EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education
Subject: Schools Assistance Act 2008
GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS BY SCHOOLS TO VARY A SOCIO‑ECONOMIC STATUS (SES) SCORE 2009
Authority
These Guidelines are approved under subsection 76(2) of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 for the purposes of subsection 76(1)(b) and section 79(b).
Purpose
The socio-economic status (SES) score is intended to reflect the SES of a school’s community when calculated in accordance with the formula used to determine the SES score under section 72. It is intended to represent the average SES profile of a community supporting a school and shows the relative capacity of a community to support its school.
Power under the Act
SES scores for a school are determined by the Minister under section 72(2) of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 (“the Act”).
Subsection 76(1) of the Act provides that Subdivision D of Division 11 of Part 4 of the Act applies to a proposal to vary a school’s SES score in certain circumstances. Paragraph 76(1)(b) provides that one of these circumstances is where the approved authority of the school considers that the SES score:
(b)…does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community (in the way required by guidelines approved by the Minister under subsection (2)).
Paragraph 79(b) of the Act provides authority for the Minister to approve a proposal under Subdivision D of Division 11 in certain circumstances. One such circumstance is where the Minister is satisfied that the school’s SES score:
(b)…does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community (in the way required by guidelines approved by the Minister under section 76).
Sub-section 76(2) of the Act authorises the Minister to approve guidelines for the purposes of subsection 76(1) and section 79.
Background
The SES funding arrangements were introduced in 2001. The Government has continued these arrangements for 2009-2012.
Consistent with previous legislation, the Act contains provision for a non-government school to submit an application to change its SES score (section 76 – change proposals) if the approved authority for the school considers that the SES score, correctly calculated under section 72, does not reflect the actual socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community. For example the circumstances of the school’s community may have changed significantly since the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing, or there is a unique social characteristic of families at the school that is not reflected in the 2006 ABS Census or Population and Housing, and either of these has affected the school community’s capacity to support the school.
Operation
The Guidelines set out the powers under the Act and the grounds for an appeal.
Further information about the application and assessment processes of the Appeals Process is available at https://schools.dest.gov.au/ssp/help/html/ses/index.html.
Consultation
Consultation on the Guidelines took place during the operation of the former Act with stakeholder feedback incorporated into the final form of the Guidelines which were agreed by non-government school stakeholders including the National Catholic Education Commission, Independent Schools Council of Australia, Christian Schools Australia, Australian Association of Christian Schools, Australian Parents Council, and Australian Council of Jewish Schools.
The Guidelines were administrative under the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 (the former Act) and are now legislative by virtue of subsection 76 (2) of the Act. The grounds for appeal set out in these guidelines have not changed from those set out in administrative guidelines under the former Act. Therefore no consultation was considered necessary.
Commencement
The SES Appeals Guidelines take effect on the day after the day on which they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
ATTACHMENT A
SES FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS FOR NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS 2009-2012
Guidelines for change proposals under section 76(1)(b), Part 4, Division 11 of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 (the Act)
Purpose
These guidelines provide information on:
- what a school can do if it considers that its SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community; and
- the procedure for assessing a school’s application to change its funding level.
Power under the Act
SES scores for a school are determined by the Minister under section 72 of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 (“the Act”). Pursuant to section 76(1)(b) of the Act, the approved authority of a school can apply to change its level of funding if a school considers that the SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community.
The Minister has a power to determine a different SES score pursuant to section 80 of the Act on condition that a school meets the requirements set out in section 76 and the Minister is satisfied that the school’s old SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community.
What can a school do if it considers that its SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community?
A school can submit an application to the Department if it considers that the SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community.
A school must ensure that the application meets the following requirements as set out in section 77(2). The application must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) set out the name and address of the school and of the approved authority of the school; and
(c) if the school is a systemic school – set out the name of the approved school system; and
(d) set out the reasons why the approved authority considers the SES score should be changed.
In relation to section 77(2)(d), a school should provide empirically-based evidence which demonstrates how the SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community. In other words, demonstrate:
- how the circumstances of the community have changed significantly since the 2006 ABS Population Census and how this has affected the school. For example, a high proportion of families at the school may have been financially disadvantaged by the closure of a major industry; or
- that there is an identifiably unique characteristic of the families at the school which affects the school community’s capacity to support the school. For example, a survey of parents at the school would show the disproportionate impact on the school of a particular social characteristic.
This evidence must be attached to the application. This may include specific data such as evidence of the number of students who come from families holding a health care card or the proportion of unemployed parents. A school must provide any additional information that the Department requests.
A school must also provide with the application a statement declaring that at least 95 per cent of the families of students at the school would be willing to complete a survey to determine the income, occupation and education levels of parents with children attending the school. These surveys, to be undertaken by the Department if the school’s application is deemed to have merit, will enable a School Community Profile to be constructed.
How will the application be processed?
The Department will convene a committee which will consist of a senior Departmental officer, an independent statistician and a person independent of both the Department and the school.
The Committee’s role will be to assess a school’s application and determine whether a school has sufficient grounds to show that its SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community. Before making its assessment, the Committee may, at its discretion, request a school to provide further information in relation to its application.
If a school does demonstrate sufficient grounds to show that its SES score does not reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of its community, the Committee will compare the School Community Profile with the profiles of all non‑government schools in the Benchmark Data Set.
The Benchmark Data Set consists of profiles for every non‑government school. These profiles have been constructed using income, education and occupation data derived from the unit record files of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 national Census.
For an application to be successful, the School Community Profile must differ significantly from the profiles of schools with similar SES scores in the Benchmark Data Set.
The Committee will consider each application according to its merits, ensuring that a school receives a fair and impartial assessment of its case.
Once the Committee has made its assessment, it will make a recommendation to the Minister.
The Minister will then review the Committee’s recommendation, the information provided in the school’s application, the School Community Profile and any other relevant information to determine whether he/she is satisfied that the SES score should be changed.
What is the procedure for assessing a school’s application?
The procedure for assessing a school’s application involves the following steps:
- A school lodges an application with the Department. The Department will forward the application to the Committee for assessment. All applications must be received by 31 August 2009, 2010 or 2011 and all applications received after these dates will be held over to the following year. For 2012, applications must be received before 31 August 2012.
- The Committee will review the application to ensure it meets the requirements of section 77 and by following the Assessment Process set out below.
- The Committee will provide a recommendation to the Minister. The Minister will determine whether he/she is satisfied that the school has met the requirements of subsection 79 (b).
- If a school’s application complies with the requirements of section 77 and the Minister is satisfied under subsection under 79 (b) that the SES score is no longer accurate, the Minister must make the determinations provided for in section 80.
- If a school’s application does not satisfy the Minister under section 79 (b), the Minister must refuse the application.
How will the Committee assess the application?
1. The Committee will assess whether the application: (1) complies with section 77 of the Act, and (2) whether, in its view, a school has provided sufficient reasons why it considers that the SES score should be changed.
2. If the Committee considers that a school’s application meets the requirements of section 77 and provides sufficient reasons as set out in point 1 above, the Committee will ask the Department to collect the necessary information to construct a School Community Profile based on actual parent data.
The School Community Profile will be constructed from information about income, education and occupation collected from parents of students attending the school and any other information the Department considers necessary or relevant. Where the appeal is based on the size of families attending the school, the profile will be constructed solely on the basis of income, with the education and occupation information used to validate the income data.
2 (a) The school will be given the opportunity to review its School Community Profile, along with comparison information from the Benchmark Data Set, to determine whether it will proceed with its appeal.
3. The School Community Profile will be compared with the profiles of all non‑government schools in the Benchmark Data Set in order to measure whether, in the Committee’s opinion, it differs significantly from the profiles of schools with similar SES scores.
4. Taking into account the results of the School Community Profile, the Committee will provide a recommendation and reasons to the Minister about section 79 (b): whether or not the SES score reflects the socioeconomic circumstances of the school’s community.
5. The Minister must then review the Committee’s recommendation and any other relevant information.
6. If the Minister is satisfied that the school’s application meets the requirements of subsection 79 (b), then the Minister must adjust the SES score by making the relevant determinations provided for in section 80 of the Act.
The adjusted score will apply:
- in the program year the application is made if the current SES funding level is equal to or greater than the percentage of Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) relating to the school’s old SES score; or
- in the program year immediately after the program year the application is made if the current SES funding level is less than the percentage of AGSRC relating the school’s old SES score.
7. If the Minister is not satisfied as described above then the school’s SES score is not changed.