School Governance

‍The Registration Requirement

Under the Guide to the registration standards and other requirements for non-government schools effective 1 January 2024, the Director General must be satisfied that your proposed school is, and will continue to be, well governed. Your governing body holds ultimate accountability for the proposed school's strategic direction, financial resource management, and strict compliance with all applicable written laws.

To satisfy this standard, your board must establish a clear, documented separation between overall governance and the Principal’s day to day management, implement robust processes to identify and manage conflicts of interest, and ensure all board members are certified as fit and proper persons.

💡 Expert Compliance Note: The Department of Education uses an individualised, risk based approach for initial registration assessments. All foundational policies, constitutional rules, and board structures must be completely finalised and uploaded via your assigned Microsoft OneDrive folder at least six months before your proposed opening date. Any unmapped governance gaps or delays in submitting your Part B pack will result in intensive scrutiny during your mandatory site visit, and a failure to meet this baseline timeline gives the Director General immediate grounds to refuse to consider the application under Section 158(5) of the Act. The templates in our bundle are systematically engineered to minimise these regulatory risk flags from day one.

‍Official References

The application form and guide are available for download via the links below.

‍ 👉 Application for registration document.

‍ 👉 Guide to the registration standards and other requirements for non-government schools effective 1 January 2024‍ ‍

Your Downloadable Template Bundle

Your membership includes full access to our School Governance Templates Bundle. This all in one ZIP file contains every document, policy, and register required to build a compliant board framework.

‍ 👉 Download School Governance Templates Bundle ZIP File

📌 Please Note: Not all of these templates will suit your school, but they give you a good range to get through registration.

‍Inside your download, you will find:

  • Board Frameworks, Policies, and Procedures

  • Agenda Template

    Annual Report Procedure

    Board AGM Timelines and Legal Requirements Fact Sheet

    Board Attendance Policy and Procedure

    Board Confidentiality Policy and Procedure

    Board Conflict of Interest and Dispute Resolution Policy and Procedure

    Board Fit and Proper Person Policy

    Board Fundraising Policy and Procedure

    Board Governance Policy and Procedure

    Board Meetings Procedure

    Board Member Induction Policy and Procedure

    Board Training Policy and Procedure

    Business Continuity Policy and Procedure

    Code of Conduct Board Policy

    Committees Policy and Procedure

    Duty of Care Policy

    Organisational Performance Evaluation Policy and Procedure

    Strategic or Business Planning Policy and Procedure

    Whistleblower Policy and Procedure

  • Operational Registers, Forms, and Logs

  • Board Conflict of Interest Form

    Board Conflict of Interest Register

    Board Delegation of Authority Register

    Board Fit and Proper Person Declaration

    Board Gift Acceptance Procedure

    Board Gift and Donation Registry

    Board Meeting Checklist

    Board Member Interview Guide

    Board Responsibility Fact Sheet

    Board Skills Matrix

    Committee Register

    Common Seal Register

    Minutes Template

    National Police Clearance and Working with Children Check Register

    Notice of Annual General Meeting

    Policy Procedure and Supplementary Documents Tracker

    Principal Performance Review Procedure

    Principal Performance Review Template

    Principal Self-Assessment and Goal Setting Form

    Register of Account Signatories

    Register of Responsible Persons

    Terms of Reference (ToR) Template

Internal Proposed School Evidence

Recommended Checklist for Part B Submission: To help build out your submission folder for Part B of the Application for initial registration, we recommend gathering these key internal files from your school records. Please note that while these specific documents are recommended to help evidence your compliance, this is a practical guide rather than an exhaustive checklist.

  • Official Entity Incorporation Records: Your official Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Registration of Business Name showing the legal setup of your governing body.

  • Certified Governing Constitution: A complete copy of your governing body’s certified constitution or rule book. Application Form Note: The form will ask for the exact date this constitution was approved at a General Meeting. Make sure your records match this date perfectly.

  • Proof of Authority and Tenure: If ownership, management, or control is shared between different groups, you need formal proof that your chosen governing body has the clear authority and long-term lease/tenure to run the school.

  • Board Manuals and Handbooks: Plain English guidelines showing how the board operates, including sub-committees, board policies, and steps for handling conflicts of interest.

  • The Register of Governing Body Members: Your completed master board register showing start dates, full names, roles, background/qualifications, voting setup, and Director Identification Numbers (DIN) if required.

  • Formally Signed Delegations of Authority: Signed paperwork showing exactly what powers and spending caps the board has delegated to sub-committees, the Principal, or the Business Manager, plus a CV for everyone with delegated powers.

  • Foundational Meeting Portfolio: Your actual board meeting agendas, reports, and signed minutes for the past 12 months (or for as long as the board has been set up if it's less than a year), proving how your council runs things.

  • Pre-Opening Board Summaries: A summary of things the board has discussed, official directions given to school leaders, and choices tracked over the last 24 months (or since the board started).

  • Board Professional Learning Log: A simple training log showing the professional development, legal briefings, and governance modules attended by your board members.

  • The Principal’s Job Description: A formal, board approved document outlining the exact duties, responsibilities, and review goals set for the school Principal.

  • The Strategic and Improvement Plans: Your long-term strategic plan showing the future direction of the school, along with an operational school improvement plan tracking short-term goals.

  • Curriculum and Teaching Review Policy: A policy approved by the board explaining exactly how and when school leadership will evaluate classroom teaching and curriculum delivery.

  • Annual Financial Reporting Schedule: A structured calendar showing the financial updates and cash flow reviews that must be sent to the board throughout the year to maintain oversight.

  • Chairperson Fitness and Propriety Statutory Declaration: The official Statutory Declaration form from the application, completed and signed by the Board Chair under the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005 (WA) in front of an authorised witness. This confirms that all sitting board members have been properly checked and cleared.

Compliance Tips & Hidden Requirements

School registration reviews in WA have a few unique, specific traps that catch boards out. Make sure your team knows these hidden rules:

  • The Financial Literacy Baseline Requirement (Page 7): The Director General enforces a strict capability baseline for school governance. The board must collectively possess the necessary financial literacy and strategic acumen to manage a complex operational budget. If an audit reveals a governing body completely lacking verified financial or risk management credentials, the school's registration is put at risk.

    The "Satisfactory" Constitution Trap (Page 6): External approval from Consumer Protection or the Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission (ACNC) does not mean a school's constitution automatically satisfies the Department of Education. The Director General independently reviews your rule book to ensure it explicitly outlines mechanisms for parental involvement. The document must also hold the board strictly accountable for the quality of the school's educational programs.

    The Non-Delegable Ultimate Accountability Framework (Pages 6, 8): Ultimate legal responsibility, ownership, management, and control of the school rest entirely with the governing body. While day to day operational tasks are delegated to the Principal, the board's fundamental regulatory accountability cannot be passed down. If a board blindly rubber stamps executive decisions without minuted evidence of active review, questioning, and risk tracking, the case manager can rule that the school is not well governed.

    The Material Change 30 Day Notification Clock (Page 7): Under section 159 of the School Education Act 1999 (WA), a school has a strict 30 calendar day window to notify the Minister of any material changes to its governance framework. This includes changes to the composition of the governing body, updates to the school's fundamental constitution, or a change in the governing entity itself. Case managers actively cross check the appointment and resignation dates recorded in your board minutes against the submission dates of the official notification forms.

    The Related Persons Vetting Trap (Page 7): When assessing whether a governing body is fit and proper, the Director General evaluates related persons who exercise significant influence over the school. Under the Act, if a board member has a close business partnership, an employer-employee relationship, or a shared trustee relationship with an outside party, that entity's prior conduct and financial history can be pulled into the audit trail. This prevents unvetted external individuals from driving board decisions or exposing the school to hidden liabilities.

    The Skills Matrix Educational Lens (Pages 7–8): The governing body must collectively possess the skills and experience necessary to provide successful strategic oversight. While an understanding of educational programs is a key component of a high functioning board, the Guide does not mandate that a registered educator must hold a board seat. To satisfy this expectation, a purely corporate board must provide documented evidence that it systematically accesses external professional educational expertise or runs targeted training to plug knowledge gaps.

    The Evidentiary Minutes Paper Trail (Pages 6, 8): A compliance policy is functionally invisible during a registration review if its implementation cannot be proven through corporate records. Case managers will actively cross examine your critical incident logs, financial reports, and child safety compliance updates directly against your official board minutes. Chapter 1 compliance requires explicit, written evidence in the minutes proving that the board formally received, discussed, and systematically tracked all major compliance liabilities and strategic risks.

    The Conflict of Interest "Leave the Room" Rule (Page 8): Standard corporate laws sometimes allow a conflicted board member to remain present during a discussion, but the WA system enforces strict physical separation. When a board member has a material personal or financial interest in a matter being considered, they must disclose the interest and physically leave the room for both the discussion and the vote. Your official minutes must explicitly record this exit and return to satisfy the audit trail.

    The Unlawful Discrimination Trap (Page 9): An immediate way to fail a governance review is to hold an active finding of unlawful discrimination against a student or a prospective student. The Director General notes that a breach of state or federal anti-discrimination laws serves as direct evidence that a board is failing its regulatory duty to comply with the written laws of the land. Your governance policies must actively reflect compliant pathways under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).

    Ex-Officio and Non-Voting Members Must Be Vetted (Page 10): Every single individual listed on your board register must undergo full character, fitness, and propriety checks regardless of their voting status. This includes ex-officio members, invitees, and executive staff like the Principal or Business Manager if they are structurally listed as members of the governing council. Because they sit on the entity legally responsible for the school, their background files are scrutinised with the same regulatory weight as standard trustees.

    The Incident Tracking Governance Failure (Standard 7 (Emergency Management) / Governance Intersect): If a critical or emergency incident occurs on site under Standard 7, managing the crisis on the ground does not fulfil your governance tracking duties. Chapter 1 rules require that the event must be formally pushed to the boardroom to evaluate strategic risk and future mitigation. If a registration review reveals a serious reportable incident occurred but was never formally minuted or reviewed by the governing body, the school can be ruled non-compliant for a systemic failure of governance tracking.

    The Child Safe Code Board Ownership Mandate (Standard 10 (Preventing and responding to child abuse) / Governance Intersect): Your school's Child Safe Code of Conduct under Standard 10 cannot be treated as a document that applies only to campus staff. The Guide explicitly dictates that the governing body must formally adopt, sign, and personally embody the code of conduct. Board members are bound by the exact same operational boundaries and reporting thresholds as frontline educators, and any failure by a trustee to uphold these standards triggers an immediate governance-level breach.

House Operational Risk Tips (Not Explicitly in the Guide)

  • Hide Personal Screening Numbers: When putting together your board registers, National Police Clearances, or screening trackers for your OneDrive upload, make sure to completely mask out the actual identity check codes or screening numbers. Replace them with a standard label like [Vetting Registration Number Redacted] to keep personal data safe.

  • Keep Board Minutes Neutral During Setup: Early board establishment logs and steering committee notes often talk about sensitive things like staff recruitment bids, salary offers, or private vendor contract terms. Make sure your admin team removes real candidate names and uses neutral labels like Principal Candidate A or Property Provider B before uploading files.

  • Double Check Your Quorum Baseline: Have your board secretary double check all early minutes against the quorum rules in your constitution. Case managers will verify that no major initial policy, financial delegation, or leader appointment was accidentally voted on during a meeting that didn't have enough voting members present.

Compliance Quick Check

Before you finish, double check that your board has completed and minuted these specific items required on the official initial application form:

  • Is your full application pack scheduled for upload at least six months before your proposed school opening date?

  • Have the boundaries for school ownership, management, and control been clearly defined and marked off on the application form?

  • Can you show a clear line between board governance and daily school management, backed by a signed job description and formal delegation register for the Principal?

📌 Now don’t forget to save your evidence in your created folder in your school's shared drive (Google Drive or OneDrive).

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