  the board decides to grant the application.

(2)  Once the change is effected, the new governing body of the school is taken to be eligible for Government funding for the school.

53   Failure to decide application

(1)  If the application is about a change in the school’s governing body and the board fails to decide the application within 6 months after its receipt—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to grant the application; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(2)  Subsections (3) and (4) apply if the application is about a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school, other than a change in the school’s governing body.

(3)  If the applicant is eligible for Government funding for the school and the board fails to decide the application within 9 months after its receipt—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to grant the application; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(4)  If the applicant is not eligible for Government funding for the school and the board fails to decide the application within 6 months after its receipt—

(a)  the failure is taken to be a decision of the board to refuse to grant the application; and

(b)  the board must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

54   Consideration by committee of effect on eligibility for Government funding for school

(1)  This section applies if the committee receives copies of an application and accompanying documentation under section 50 (3) .

(2)  The committee must—

(a)  consider the application; and

(b)  make a recommendation about whether, if the change is effected, the applicant would still be eligible for Government funding for the school as far as the funding relates to the relevant operational aspect.

(3)  In considering the application, the committee must have regard to the eligibility for Government funding criteria, as if the change had been effected.

(4)  Subsection (5) applies if the application is about a change in the mode of delivery of education, used at the school, to include distance education.

(5)  The reference to the school’s catchment area in the eligibility for Government funding criteria is taken to be a reference to the catchment area that would apply if the change had been effected.

(6)  The committee must, as soon as practicable after making the recommendation, give the recommendation to the board.

(7)  The board must, as soon as practicable after receiving the recommendation, give the recommendation to the Minister.

(8)  In this section—

recommendation includes reasons for the recommendation.

55   Decision of Minister

(1)  This section applies if the Minister receives a recommendation under section 54 (7) .

(2)  The Minister must decide, if the change is effected, whether the applicant would still be eligible for Government funding for the school as far as the funding relates to the relevant operational aspect.

(3)  In making the decision, the Minister must have regard to the following—

(a)  the recommendation;

(b)  the eligibility for Government funding criteria, as if the change had been effected.

(4)  Subsection (5) applies if the application is about a change in the mode of delivery of education, used at the school, to include distance education.

(5)  The reference to the school’s catchment area in the eligibility for Government funding criteria is taken to be a reference to the catchment area that would apply if the change had been effected.

(6)  To remove doubt, it is declared that the Minister is not bound by the recommendation.

(7)  If the Minister decides, if the change is effected, the applicant would still be eligible for Government funding for the school as far as it relates to the relevant operational aspect, the Minister must as soon as practicable give the applicant and board notice of the decision.

(8)  If the Minister decides, if the change is effected, the applicant would not still be eligible for Government funding for the school as far as it relates to the relevant operational aspect, the Minister must as soon as practicable—

(a)  give the applicant an information notice about the decision; and

(b)  give the board notice of the decision.

(9)  The board may make a decision about the application before receiving notice of the Minister’s decision.

(10)  However, if the board has not received notice of the Minister’s decision, it may not refuse to grant the application for a reason about the financial viability of the operation of the school.

(11)  In this section—

recommendation includes reasons for the recommendation.

56   Recording change of attribute of provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies if a provisionally accredited school’s governing body receives a change notice about an attribute of provisional accreditation stated in the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation.

(2)  The school’s governing body must return the certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after receiving the notice.

(3)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue a replacement certificate of provisional accreditation to the governing body stating details of the change, including the change day stated in the notice.

(4)  Failure to issue a replacement certificate does not affect the validity of the change.

57   Failure to effect change of attribute of provisional accreditation before change day

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  a provisionally accredited school’s governing body receives a change notice about an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school; and

(b)  the change is not effected before the change day stated in the notice.

(2)  The notice is taken not to have been given by the board to the governing body.

(3)  The governing body must return the certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after the change day, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

(4)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue to the governing body a replacement certificate of provisional accreditation, not stating the details of the change.

58   Effect of change on application for accreditation

(1)  This section applies if a provisionally accredited school’s governing body receives a change notice about an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school.

(2)  The application for the accreditation of the school, yet to be decided by the board, is taken to be amended to accord with the notice.

Division 2A Other changes in attributes of provisional accreditation

58A   Notice about change in attribute of provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board reasonably believes an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to a school has changed; and

(b)  the school’s governing body has not given the board an application about the change under division 2.

(2)  The board may give the school’s governing body a notice (a show cause notice) stating the following—

(a)  details about the attribute of provisional accreditation the board reasonably believes has changed;

(b)  an outline of the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the board’s belief;

(c)  the change the board proposes making to the attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school;

(d)  an invitation to the governing body to show within a stated period (the show cause period) why the proposed change should not be made.

(3)  The show cause period must be a period ending at least 30 days after the notice is given to the governing body.

58B   Representations about show cause notice

(1)  The governing body may make written representations about the show cause notice to the board in the show cause period.

(2)  The board must consider all written representations (the accepted representations) made under subsection (1) .

58C   Ending show cause process without further action

If, after considering the accepted representations for the show cause notice, the board no longer believes the attribute of provisional accreditation has changed, the board—

(a)  must not take further action about the show cause notice; and

(b)  must, as soon as practicable, give notice to the school’s governing body that no further action is to be taken about the show cause notice.

58D   Changing attribute of provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  after considering the accepted representations for the show cause notice, the board still believes the attribute has changed; or

(b)  there are no accepted representations for the show cause notice.

(2)  The board may decide to change the attribute.

(3)  The board must, as soon as practicable, give an information notice about the decision to the school’s governing body.

(4)  The decision does not take effect until—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

58E   Return of certificate of provisional accreditation to board

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board decides to change an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to a school and gives an information notice about the decision to the school’s governing body; and

(b)  the attribute of provisional accreditation is stated in the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation; and

(c)  the decision takes effect under section 58D (4) .

(2)  The governing body must return the certificate of provisional accreditation to the board within 14 days after the decision takes effect, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(3)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue a replacement certificate of provisional accreditation to the governing body stating details of the change.

(4)  Failure to issue a replacement certificate does not effect the validity of the change.

(5)  However, subsection (2) does not apply if the governing body made an application to have the decision reviewed under chapter 4 and was successful in having the decision overturned.

58F   Effect of change on application for accreditation

(1)  This section applies if a provisionally accredited school’s governing body receives an information notice under section 58D (3) .

(2)  The application for the accreditation of the school, yet to be decided by the board, is taken to be amended to accord with the decision stated in the information notice.

(3)  However, subsection (2) does not apply if the governing body made an application to have the decision reviewed under chapter 4 and was successful in having the decision overturned.

Division 3 Changes in attributes of accreditation

59   Application of divs 2 and 2A

For changing an attribute of accreditation applying to an accredited school, divisions 2 and 2A, other than sections 58 and 58F , apply as if—

(a)  an accreditation were a provisional accreditation; and

(b)  an accredited school were a provisionally accredited school; and

(c)  an attribute of accreditation were an attribute of provisional accreditation; and

(d)  a certificate of accreditation were a certificate of provisional accreditation.

60   Establishment phase school not starting to operate on sector student-intake day

(1)  This section applies if a school that is an establishment phase school for a sector of schooling does not start to operate, within the sector of schooling, on the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling.

(2)  The attribute of accreditation applying to the school about the years of schooling it is allowed to offer is taken to be changed to not include the years of schooling in the sector of schooling.

(3)  The attribute of accreditation applying to the school about the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling is taken to no longer apply to the school.

(4)  The school stops being an establishment phase school for the sector of schooling.

(5)  Subsections (6) to (8) apply if the attribute of accreditation applying to the school mentioned in subsection (2) or (3) is stated in the school’s certificate of accreditation.

(6)  The school’s governing body must return the certificate of accreditation to the board within 14 days after the school’s sector student-intake day for the sector of schooling.

(7)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue a replacement certificate of accreditation to the governing body to replace the certificate returned to the board.

(8)  Failure to issue a replacement certificate does not affect the validity of the change.

Part 3A    Special assistance schools—use of temporary sites

60A   Purpose of pt 3A

(1)  The purpose of this part is to enable a special assistance school to provide, on a temporary basis, special assistance at a temporary site.

(2)  However, special assistance may be provided at a temporary site only in accordance with the attributes of provisional accreditation, or the attributes of accreditation, mentioned in section 16 (3) (a) , (c) to (f) , (h) and (i) for the school’s accredited special assistance sites.

60B   Definitions for pt 3A

In this part—

accredited special assistance site, for a special assistance school, means a site mentioned in section 16 (3) (j) at which the school provides special assistance.

public place means a place, or part of a place—

(a)  the public is entitled to use, whether or not on payment of money; or

(b)  the occupier of which allows, whether or not on payment of money, members of the public to enter, other than—

(i)  a school; or

(ii)  a State educational institution within the meaning of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

site does not include—

(a)  a vehicle; or

(b)  a public place; or

(c)  a place where a person resides.

temporary site, in relation to a special assistance school, means a site other than—

(a)  an accredited special assistance site for the school; or

(b)  a site mentioned in section 16 (3) (b) for the school.

temporary site criteria see section 60C .

vehicle means—

(a)  a motor vehicle, train or aircraft; or

(b)  a ship, boat or any other kind of vessel; or

(c)  anything else used or to be used to carry people or goods from place to place.

60C   Compliance with temporary site criteria

(1)  A special assistance school that provides special assistance at a temporary site must comply with the criteria prescribed by regulation for temporary sites (the temporary site criteria).

Note—

Noncompliance with any of the temporary site criteria is a ground for cancellation of provisional accreditation or accreditation—see sections 63 and 70 .

(2)  Without limiting subsection (1) , a regulation may limit the period for which a special assistance school may provide special assistance at a temporary site.

60D   Notification of intention to use, or stop using, temporary site

(1)  Before the governing body of a special assistance school starts providing special assistance at a temporary site for the first time, the governing body must give the board—

(a)  notice, in the approved form, of the governing body’s intention to start providing special assistance at the temporary site; and

(b)  evidence the school is entitled to occupy the site; and

(c)  a declaration by the governing body that—

(i)  the school needs to provide special assistance at the site for stated reasons; and

(ii)  the school will comply with the temporary site criteria while special assistance is provided at the site.

(2)  If the governing body stops providing special assistance at a temporary site, the governing body must give the board notice, in the approved form, that the body has stopped providing special assistance at the temporary site.

(3)  The board must give the governing body a notice acknowledging receipt of the things mentioned in subsection (1) (a) to (c) or (2) .

60E   Use of temporary site is not a change in attribute etc.

(1)  This section applies if a special assistance school—

(a)  provides special assistance at a temporary site; and

(b)  complies with this part, including the temporary site criteria, in relation to providing special assistance at the site.

(2)  The provision of the special assistance at the temporary site by the school does not, of itself—

(a)  require the governing body to apply for provisional accreditation, or accreditation, of the school in relation to the temporary site; or

(b)  constitute a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation, or an attribute of accreditation, applying to the school; or

(c)  constitute a change relating to an aspect of the school’s operation affecting the governing body’s eligibility for Government funding.

Part 4    Cancellation and surrender of accreditations or provisional accreditations

Division 1 Giving of compliance notices

61   Compliance notice

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board reasonably believes—

(i)  an accredited school—

(A)  is not complying with an accreditation criterion; or

(B)  has not complied with an accreditation criterion in circumstances that make it likely the noncompliance will continue or be repeated; and

(ii)  a matter relating to the noncompliance is reasonably capable of being rectified; and

(iii)  it is appropriate to give the school’s governing body an opportunity to rectify the matter; and

(b)  the board has not given a show cause notice, about the noncompliance, to the governing body under section 64 .

(2)  The board may give the governing body a notice (a compliance notice) requiring the governing body to rectify the matter.

(3)  The compliance notice must state—

(a)  that the board believes the school—

(i)  is not complying with an accreditation criterion; or

(ii)  has not complied with an accreditation criterion in circumstances that make it likely the noncompliance will continue or be repeated; and

(b)  the accreditation criterion the board believes is not being, or has not been, complied with; and

(c)  briefly, how the board believes the accreditation criterion is not being, or has not been, complied with; and

(d)  the matter relating to the noncompliance that the board believes is reasonably capable of being rectified; and

(e)  the reasonable steps the governing body must take to rectify the matter; and

(f)  that the governing body must take the steps within a stated reasonable period.

(4)  The governing body must comply with the compliance notice, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

62   Report by assessor

(1)  Before deciding whether to give a school’s governing body a compliance notice about the school’s noncompliance with an accreditation criterion, the board may obtain a written report from an assessor about whether the school is complying with the criterion.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

Division 2 Cancellation of accreditations

63   Grounds for cancellation

(1)  Each of the following is a ground for cancelling a school’s accreditation for a type of education—

(a)  the school was accredited because of a materially false or misleading representation or declaration;

(b)  the school’s governing body is not a corporation;

(c)  the school’s governing body is not, or is no longer, suitable to be the school’s governing body;

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(d)  the school is not complying, or has not complied, with an accreditation criterion;

(e)  there has been a change, without the board’s approval under section 52 as applied by section 59 , in an attribute of accreditation applying to the school;

(f)  the school’s governing body has not given the board documents under section 42 ;

(g)  the school has not provided the type of education for at least 4 consecutive months;

(h)  the board is not satisfied the documents given by the school’s governing body to the board, under section 42 , are adequate in helping the board to decide whether the school is complying with the accreditation criteria;

(i)  if the school is a special assistance school, any of the following applies—

(i)  the school’s governing body has not complied with section 60D (1) or (2) ;

(ii)  the declaration given by the school’s governing body under 60D(1)(c) included a materially false or misleading representation;

(iii)  the school is not complying, or has not complied, with the temporary site criteria.

(2)  Also, it is a ground for cancelling a school’s accreditation to provide primary education if the school provides education in the preparatory year without providing primary education for years 1 to 3.

64   Show cause notice

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board reasonably believes a ground exists to cancel a school’s accreditation; and

(b)  the board—

(i)  has not given, and does not propose to give, the school’s governing body a compliance notice under section 61 to rectify a matter to which the ground relates; or

(ii)  has given the governing body a compliance notice under section 61 to rectify a matter to which the ground relates and the governing body—

(A)  has failed to comply with the compliance notice within the period stated in the notice; and

(B)  does not have a reasonable excuse for the failure.

(2)  The board must give the governing body a notice (a show cause notice) stating the following—

(a)  the action (the proposed action) the board proposes taking under this division;

(b)  the grounds for the proposed action;

(c)  an outline of the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the grounds;

(d)  an invitation to the governing body to show within a stated period (the show cause period) why the proposed action should not be taken.

(3)  The show cause period must be a period ending at least 30 days after the show cause notice is given to the governing body.

65   Representations about show cause notice

(1)  The governing body may make written representations about the show cause notice to the board in the show cause period.

(2)  The board must consider all written representations (the accepted representations) made under subsection (1) .

66   Ending show cause process without further action

If, after considering the accepted representations for the show cause notice, the board no longer believes the ground exists to cancel the accreditation, the board—

(a)  must not take further action about the show cause notice; and

(b)  must, as soon as practicable, give notice to the school’s governing body that no further action is to be taken about the show cause notice.

67   Cancellation

(1)  This section applies if after considering the accepted representations for the show cause notice, the board—

(a)  still believes the ground exists to cancel the accreditation; and

(b)  believes cancellation of the accreditation is warranted.

(2)  This section also applies if there are no accepted representations for the show cause notice.

(3)  The board may decide to cancel the accreditation.

(4)  The board must, as soon as practicable, give an information notice about the decision to the school’s governing body.

(5)  The decision does not take effect until—

(a)  the last day to apply for a review of the decision; or

(b)  if an application is made for a review of the decision—the day the application is decided or otherwise disposed of.

68   Return of cancelled certificate of accreditation to board

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board decides to cancel a school’s accreditation and gives an information notice about the decision to the school’s governing body; and

(b)  the decision takes effect under section 67 (5) .

(2)  The governing body must return the certificate of accreditation to the board within 14 days after the decision takes effect, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(3)  However, subsection (2) does not apply if the governing body made an application to have the decision reviewed under chapter 4 and was successful in having the decision overturned.

Division 3 Cancellation of provisional accreditations

69   Application of div 2

For cancelling a school’s provisional accreditation, division 2, other than sections 63 and 64 (1) (b) , applies as if—

(a)  an accreditation were a provisional accreditation; and

(b)  a certificate of accreditation were a certificate of provisional accreditation.

70   Grounds for cancellation

(1)  Each of the following is a ground for cancelling a school’s provisional accreditation for a type of education—

(a)  the school was provisionally accredited because of a materially false or misleading representation or declaration;

(b)  the school’s governing body is not a corporation;

(c)  the school’s governing body is not, or no longer, suitable to be the school’s governing body;

Note—

See section 39 (Suitability of governing body).

(d)  there has been a change, without the board’s approval under section 52 , in an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school;

(e)  the school has not provided the type of education for any 4 consecutive months after the schools student-intake day;

(f)  if the school is a special assistance school, any of the following applies—

(i)  the school’s governing body has not complied with section 60D (1) or (2) ;

(ii)  the declaration given by the school’s governing body under 60D(1)(c) included a materially false or misleading representation;

(iii)  the school is not complying, or has not complied, with the temporary site criteria.

(2)  Also, it is a ground for cancelling a school’s provisional accreditation to provide primary education if the school provides education in the preparatory year without providing primary education for years 1 to 3.

Division 4 Surrender of accreditations or provisional accreditations

70A   Surrender

(1)  A school’s governing body may, by notice given to the board, surrender an accreditation or provisional accreditation of the school.

(2)  The surrender takes effect on the later of the following—

(a)  the end of 7 days after the day the notice is given;

(b)  a day stated in the notice for the surrender.

Division 5 Grammar schools

70B   Notice to Minister about action taken in relation to a grammar school

(1)  This section applies if the board gives any of the following notices to the governing body of a grammar school—

(a)  a compliance notice;

(b)  a show cause notice under any provision of this Act;

(c)  a notice under section 66 (b) ;

(d)  an information notice about a decision to cancel the school’s accreditation.

(2)  The board must also give a copy of the notice to the Minister.

(3)  In this section—

grammar school means a grammar school under the Grammar Schools Act 1975 .

Chapter 3    Government funding

Part 1    Ministerial responsibility, and restrictions on applications, for government funding

71   Minister responsible for deciding eligibility for Government funding

The Minister is responsible for deciding whether a school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school.

Note—

For the payment of allowances in relation to students attending an operating Government-funded school, see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 368 (Provision of scholarships and payment of allowances).

72   Restrictions on application for Government funding for school

(1)  Subsection (2) applies if the Minister decides, under section 88 , to refuse to grant an application for Government funding for a school relating to an aspect of the operation of the school.

(2)  The school’s governing body may not apply for Government funding for the school for the aspect of the operation of the school until after the period, starting after the day of the Minister’s decision, prescribed under a regulation.

(3)  Also, a school’s governing body may not apply for Government funding for the school if the governing body is an ineligible company.

Part 2    Applications for government funding

Division 1 Application for accredited school

73   Application for Government funding for accredited school

(1)  The governing body of an accredited school may apply for Government funding for the school.

(2)  The application must—

(a)  be in the approved form; and

(b)  be made to the board; and

(c)  be accompanied by the fee, if any, prescribed under a regulation.

(3)  Subsection (4) applies if the board is satisfied—

(a)  the school is not being operated for profit; and

(b)  the applicant is not a party to, and does not intend to enter into, a prohibited arrangement in relation to the operation of the school; and

(c)  there is no direct or indirect connection between the applicant and a for-profit entity that could reasonably be expected to compromise the independence of the applicant when making financial decisions.

(4)  The board must as soon as practicable—

(a)  give the committee—

(i)  a copy of the application; and

(ii)  copies of the documents that accompanied the application; and

(b)  give the Minister a notice stating—

(i)  that the board has received the application; and

(ii)  the day the application was received.

73A   Further information or documents

(1)  Before deciding whether it is satisfied about a matter mentioned in section 73 (3) , the board may by notice given to the applicant require the applicant to give the board, within a reasonable time of at least 30 days stated in the notice, further information or a document the board reasonably requires for it to make the decision.

(2)  The notice may state that the information or document must be verified by a statutory declaration.

(3)  The applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application if, within the stated time, the applicant does not comply with the requirement.

73B   Report by assessor

(1)  Before deciding whether it is satisfied about a matter mentioned in section 73 (3) , the board may obtain a written report from an assessor about the matter.

(2)  To prepare the report, the assessor may exercise the assessor’s powers under chapter 5, part 3.

73C   Board not satisfied about particular matter

(1)  If the board decides it is not satisfied about a matter mentioned in section 73 (3) , it must as soon as practicable give the applicant an information notice about the decision.

(2)  The application lapses if—

(a)  the applicant does not apply for a review of the decision under chapter 4; or

(b)  the applicant applies for a review of the decision under chapter 4 and the Minister makes a further decision mentioned in section 103 (6) (b) .

Division 2 Application for school not yet in operation

74   Application for Government funding for school not yet in operation

(1)  This section applies if the committee receives, under section 17 , from the board—

(a)  a copy of an application for the accreditation of a school; and

(b)  copies of the documents that accompanied the application.

(2)  The applicant is taken to be an applicant for Government funding for the school.

(3)  The committee is taken to have received an application for Government funding for the school.

(4)  The applicant is taken to have made an application for Government funding for the school on the day the board received the application for the accreditation of the school.

Part 3    Public notification of applications

Division 1 Preliminary

75   Application of pt 3

(1)  This part applies if a school’s governing body has made an application for Government funding for the school.

(2)  Also, this part applies if—

(a)  a provisionally accredited school’s governing body has made an application, under section 49 , about a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school, other than a change in the school’s governing body; and

(b)  the change relates to an aspect of the operation of the school for which the governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school.

(3)  In addition, this part applies if—

(a)  an accredited school’s governing body has made an application, under section 49 as applied by section 59 , about a change in an attribute of accreditation applying to the school, other than a change in the school’s governing body; and

(b)  the change relates to an aspect of the operation of the school for which the governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school.

Division 2 Public notification requirements

76   Public notification

(1)  Subsection (2) applies if the only mode of delivery of education used at the school is distance education.

(2)  Within 7 days after making an application to which this part applies, the applicant must—

(a)  give notice about the application (the catchment area notice) to—

(i)  the governing body of any other school operating in the State offering distance education in the State; and

(ii)  the principal of any State school offering distance education in the State; and

(b)  publish the catchment area notice at least once in a newspaper circulating throughout the State.

(3)  Subsection (4) applies if the mode of delivery of education used at the school does not only consist of distance education.

(4)  Within 7 days after making the application, the applicant must—

(a)  give notice about the application (also the catchment area notice) to—

(i)  the governing body of any other school operating in the school’s catchment area; and

(ii)  the principal of any State school operating in the school’s catchment area; and

(b)  publish the catchment area notice at least once in a newspaper circulating throughout the school’s catchment area.

(5)  Subsection (6) applies if the application is about a change in the mode of delivery of education, used at the school, to include distance education.

(6)  For subsection (4) , the school’s catchment area is taken to be the catchment area that would apply if the change had been effected.

(7)  The applicant must also give the catchment area notice to the following persons—

(a)  the chief executive;

(b)  the Executive Director, QCEC;

(c)  the Executive Director, AISQ.

(8)  However, the applicant need not comply with a notice requirement under this section for an application (the exempt application) if the committee has advised the applicant that it is satisfied the exempt application is substantially similar to—

(a)  another application for which a person has complied with the notice requirement within 3 years before the exempt application was made; or

(b)  an application—

(i)  made under the Education (General Provisions) Act 1989 , section 134B, as in force from time to time before 1 January 2002, within 3 years before the exempt application was made; and

(ii)  for which a person has complied with the requirements under that Act about giving notice of the application.

(9)  This section is subject to section 84 .

77   Required content of catchment area notice

(1)  The catchment area notice must state the following—

(a)  the name and address of the applicant;

(b)  a brief description of the application;

(c)  the school’s location;

(d)  a description of the school’s catchment area;

(e)  where the application may be inspected;

Note—

See section 82 (Inspection of application).

(f)  where copies of the application, or part of the application, may be obtained;

Note—

See section 83 (Obtaining a copy of application).

Division 4 School is a non-State school under General Provisions Act and seeks planning approval to change type of education

213   Application for review

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  immediately before the commencement, a school was a non-State school under the General Provisions Act; and

(b)  an application was made to the Minister, before the commencement, under the planning guidelines under the General Provisions Act for the review of a planning approval decision relating to the school; and

(c)  the application had not been decided before the commencement; and

(d)  the planning approval decision was about an application for a planning approval to significantly modify the school under the General Provisions Act relating to a change mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition significantly modifying in section 2 (1) of that Act.

(2)  The application for review may be dealt with, or continue to be dealt with, under the General Provisions Act as if this Act had not commenced.

214   Application of provision

If, under section 213 , the Minister issues a planning approval for the school under the General Provisions Act, section 200 applies to the school.

Part 9    Change of details of non-State school status of school under General Provisions Act

215   Outstanding application

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  an application was made, before the commencement, under guideline 1.4 of the guidelines mentioned in section 2 (2) of the General Provisions Act for a change in the details of the non-State school status of a school; and

(b)  the application had not been decided before the commencement.

(2)  The application may be dealt with, or continue to be dealt with, under the General Provisions Act as if this Act had not commenced.

216   Change in attributes of provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the Minister decides to grant the application under section 215 ; and

(b)  the school is provisionally accredited under section 180 .

(2)  The attributes of provisional accreditation applying to the school, under section 180 (4) , are taken to be changed to accord with the decision.

217   Change in attributes of accreditation

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the Minister decides to grant the application under section 215 ; and

(b)  the school is accredited under section 179 .

(2)  The attributes of accreditation applying to the school, under section 179 (4) , are taken to be changed to accord with the decision.

Chapter 8    Other transitional provisions

Part 1    Transitional provisions for Education (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002

218   Definitions for ch 8, pt 1

In this part—

commencement means commencement of this section.

post-amended Act means this Act as in force immediately after the commencement of the Education (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002 , section 8.

pre-amended Act means this Act as in force immediately before the commencement of the Education (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002 , section 8.

219   Provisional accreditation for particular type of education

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is provisionally accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school is taken to be provisionally accredited for the types of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the post-amended Act.

(3)  Also, for this Act the school’s governing body is taken to have made application, under section 16 , to the board for the accreditation of the school for each type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the post-amended Act.

220   Accreditation for particular type of education

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school is taken to be accredited for the types of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the post-amended Act.

221   Application for accreditation for particular type of education

(1)  This section applies to an application for the accreditation of a school for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act if, immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 2.

(2)  For this Act, the application is taken to be a separate application for each type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the post-amended Act.

Part 2    Transitional provisions for Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2005

222   Definition for ch 8, pt 2

In this part—

commencement means commencement of this section.

223   Certain applications not to be dealt with under pre-amended Act

(1)  This section applies to—

(a)  an application for Government funding for a school made on or after 15 November 2004 and before the commencement; or

(b)  an application for the accreditation of a school made on or after 15 November 2004 and before the commencement; or

(c)  an application under section 49 , or section 49 , as applied by section 59 , about a change in a school’s governing body made on or after 15 November 2004 and before the commencement.

(2)  The application must be dealt with under this Act and not under the pre-amended Act.

(3)  Any right or expectation of a person to have an application considered or dealt with under the pre-amended Act is extinguished.

(4)  In this section—

pre-amended Act means this Act as in force immediately before the commencement.

224   Ineligible company

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  a school’s governing body was, immediately before the commencement, eligible for Government funding for the school; and

(b)  the governing body was, immediately before the commencement, an ineligible company.

(2)  While the governing body is the ineligible company and, except for section 91A , it continues to be eligible for Government funding for the school, that section and section 93 (1) (f) do not apply to the governing body in relation to the school.

Part 3    Transitional provisions for Education (General Provisions) Act 2006

Division 1 Preliminary

225   Definitions for ch 8, pt 3

In this part—

commencement means commencement of this section.

post-amended Act means this Act as in force immediately after the commencement of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 512(2) and schedule 2.

pre-amended Act means this Act as in force immediately before the commencement of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 512(2) and schedule 2.

Division 2 Transitional provisions for certain schools allowed to offer years 1 to 3 of schooling

226   Application of div 2

This division applies to a school that—

(a)  immediately before the commencement, is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide primary education; and

(b)  is a school, the governing body of which, immediately before the commencement, is eligible for Government funding for the school; and

(c)  is allowed, at the commencement, to offer years 1 to 3 of schooling under the accreditation; and

(d)  is not allowed, at the commencement, to offer the preparatory year; and

(e)  the school’s governing body applies before the end of 2009, under chapter 2, part 3, division 3, to extend the years of schooling allowed to be offered at the school to include the preparatory year.

227   Application of provisions

(1)  Section 50 , as applied by section 59 , does not apply to the application.

(2)  Section 53 (3) applies to the application as if the reference to 9 months were a reference to 6 months.

228   Notification of first day of provision of education in preparatory year

(1)  This section applies if the board decides to grant the application.

(2)  The school’s governing body must notify the board of the first day of education of students in the preparatory year within 14 days after the day.

Division 3 Other transitional provisions

229   Provisional accreditation for particular types of education

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is provisionally accredited for the types of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school is taken to be provisionally accredited only for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the post-amended Act.

(3)  Also, for this Act the school’s governing body is taken to have made application, under section 16 , to the board for the accreditation of the school only for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the post-amended Act.

(4)  In addition, the attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) is taken to include the preparatory year.

(5)  If the school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school, the eligibility is not affected by this section.

230   Provisional accreditation, and accreditation, for particular types of education

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is—

(a)  accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the pre-amended Act; and

(b)  provisionally accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The attribute of accreditation applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) is taken to include the preparatory year.

(3)  If the student-intake day applying to the school for the provisional accreditation under the pre-amended Act is on or after the day of commencement, the attributes of accreditation applying to the school are taken to include an attribute of accreditation requiring the school to provide education in the preparatory year on or before the day that is 30 days after the student-intake day.

(4)  If the school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school, the eligibility is not affected by this section.

231   Return of certificate of provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is provisionally accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school’s governing body must return the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation to the board by 1 March 2007, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

(3)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue a replacement certificate of provisional accreditation to the governing body that no longer states that the school is provisionally accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

232   Accreditation for particular types of education

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is accredited for the types of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school is taken to be accredited only for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the post-amended Act.

(3)  Also, the attribute of accreditation applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) is taken to include the preparatory year.

(4)  If the school’s governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school, the eligibility is not affected by this section.

233   Return of certificate of accreditation

(1)  This section applies to a school that, immediately before the commencement, is accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

(2)  The school’s governing body must return the school’s certificate of accreditation to the board by 1 March 2007, unless the governing body has a reasonable excuse.

(3)  On receiving the certificate, the board must issue a replacement certificate of accreditation to the governing body that no longer states that the school is accredited for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act.

234   Application for accreditation for particular types of education—non-accredited school

(1)  This section applies to an application for the accreditation of a school for the types of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) and (b) of the pre-amended Act if, immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 2.

(2)  For this Act, the application is taken to be an application only for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the post-amended Act.

235   Application for accreditation for particular type of education—accredited school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  a school is accredited to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the pre-amended Act; and

(b)  an application has been made for the accreditation of the school for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act; and

(c)  immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 2.

(2)  The application is taken to be a valid application, under section 49 as applied by section 59 , to change the attribute of accreditation applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) to include the preparatory year.

(3)  Also, chapter 2, part 3, division 2, as applied by section 59 , applies to the application with any necessary or convenient changes.

(4)  In addition, if the applicant is not eligible for Government funding for the school, the reference in section 53 (4) , as applied by section 59 , to 6 months is taken to be a reference to 9 months.

236   Application for accreditation for particular type of education—provisionally accredited school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  a school is provisionally accredited to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the pre-amended Act; and

(b)  an application has been made for the accreditation of the school for the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act; and

(c)  immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 2.

(2)  The application is taken to be a valid application, under section 49 , to change the attribute of provisional accreditation applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) to include the preparatory year.

(3)  Also, chapter 2, part 3, division 2, applies to the application with any necessary or convenient changes.

(4)  In addition, if the applicant is not eligible for Government funding for the school, the reference in section 53 (4) to 6 months is taken to be a reference to 9 months.

237   Decision to refuse to provisionally accredit school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board has decided, under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 2, to refuse to provisionally accredit a school to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act (the first decision); and

(b)  the school is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the pre-amended Act; and

(c)  an application has been made under section 101 for a review of the first decision; and

(d)  immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under section 103 .

(2)  The Minister must decide the application on the basis that the first decision is taken to be a decision by the board to refuse to grant an application under section 49 to change the attribute of provisional accreditation, or attribute of accreditation, applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) to include the preparatory year.

(3)  Also, section 103 applies to the application with any necessary or convenient changes.

238   Decision to refuse to accredit school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board decides, under chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivision 3, to refuse to accredit a school to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (a) of the pre-amended Act (the first decision); and

(b)  the school is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide the type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) (b) of the pre-amended Act; and

(c)  an application has been made under section 101 for a review of the first decision; and

(d)  immediately before the commencement, the application has not been decided under section 103 .

(2)  The Minister must decide the application on the basis that the first decision is taken to be a decision by the board to refuse to grant an application under section 49 , as applied by section 59 , to change the attribute of provisional accreditation, or attribute of accreditation, applying to the school mentioned in section 16 (3) (e) to include the preparatory year.

(3)  Also, section 103 applies to the application with any necessary or convenient changes.

Part 4    Transitional provisions for Education Legislation Amendment Act 2013

Division 1 Preliminary

239   Definitions for pt 4

In this part—

change notice see section 241 (4) .

commencement means the commencement of this section.

secondary education includes, for 2015 or a later year, education offered in year 7.

year 7 change notice see section 240 (2) .

Division 2 Schools that offer secondary education or primary and secondary education

240   Notices about offering education for year 7

(1)  This section applies to a school if the school is an accredited school or provisionally accredited school that offers secondary education for year 8.

Examples for subsection (1) —

1  a provisionally accredited school that offers primary and secondary education from the preparatory year to year 12

2  an accredited school that offers secondary education from year 8 to year 12

3  an accredited school that offers primary and secondary education from year 5 to year 12

(2)  If the governing body of the school intends that the school starts offering secondary education for year 7 on or after 1 January 2015 and before 1 March 2016, the governing body may give the board a written notice (a year 7 change notice) in the approved form.

(3)  The governing body must give the year 7 change notice to the board—

(a)  on or before 31 October 2014; or

(b)  if the board is satisfied that unforeseen circumstances prevented the governing body from giving the notice on or before 31 October 2014—by a later date allowed by the board.

241   Effect of notice

(1)  This section applies if the governing body of a school gives a year 7 change notice to the board under section 240 .

(2)  The attribute of accreditation or attribute of provisional accreditation for the site (the proposed site) stated in the year 7 change notice only takes effect under this division if the proposed site is an existing attribute of accreditation or attribute of provisional accreditation of the school.

(3)  An attribute of accreditation or attribute of provisional accreditation stated in the year 7 change notice, other than the site, does not take effect under this division if it is not an existing attribute of accreditation or attribute of provisional accreditation of the school for year 8.

(4)  The board must as soon as practicable after receiving the year 7 change notice give the governing body a notice (a change notice) stating—

(a)  the changes to the school’s attributes of accreditation or attributes of provisional accreditation; and

(b)  that the changes must be effected before 1 March 2016.

242   Application of ss 56, 57 and 58

(1)  If the board gives a change notice to the governing body of a provisionally accredited school that offers secondary education for year 8, sections 56 , 57 and 58 apply as if—

(a)  a change notice under section 241 were a change notice under sections 56 , 57 and 58 ; and

(b)  the change day under sections 56 and 57 is 1 March 2016.

(2)  If the board gives a change notice to the governing body of an accredited school that offers secondary education for year 8, sections 56 , 57 and 58 apply as if—

(a)  an accreditation were a provisional accreditation; and

(b)  an accredited school were a provisionally accredited school; and

(c)  an attribute of accreditation were an attribute of provisional accreditation; and

(d)  a certificate of accreditation were a certificate of provisional accreditation; and

(e)  a change notice under section 241 were a change notice under sections 56 , 57 and 58 ; and

(f)  the change day under sections 56 and 57 is 1 March 2016.

243   Deemed eligibility for Government funding

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school to offer year 7 or year 8; and

(b)  the governing body gives the board a year 7 change notice; and

(c)  the board gives the governing body a change notice.

(2)  Once the change is effected, the governing body of the school is taken to be eligible for Government funding for offering year 7 as secondary education.

244   Applications for Government funding for accredited school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the governing body is not eligible for Government funding for the school to offer year 7 or year 8; and

(b)  the governing body gives the board a year 7 change notice; and

(c)  before 1 January 2015, the governing body applies under section 73 for Government funding to offer year 7.

(2)  When making a recommendation under section 85 or a decision under section 88 , the committee or the Minister must consider the application as if—

(a)  the meaning of primary education did not include education offered in year 7; and

(b)  the meaning of secondary education included education offered in year 7.

Division 3 Schools that only offer primary education

245   Applications for accreditation to offer education for year 7

(1)  This section applies to a school if—

(a)  the school is an accredited school or provisionally accredited school that offers primary education for year 7; and

(b)  the school is not accredited or provisionally accredited to offer secondary education.

(2)  If the governing body of the school intends that the school starts offering secondary education for year 7 on or after 1 January 2015 and before 1 March 2016, the governing body may apply for accreditation of the school under this division.

Note—

Section 249 also applies to a school mentioned in this section.

246   Application of particular provisions for accreditations under this division

(1)  Chapter 2, part 2, division 2, subdivisions 2 and 4 and section 168 are applied, with the changes stated in this division, for an application for accreditation of a school to offer secondary education for year 7.

(2)  Sections 17 to 17B are also applied to the application if, when the school applies for accreditation, the school is not eligible for Government funding to offer year 7.

247   Procedural requirements

(1)  An application for the accreditation of a school must—

(a)  be made to the board; and

(b)  be in the approved form; and

(c)  be accompanied by—

(i)  the fee, if any, prescribed under a regulation; and

(ii)  copies of current positive notices or current positive exemption notices for all the directors of the school’s governing body; and

(d)  be made—

(i)  on or before 31 October 2014; or

(ii)  if the board is satisfied that unforeseen circumstances prevented the governing body applying on or before 31 October 2014—by a later date allowed by the board.

(2)  The approved form must require the inclusion of the school’s student-intake day that is to apply for year 7 if the board provisionally accredits the school.

(3)  The student-intake day included in the approved form must be a day—

(a)  on or after 1 January 2015; and

(b)  before 1 March 2016.

248   Decision to provisionally accredit school

When deciding the application, the board must consider the application as if—

(a)  the meaning of primary education did not include education offered in year 7; and

(b)  the meaning of secondary education included education offered in year 7.

249   Schools that are not granted provisional accreditation

(1)  This section applies to a school mentioned in section 245 (1) if—

(a)  the governing body of a school does not apply for accreditation of the school under this division; or

(b)  the board refuses to provisionally accredit the school under this division.

(2)  On and after 1 January 2015, the school is taken to not to have the attribute of accreditation to provide education for year 7 and not to be eligible for Government funding for offering year 7 subject to the school applying for accreditation or Government funding under chapters 2 or 3.

250   Deemed eligibility for Government funding

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  the board issues a certificate of provisional accreditation under this division to the governing body; and

(b)  immediately before the board issues the certificate, the governing body is eligible for Government funding for the school to offer year 7 as primary education.

(2)  Once the certificate is issued, the governing body of the school is taken to be eligible for Government funding for offering year 7 as secondary education.

Division 4 New schools

251   Applications for accreditation for new schools

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  before 1 January 2015, a person applies for accreditation of a school; and

(b)  the school is not a provisionally accredited school or accredited school when the application is made; and

(c)  the application includes an attribute for the school to start offering secondary education for year 7 on or after 1 January 2015.

(2)  When deciding the application, the board must consider the application as if—

(a)  the meaning of primary education did not include education offered in year 7; and

(b)  the meaning of secondary education included education offered in year 7.

Division 5 Miscellaneous

252   [Repealed]

Part 5    Transitional provisions for Education and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014

253   Existing assessment as special assistance school and eligibility for Government funding

(1)  This section applies to a school if, immediately before the commencement, an assessment that the school was a special assistance school was in effect under a policy made under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 369.

(2)  On the commencement, the school is taken to be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide special assistance at the site for which the school was provisionally accredited, or accredited, to operate immediately before the commencement.

(3)  The operation of subsection (2) does not, of itself—

(a)  constitute a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation, or an attribute of accreditation, applying to the school; or

(b)  constitute a change relating to an aspect of the school’s operation affecting the governing body’s eligibility for Government funding.

254   Existing application for assessment as special assistance school

(1)  This section applies if—

(a)  before the commencement, the governing body of a school had applied to be assessed as a special assistance school under a policy made under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 369; and

(b)  immediately before the commencement, the application had not been decided.

(2)  The Minister must continue to decide the application under the policy as if the Education and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014 had not been enacted.

(3)  If the Minister grants the application, the school is taken to be provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide special assistance at the site from which the school operated immediately before the commencement.

(4)  The operation of subsection (3) does not, of itself—

(a)  constitute a change in an attribute of provisional accreditation, or an attribute of accreditation, applying to the school; or

(b)  constitute a change relating to an aspect of the school’s operation affecting the governing body’s eligibility for Government funding.

255   [Repealed]

Schedule 3 Dictionary

section 4

accepted representations—

(a)  for chapter 2, part 3, division 2A—see section 58B (2) ; or

(b)  for chapter 2, part 4, division 2—see section 65 (2) ; or

(c)  for chapter 3, part 6, division 2—see section 95 (2) .

accreditation, of a school, means the accreditation of the school under section 27 .

accreditation criteria see section 9 .

accredited school means a school accredited by the board under section 27 .

accredited special assistance site, for a special assistance school, see section 60B .

AISQ means the Association of Independent Schools of Queensland Inc.

assessor means a person who is appointed as an assessor under section 144 .

attributes of accreditation see section 27 (3) .

attributes of provisional accreditation see section 18 (2) .

auditor means a person who is appointed as an auditor under section 144 .

authorised person means an assessor or auditor.

board means the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.

board office means the office from which the board operates.

catchment area means—

(a)  for a school that is in operation—the geographical area in which at least 80% of the school’s students reside; or

(b)  for a school that is not in operation—the geographical area in which at least 80% of the school’s prospective students are likely to reside.

catchment area notice see section 76 (2) (a) and (4) (a) .

certificate of accreditation means a certificate of accreditation issued under section 28 (1) (a) , 57(4) or 58E(3) as applied by section 59 , 60(7), 179(5), 181(8) or 182(8).

certificate of provisional accreditation means a certificate of provisional accreditation issued under section 18 (3) , 34 (3) (b) , 47(3), 56(3), 57(4), 58E(3), 180(7), 183(10) or 184(10).

chairperson see section 109 (1) (a) .

change, in a school’s governing body, means a change that results in the school having a different governing body.

change day, for chapter 2, part 3, see section 52 (4) (b) .

change notice, for chapter 2, part 3, see section 52 (4) .

classroom education means education in which the teacher providing the education and the students receiving the education are in each other’s presence.

commencement—

(a)  for chapter 7—see section 178 ; or

(b)  for chapter 8, part 1—see section 218 ; or

(c)  for chapter 8, part 2—see section 222 ; or

(d)  for chapter 8, part 3—see section 225 ; or

(e)  for chapter 8, part 4—see section 239 .

commissioner ...

committee means the Non-State Schools Eligibility for Government Funding Committee.

committee member means a member of the committee appointed under section 135 .

company see the Corporations Act, section 9 .

company limited by guarantee see the Corporations Act, section 9 .

compliance notice see section 61 (2) .

convicted ...

criminal history, of a person, means the person’s criminal history within the meaning of the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 , other than spent convictions.

declared director, of a school’s governing body that is a RECI Act corporation, means—

(a)  a person named in the letters patent for the governing body; or

(b)  a successor of a person mentioned in paragraph (a).

deputy chairperson means the deputy chairperson of the board appointed under section 112 (1) .

director, of a school’s governing body, see section 7AA .

distance education see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

eligibility for Government funding criteria see section 85 (3) and (4) .

establishment phase school, for a sector of schooling, means an accredited school—

(a)  that may, under its accreditation, provide education within the sector of schooling; and

(b)  that is yet to start to operate within the sector of schooling; and

(c)  the governing body of which is eligible for Government funding for the school.

for-profit entity means an entity that is carried on for profit or gain to its individual members.

General Provisions Act, for chapter 7, see section 178 .

Government-funded school means a school, the governing body of which is eligible for Government funding for the school.

Government funding, for a school, means funding given by the State for any aspect of the operation of the school.

indictable offence ...

ineligible company means a company that is not a company limited by guarantee.

information notice, for a decision made by the board or Minister, is a notice stating each of the following—

(a)  the decision;

(b)  the reasons for the decision;

(c)  that the person to whom the notice is given may have the decision reviewed within 28 days;

(d)  the way the person may have the decision reviewed;

(e)  if the decision is that a provisionally accredited school not be accredited—a direction that the person surrender the school’s certificate of provisional accreditation within 14 days after the decision takes effect;

(f)  if the decision is that a school’s provisional accreditation or accreditation be cancelled—a direction that the person surrender the certificate of provisional accreditation or accreditation within 14 days after the decision takes effect;

(g)  if the decision is that a school’s provisional accreditation period be extended or reduced under section 46 (1) (b) —a direction that the person surrender the certificate of provisional accreditation within 14 days after the decision takes effect.

letters patent, for a school’s governing body that is a RECI Act corporation, means the letters patent issued under the repealed Religious Educational and Charitable Institutions Act 1861 establishing the governing body as a body corporate under that Act.

Note—

Letters patent under the repealed Religious Educational and Charitable Institutions Act 1861 are continued in force under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 , section 144.

member means a member of the board appointed under section 109 .

Minister’s consultation committee nominee see section 135 (1) (b) .

Minister’s consultation nominees see section 109 (1) (b) .

non-State school see section 6 .

notice means written notice.

not operated for profit, in relation to a school, see section 7 .

original decision see section 101 .

person with a disability see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , section 420(5).

planning approval decision, for chapter 7, part 8, see section 208 .

positive exemption notice means a positive exemption notice issued under the Working with Children Act.

positive notice means a positive notice issued under the Working with Children Act.

post-amended Act, for chapter 8, part 1, see section 218 .

post-amended Act, for chapter 8, part 3, see section 225 .

pre-amended Act, for chapter 8, part 1, see section 218 .

pre-amended Act, for chapter 8, part 3, see section 225 .

premises, of a special assistance school, includes a temporary site at which the school provides special assistance under chapter 2, part 3A.

preparatory year see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

preschool education ...

primary education see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

prohibited arrangement see section 7A .

properly made submission see section 80 (2) .

provisional accreditation, of a school, means the provisional accreditation of the school under section 18 .

provisional accreditation period, of a school, means the provisional accreditation period applying to the school under this Act.

provisionally accredited school means a school provisionally accredited by the board under section 18 .

public place, for chapter 2, part 3A, see section 60B .

QCEC means the Queensland Catholic Education Commission.

RECI Act corporation means a corporation that is incorporated under the repealed Religious Educational and Charitable Institutions Act 1861.

register means the register kept under section 164 .

relevant operational aspect see section 50 (1) (b) .

review, of a decision, means review of the decision under chapter 4.

school see section 5 .

school survey data, for a school, means the following—

(a)  the number of full-time students enrolled at the school, grouped according to the type of education offered at the school;

(b)  the number of part-time students enrolled at the school, grouped according to the type of education offered at the school;

(c)  the number of students enrolled for distance education at the school;

(d)  the number of full-time students enrolled at the school who are persons with a disability;

(e)  the number of part-time students enrolled at the school who are persons with a disability;

(f)  details of the sites from which the school operates;

(g)  other details, about the school, prescribed under a regulation.

secondary education see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

sector of schooling means any of the following groups of years of schooling—

(a)  preparatory year to year 3;

(b)  years 4 to 6;

(c)  years 7 to 10;

(d)  years 11 and 12.

sector student-intake day, of a school for a sector of schooling, means the first day of education of students at the school within the sector of schooling.

show cause notice—

(a)  for chapter 2, part 3, division 2A—see section 58A (2) ; or

(b)  for chapter 2, part 4, division 2—see section 64 (2) ; or

(c)  for chapter 3, part 6, division 2—see section 94 (2) .

show cause period—

(a)  for chapter 2, part 3, division 2A—see section 58A (2) (d) ; or

(b)  for chapter 2, part 4, division 2—see section 64 (2) (d) ; or

(c)  for chapter 3, part 6, division 2—see section 94 (2) (d) .

site, for chapter 2, part 3A, see section 60B .

special assistance see section 13A .

special assistance school means a school that is provisionally accredited, or accredited, to provide special assistance.

special education see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

spent conviction means a conviction—

(a)  for which the rehabilitation period under the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 has expired under that Act; and

(b)  that is not revived as prescribed by section 11 of that Act.

State school see the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 , schedule 4.

student-intake day, of a provisionally accredited school, means the first day of education of students under the school’s provisional accreditation.

submission period see section 77 (1) (h) .

temporary site see section 60B .

temporary site criteria see section 60C .

type of education means a type of education mentioned in section 12 (1) .

vehicle, for chapter 2, part 3A, see section 60B .

Working with Children Act means the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 .