Speaker: Charles Tyers, Manager, Independent Schools, VRQA
All right, so we’ll be talking now about the application process. You’ve heard from all the other key stakeholders around what’s involved in setting up.
It’s not everything, but it’s a couple of the main headlines for you to be aware of. I know the content is fairly dense, but it is just an introduction to what you’ll be doing when you’re running a school, and certainly just to get, registered in the first instance.
So now to the administrative side of things in terms of the application process, key time frames, and things to keep in mind. We’ve got little chevron diagrams up the top there running an outline in terms of the end-to-end process.
So, for applications, that’s what we’re doing here now. And you might be a repeat attendee for this process, noting the timeframes, we’ve touched on earlier. It’s usually around about least an 18 month period to be able to organise, all the materials together.
So, if you’ve been here last year and would need to be ready to submit, for this year to start next year, you’re probably familiar with some of this, but we’ll take you on a journey regardless.
What you need to do is ensure, just touching on what Antoinette talked about in terms of the details on your governance documents and other artefacts that do require, sign-off and board-level engagement, ensure that everything is signed. And make sure that, you’ve got everything complete.
What we’ll be doing is setting up some meeting times for those who are interested. So, reach out to us off the back of this meeting. We will be providing some links and some answers to the questions that have been put through in the chat. So, reach out to us. The contact email is there, and we can set up a pre-application meeting.
So, the purpose of that, what we’re looking to get a bit more clarity on is around any particular areas of concern relating to what you’re planning to do, what’s required. Making sure that you’re understanding what’s required.
There’s application forms on the VRQA website and see that you’re across the detail outlining what the process is in terms of the VRQA assessment and the decision-making processes.
So, a decision for your application will be put through to our delegate, the CEO of the VRQA.
And we can also talk about some of the timelines based on where you’re at, how realistic it is for you to be able to put an application in for this year, or if it’s something that you need to plan more for, the year after in terms of those timeframes.
We are estimating that we’ll be having meetings in around mid-April to May, thereabouts.
So, if you’re interested in having one of those meetings, please email us the contact that is best for you.
And we can do that in person or online.
So, timelines. What to make sure of in terms of the legislative timelines is that the 30th of June is the deadline that you need to be able to submit your application. We can, by exception, take some applications past that, but that’s at the discretion of the delegate. We would encourage you to make sure that you’ve got all your paperwork submitted earlier. It’s a deadline. It’s not necessarily a target.
So, if this is not your first time looking into putting in an application, and you’re well prepared, you can submit it before that. The earlier, the better. It allows for some time for us to be able to process that earlier and get some feedback. You’ll get one round of rectifications for your submission. So, if you’ve done that sooner, you’ll be able to get that back into action ahead of time.
Be aware that the application does attract a fee. So, the application fee for this year, that is current on the VRQA website, is $2,541. And that’s the link there to the fees. If there’s any other information round those or any future changes in your registration process. There are fees for that down the track
So, things can be submitted at various times, say the occupancy certificate will need to be submitted. But we can have some lenience around that. Things like teacher registrations. Obviously, if you’re not up and running yet, that’s something you’ll need to look into. So, you won’t necessarily have teachers on staff when you don’t have any students at the ready. So that’s something, that can have some leniency as well. Of course, final student numbers. You’ll be working on forecasts until you’re closer to having a registered school up and running; you’ll have a bit more time there.
So, in terms of the assessment process, what that looks like, is that the VRQA will receive your applications.
We will conduct an assessment. We can do that through a combination of either in-house expertise or, where needed, we can refer to panel members on the VRQA services panel, and we’ll be providing an assessment of your application and identify any variances of deficiency or noncompliance in how we articulate it. I suppose, a serious noncompliance or one that was critical in nature would give an indication, drawing upon some of those examples in the case studies, that you would be quite challenged to meet that deadline.
We will provide you with that advice and allow you to consider whether now is the right time or whether it could be more appropriate to withdraw and apply again in the future, but just to be aware that that is one option.
So, in terms of the actual decision, as I indicated, the decision, under the legislation, is made by the VRQA CEO. And so, in terms of what that would look like, after the feedback that we provided, you receive a letter, outlining the decision.
So, if the decision is not in your favour, we will endeavour to provide you with sufficient time so that you are allowed some procedural fairness. And if you choose to take that to appeal and allowing time for exploring the avenues of appeal through VCAT.
So last slide, the culmination of the advice that you’ve been hearing from all the speakers today are things to consider, as I indicated, lead time. So, it’s not a quick process. Normally, from what we’ve seen, it takes between 12 and 18 months to prepare in terms of putting everything together and making sure that you read things like ministerial orders.
We talked about Ministerial Order No. 1359 for child safety. There’s also Ministerial Order 706 for anaphylaxis. These ministerial orders are very detailed and quite prescriptive in nature. So, there will be language such as, must, and particular people or levels, if it’s a principal or if it’s the governing body. Pay particular attention to who is responsible for what.
There are a number of activities that are non-delegable. So, you have to make sure that you’re paying attention to all of the details in those ministerial orders, as well as the guidance that’s provided in minimum standards. The elements that we heard about from Antoinette in terms of the legal artefacts to pull together, the constitution, the charters, those delegations. Making sure all of that is appropriately authorised and, signed and evidenced in your submission.
A tip for applications that we’ve had from feedback is the benefit of reading and rereading your application. So, make sure that you have got everything in order, in terms of your application, we’ll receive those.
I think an earlier slide indicated we can receive those electronically, but still make sure that it is structured in a logical way. And, it’s a useful exercise to use that application form to be able to check off in terms of what’s there and make sure, in terms of some of the content that Dean was talking about, the contextualisation of the policies and procedures and anything that is referring to other related materials that it’s incorporating, that cross referential content, to make sure that you’re not just having a variety of related materials in isolated format.
Other than that, I would say all the best in terms of your application. Thank you for your time and if you haven’t been able to make it today. For those that have been listening to the recorded session, we look forward to hearing from you. The contact details are there in terms of the email address.
In terms of next steps, anyone that does feel they’re ready to put in application, and would like to have a pre-meeting with us in that April to May timeframe. We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks all.
Updated