As most senior executive staff start returning to prepare for the new school academic year, we thought this was a good time to provide a summary of some of the key compliance issues that you may need to deal with in 2014.

At the outset it is probably worth stating the obvious and that 2014 may well be the year of “compliance surprises” as the new Federal Government starts to implement its reform agenda and State based regulators seem to be becoming more active in streamlining their registration guidelines for non-government schools.

So here are some compliance issues that you will need to be on top of, or at least keep an eye on in 2014. If you are interested in ensuring that your school deals with compliance proactively you should read Compliance – Strategic Imperative or Expensive Black Hole.

January: New Bullying Laws

By now most of you will be well aware of the new anti-bullying laws that came into effect on 1 January 2014, that for a $69 application fee, enable victims of workplace bullying to apply directly to the Fair Work Commission for an order that the bullying stop.

January: Unlawful Termination Claims Lodgment

From 1 January 2014 the timeframe for making an unlawful termination claim under the Fair Work Act will be reduced from 60 days to 21 days, to make the timeframe consistent with those for unfair dismissals and adverse action claims involving dismissal.

January: New Statutory Definition of Charities

Despite the Federal Government making it clear that they intend to disband the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) the Government’s Bill to delay the commencement of the Charities Act 2013 by nine months, from 1 January 2014 to 1 September 2014 has not been passed by the Senate.

Accordingly The Charities Act commenced on 1 January 2014 applying a new definition of "charity" which will be used for income tax, GST and fringe benefits tax concessions.

The ACNC will apply the statutory definitions when determining whether to register an entity as a charity and whether a registered charity is still eligible to remain registered.

March 2014 Privacy

New Privacy Laws introducing the 13 Australian Privacy Principles, which will replace the current National Privacy Principles, commence on 12 March 2014. The changes will require all non-government schools to carefully review and amend their current Privacy policies and procedures.

Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework

The Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework is a nationally agreed initiative that was endorsed by the Federal, State and Territory education Ministers in August 2012. It requires all teachers to receive regular formal and informal feedback on their performance.

The Framework is being progressively rolled out around Australia with the pace and method of implementation being determined by individual jurisdictions and school sectors.

National School Improvement Tool

The National School Improvement Tool was developed in 2012 to help schools to review and guide their efforts at improving the quality of classroom teaching and learning and student performance.

Most jurisdictions currently plan a phased roll out period between 2014-2019.

Non-Government School Registration Standards

Whilst it is impossible in this article, to deal with the compliance issues arising with respect to school registration standards in each state and territory, it is worth noting that there is a general trend across Australia by the relevant regulatory authorities to continually update their guidelines. This is adding to the ever increasing regulatory burden (and risk exposure) of Non-Government Schools.

Some key compliance areas which often fly under the radar include:

• Complaints Handling – Nearly all states and territories have specific requirements with respect to the implementation of complaints handling programs. When was the last time your Complaints Register was reviewed by your executive team?

• Board Governance – Many states and territories have established guidelines for the conduct of boards. By way of example upon registration in WA, non-government schools are required to provide supporting documentation that describes the way in which the governing body operates, e.g. conflicts of interest, code of conduct, succession planning, evaluating board performance, committee structure.

• External Education Providers – If your school has students attending TAFE courses or learning via outside tutors the chances are your registration standards will set out some specific compliance standards you will need to comply with.

Workplace Safety

With all jurisdictions, except for Victoria and Western Australia, now on board with the national Workplace Health and Safety Laws (National WHS Laws), this continues to be a significant area of legal compliance risk for schools as well as an area of significant personal liability risk for the members of a school’s senior executive management team.

As most readers will be aware the National WHS Laws confer a specific obligation on directors and officers to exercise Due Diligence, a defined term which includes a positive obligation to ensure compliance and the allocation of appropriate resources to eliminate or minimize risks to health and safety in schools.

Areas to watch include the publication of new National Codes including the Traffic Management Code which is currently in draft.

CompliSpace has published a WHS Briefing Paper specifically designed for schools, which can be downloaded.

International Students

For schools with international students, compliance with ESOS (the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000), the National Code (National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007), as well as a myriad of related legislation and complex registration and ongoing compliance requirements, continues to present problems as many consider that schools have been caught by a regime that is more designed for higher education and vocational education providers, than for the small numbers of international students they have enrolled. Unfortunately as far as the law is concerned, full compliance is required irrespective of the number of students enrolled.