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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (18 February) . . Page.. 52 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

New draft guidelines, which I intend to circulate for consultation shortly, Mr Speaker, will place increased emphasis on educational planning and the viability of schools. To ensure continued orderly planning and efficient utilisation of educational resources, proposals for new schools, or for expansion to new levels of existing schools, will be assessed in the context of overall trends in the school age population and enrolment distribution. Consideration will be given to the effect of school proposals on the educational and financial viability of existing funded schools in both sectors and the overall balance of school enrolments across all sectors. There will, therefore, be an assessment of the impact of planned enrolment growth of new schools on existing enrolment distribution, including any significant implications for existing schools.

Mr Speaker, all schools will need to provide evidence of their viability. Prospective new schools will need to give reasonable assurance to both parents and the Government that they have sufficient resources to provide a comprehensive educational program; in other words, that students commencing at the school may expect to be able to complete a full course of primary or secondary education. We recognise that schools cannot always provide a full course for their first year of operation. However, schools with a strong enrolment base are able to plan confidently to offer additional years of schooling as their initial enrolment of students progress through the school.

The proposers of new schools will, therefore, need to show evidence that they have a committed intended enrolment, shown, for example, by a deposit and/or enrolment fee, of sufficient size to maintain the educational program through its initial years of development and beyond. Prospective schools will also need to show how they have planned achievable increases in enrolment and give a reasonable rationale for their expectations of future demand. Mr Speaker, all prospective schools will also need to present a financial plan, showing budgeted income and expenditure, consistent with their enrolment plans, which spans at least three years, includes a detailed assessment of likely government assistance and contains a reasonable contingency provision. (Quorum formed)

It is equally important, Mr Speaker, that the viability of existing schools is monitored. It is proposed, therefore, that at the time of reregistration - normally due every five years - existing schools will be also asked to provide evidence of sound financial management and planning. This would include information on enrolment trends and expected enrolment increases or decreases over the prospective five-year registration period. Schools and/or systems will be asked to present a plan for the school catchment which takes into account enrolment trends affecting the school. Mr Speaker, these new guidelines are flexible enough to allow for varied circumstances and approaches in the planning and management of schools, yet robust enough to maintain the high standards of schooling which now apply in the ACT.

Another area of speculation has arisen from recent changes to Commonwealth policy, and that is the issue of the possibility of changes in enrolment shares across sectors in the ACT. Although there has been a number of inquiries about registrations of new schools, not all are expected to result in viable proposals. It is an expensive and complex business to establish a new school. It generally takes a number of years for any school to become established. For historical and demographic reasons, enrolment in non-government schools in the ACT is higher than in most other States and Territories. It has been stable

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