Standard 1: Curriculum

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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 school is, and will continue to be, well governed. Your governing body holds ultimate accountability for the school's strategic direction, financial resource management, and strict compliance with all applicable written laws.

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

‍💡 Expert Compliance Note: The Department of Education uses a risk based approach for renewals. If any governance risks or past non-compliances are identified, it will trigger a much more focused and intense examination during your registration visit or video conference. The policies in our template bundle are designed to minimise these risk flags from day one.

‍Official References

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

‍ 👉 Application for renewal of 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

‍Inside your download, you will find:

‍Board Frameworks, Policies, and Procedures

• Board Governance Policy and Procedure — Sets up your core rules for how the board operates and stays legal.

• Board Responsibility Fact Sheet — A simple guide showing the exact jobs your board members are responsible for.

• Board Member Induction Policy and Procedure — The step by step process for welcoming and training new board members.

• Board Training Policy and Procedure — Your annual plan for board professional development and ethical decision making.

• Board Fit and Proper Person Policy — Guides how you check the background, skills, and character of your board members.

• Code of Conduct Board Policy — Outlines the rules for how board members must behave and do their jobs.

• Board Conflict of Interest and Dispute Resolution Policy and Procedure — Clear steps to handle any personal or financial conflicts on the board.

• Board Attendance Policy and Procedure — Rules for meeting attendance, apologies, and meeting the minimum member numbers (quorums).

• Board Confidentiality Policy and Procedure — Protects sensitive school data and private board discussions.

• Board Meetings Procedure — Outlines how to prepare, run, and wrap up formal board meetings.

• Agenda Template — Makes sure important topics like school strategy, financial statements, and student safety are on every single meeting list.

• Committees Policy and Procedure — Rules for setting up smaller board groups (sub-committees) to look after specific tasks.

• Terms of Reference (ToR) Template — Explains the exact boundaries, goals, and limits for each sub-committee.

• Strategic or Business Planning Policy and Procedure — A guide for creating and reviewing the school’s long-term strategy.

• Organisational Performance Evaluation Policy and Procedure — Outlines how the board checks its own work and performance each year.

• Principal Performance Review Procedure — A fair and transparent guide for reviewing the Principal's work.

• Principal Performance Review Template — A practical form to fill out and file for the Principal's annual review.

• Principal Self-Assessment and Goal Setting Form — Allows the Principal to set goals that match what the board expects.

• Business Continuity Policy and Procedure — A plan to keep the school running if there is a sudden crisis or change in leadership.

• Duty of Care Policy — Explains how the board ensures students are kept safe at school and during off-site activities.

• Board Fundraising Policy and Procedure — Rules for managing school fundraising and community donations safely.

• Annual Report Procedure — Guides you through the dates and data needed to complete your mandatory public reports.

• Whistleblower Policy and Procedure — Gives staff a safe, confidential way to report serious internal issues or policy breaches.

• Board AGM Timelines and Legal Requirements Fact Sheet — Keeps your school aligned with corporate deadlines and yearly meeting laws.

Operational Registers, Forms, and Logs

• Board Skills Matrix — A visual spreadsheet to prove your board has a good mix of leadership, law, finance, and project management skills.

• Board Fit and Proper Person Declaration — The declaration forms that each board member must fill out.

• Board Conflict of Interest Form — The paperwork used by members to officially declare any personal or business conflicts.

• Board Conflict of Interest Register — Your master list for logging all board conflict declarations for the department to check.

• Board Delegation of Authority Register — Logs the exact powers the board has officially passed on to the Principal or Business Manager.

• Register of Account Signatories — Tracks exactly who is authorised to manage the school’s bank accounts.

• Register of Responsible Persons — Keeps an accurate list of every person who has overall management or control of the school.

• National Police Clearance and Working with Children Check Register — Centralises all background and safety screening information.

• Board Gift Acceptance Procedure — Sets clear limits on what gifts, tokens, or favours your board members can accept.

• Board Gift and Donation Registry — Logs any external corporate gifts or school donations to keep things transparent.

• Board Member Interview Guide — Helps you structure interviews when looking for new board members.

• Board Meeting Checklist — A quick reference sheet for the Chair or Secretary to make sure no compliance steps are missed during a meeting.

• Minutes Template — Formally documents what was discussed, decided, and voted on during board meetings.

• Notice of Annual General Meeting — A standard template used to invite the school community to your required yearly general meetings.

• Policy Procedure and Supplementary Documents Tracker — Your master log to keep track of review and expiry dates for all school policies.

• Committee Register — Keeps an organised list of who is on each board sub-committee.

• Common Seal Register — Logs every time the school’s official corporate stamp is used on legal documents.

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

Internal School Evidence (No Template Possible)

To fill your submission folder for Part B of the Application for renewal of registration, you must gather and upload these unique internal files from your own school records:

• • Your official Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Registration of Business Name.

• • A full copy of your governing body’s certified constitution or rule book.

📋 Application Form Note: The Application for renewal of registration will ask for the exact date this constitution was approved at a General Meeting. Make sure your minutes match this date perfectly.

• • Your actual board meeting agendas (including attached financial and operational reports) and signed minutes for the past 12 months.

• • If your long term planning or monthly financial reviews are not clearly written in your standard minutes, provide a separate summary of board instructions and outcomes from the past 12 to 24 months.

• • A properly filled out and witnessed statutory declaration signed by your board Chair, confirming they have officially checked and approved all board members.

📋 Registration Guide Note: Under WA law, if you change a board member or update your constitution, you must notify the Director General within 30 days. Your internal register of board members must match these past notifications completely.

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 "Leave the Room" Rule for Conflicts (Page 8): Standard Australian corporate or association laws sometimes allow a conflicted board member to stay in the room while a topic is being discussed. However, the WA Director General explicitly expects any conflicted member to physically leave the room for any discussion or vote touching on the School Education Act 1999. Your minutes need to show this clearly.

• • Ex-Officio and Non-Voting Members Must Be Vetted (Page 10): A common trap is assuming that because someone on your board doesn't have a vote (like an ex-officio member, the Principal, or a guest Business Manager), they don't need to be screened. Wrong. The Department of Education requires every single person listed on your board register voting or non-voting to go through full character, fitness, and propriety checks.

• • The Skills Matrix Needs an Educator (Page 7): Many non-government school boards are full of highly capable corporate executives, accountants, and lawyers. However, the Director General explicitly expects your board to include people with actual experience, skills, or qualifications in an education field. If your board is purely corporate, you must prove you are actively accessing external professional educational support or running targeted professional development to plug that gap.

• • The Strict 30 Day Notification Clock (Page 76): If a board member leaves or a new one joins, your school has a strict 30 calendar day window to notify the Director General using the official change form. Failing to notify the department within 30 days is an official offence and can carry a maximum fine of $5,000. Case managers will cross check the dates in your meeting minutes against the dates those notification forms were received.

• • The "Satisfactory" Constitution Trap (Page 6): Many boards assume that because their Constitution or Rule Book is officially registered and approved by Consumer Protection (WA Commerce) or the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), it automatically satisfies the Department of Education. It doesn't. The Director General separately reviews your constitution to ensure it explicitly outlines parental involvement and holds the board strictly accountable for the quality of the school's educational programs. It is highly recommended that these objects are written explicitly into your rule book or a complementary Governance Charter.

• • The Related Persons Vetting Trap (Page 7): When assessing the "fitness and propriety" of your board, the Director General doesn't just look at the individual board members, they look at related persons as well. Under section 160(5) of the Act, if a board member has a close business partnership, an employer-employee relationship, or a shared trustee relationship with another person or entity, that related party's prior conduct and financial history can be pulled into the audit trail. Case managers look closest if a board member is subservient to or financially dependent on that outside party.

• • The Ultimate Accountability Rule (Page 8): School boards often try to delegate tracking tasks down to a sub-committee, an advisory council, or the Principal. While you can delegate the tasks, you cannot delegate the ultimate responsibility. Your minutes must actively prove that the board itself evaluates the strategic direction and school improvement plans. If the board simply "rubber stamps" the Principal's choices without a minuted review or a board directed change, the case manager can rule that the board is not well governed.

• • The Unlawful Discrimination Trap (Page 9): A fast way to fail your governance renewal is to have any 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 or equal opportunity laws can be used as direct evidence that a board is not accountable for complying with the written laws of the land.

Board Compliance Quick Check

Before you finish double check that your board has reviewed and minuted these specific items, which are targeted by questions on the official renewal form:

• • Have your board meetings strictly met their minimum member numbers for every single meeting over the last two years? If any meetings missed a quorum, you must write down exactly what the board did to fix it on your application form.

• • Can you show a clear line between the board and the Principal? The department will look for your formal delegation register and proof that the board formally reviews the Principal's performance each year.

• • Your minutes must actively prove that the board reviews the school's strategic plan at least once a calendar year, and regularly discusses the Principal's reports on student progress, learning, and school attendance.

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