Schools Assistance Act
Additional background information
Every four years, the Australian Government enacts legislation to appropriate funds for both school and Indigenous education programs. The Schools Assistance (Learning Together - Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 came into operation on 1 January 2005.
The Act sets out the commitments that must be agreed to by a State or Territory Government to access funding for general recurrent grants, capital grants and targeted programs for primary and secondary education and related purposes for the 2005 –2008 funding quadrennium.
Under the Act, the Northern Territory Government (NTG) was required to enter into a funding agreement with the Commonwealth. The NTG signed a funding agreement with the Commonwealth on 26 May 2005.
The Regulations to the Act took effect on 4 November 2005 and required all Australian states and territories to propose a compliance plan in relation to:
- A to E reporting for subjects studied – and comparative reporting of a student’s progress and achievement
- reporting to school communities – making school performance information publicly available to all parents
The Northern Territory Compliance Plan, prepared by DEET, was approved on 27 March 2006 by the Federal Minister for Education Science and Training, the Hon. Julie Bishop MP.
Additional non-negotiable measures to be implemented are:
- Implementation of a consistent national system for timely transmission of student information between schools
A functioning flagpole flying the Australian flag
- Implementation of Statements of Learning before 1 January 2008
- Display of posters from the National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools and from the National Safe Schools Framework
- Provision of at least two hours of physical activity a week for primary and junior secondary students
Funding remains conditional on the Northern Territory’s compliance with the commitments and regulations. The Minister for Employment, Education and Training will be required to certify to the Australian Government that NT government schools are compliant.