The Western Australia Government has effected reforms to the education system and non-government schools by passing changes to the School Education Act 1999 (WA) (the Act). For non-government schools, the reforms attempt to 'streamline procedures, improve efficiency and fairness to schools, reduce regulatory burden and enable the registration standards for non-government schools to meet contemporary expectations'. There are also changes applicable to government schools, including a change which means that year 7 students will start in secondary school. These changes will come into force on 2 February 2015.

The changes are further explained in the Explanatory Memorandum.

New standard for non-government school registration

Buried among the suite of changes is an extra criterion which adds a requirement for non-government schools to have 'arrangements for preventing child abuse at schools and for responding to any such abuse which may occur'. Such arrangements need to be in compliance with standards (the Non-Government Schools in Western Australia Registration Standards and Requirements 2014), which are yet to be updated for this round of legislative changes.

This change is unsurprising, given that other states already have such requirements in place. Such policies will also likely be recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Abuse, which is due to report in 2017.

Governance changes

New requirements have also been added that deal with governance. Under the changes, to register a new school or renew a school's registration, the CEO of the Department of Education Services (DES) must be satisfied that 'the day-to-day management and control of the school by the principal will be separate from the overall governance of the school by its governing body'.

It also explicitly states that the governing body will be accountable for:

• development and implementation of an effective strategic direction for the school;
• development and implementation of effective processes to plan for, monitor and achieve improvements in student learning;
• effective management of the school’s financial resources in accordance, where relevant, with any purposes for which they were provided; and
• compliance with all written and other laws that apply to and in respect of the school and the operation of the school.

These amendments should not be entirely unfamiliar. They codify what is already best-practice for schools and other organisations.

Assessments of the Governing Body

The way that a school is assessed for compliance has also changed. A new scheme will allow the CEO of the DES to assess the suitability of the governing body of a registered school at any time. If the CEO is not satisfied about the governing body, it can:

• issue a quality improvement notice.
• impose conditions;
• give a direction; and
• cancel the registration.

These remedial actions are further explained below.

Quality improvement notices

If the CEO is not satisfied about any part of a school's registration, it now has the option of issuing a 'quality improvement notice'. This notice will identify the issue to be fixed, and specify the remedial action required to be taken and the time limit for taking that action. These quality improvement notices are not mandatory, and failure to comply with them will not affect a school's registration.

Imposing conditions

The CEO also has the option of imposing a condition to fix a defect in a school's registration compliance. This condition will specify the matter to be fixed, and the action to be taken. These conditions must be complied with.

Directions

If the CEO considers that a school's non-compliance with a registration requirement is more serious, or if a school is not complying with a condition, a direction can be given. While the direction is in place the school cannot accept children for enrolment.

Cancellation of registration

The CEO may cancel the registration of the school if it or its governing body is not complying with a condition, direction or the Act.

New penalties

The reforms introduce new offences related to the operation of non-government schools.

Operating a non-government school that is not registered will incur a fine of up to $10,000, and an additional penalty of $200 per day.

Making false representations that a school is registered when it is not, is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000.

Failure to comply with the prohibition on taking new enrolments if a direction is in place can result in a fine of $10,000.

Operating a non-government school in a manner different to its registration (for instance, by conducting a school under a different name, or in a different place) is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and a penalty of $100 per day.

Failure to give written notice of a change in the constitution or membership of the governing body will incur a fine of $5,000.

Failure to comply with a notice to provide statistical, educational and financial information about a school, when asked, will also incur a $5,000 fine.

Other changes

This round of changes also reduces the maximum registration period for schools from 7 years to 5 years. Inspections can also occur without notice if the CEO is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so because 'the health or welfare of a person may be at risk' as a result of a school's suspected non-compliance with its registration requirements.

There is also a round of other changes to streamline and improve the registration requirements and process.

Once these reforms have passed, corresponding guidelines will undoubtedly be updated and issued.

In the speech to move these changes in Parliament, the government minister said 'the proposed amendments have been reviewed by both the Catholic Education Office and the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, and both have expressed their satisfaction with them'.

These new requirements are clearly being embraced as positive developments by the non-government school community.