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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act authorises the Commonwealth to pay States for school-related building, equipment and recurrent costs (including migrant education), disadvantaged and special schools, teacher training/replacement, approved education centres, development/service activities and special projects. Payments are conditional: the Commonwealth Minister approves projects and levels, funds flow through States to approved authorities, caps and reporting requirements are set in Schedules, and repayments are triggered where conditions are breached. States receive, distribute and account for the money; the Minister decides approvals, timing and amount variations.
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Direct links to the current provisions in States Grants (Schools) Act 1976.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
STATES GRANTS (SCHOOLS) ACT 1976
No. 35 of 1976
An Act to provide Financial Assistance to the States for an in relation to Schools, and for related purposes.
BE IN ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
PART I—PRELIMINARY
Short title.
Commencement.
Interpretation.
“approved authority”, in relation to an approved school system or in relation to a non-government school, means such person or body as the Minister declares to be the approved authority of that school system or of that school, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act;
“approved school system” means a school system in a State, or in a part of a State, which consists of non-government schools and which the Minister declares to be an approved school system for the purposes of this Act;
“building” includes part of a building;
“building project” includes—
(a) the purchase of land, with or without buildings;
(b) the planning, erection, alteration or extension of a building or other facilities;
(c) the development or preparation of land for building or other purposes; and
(d) the installation of water, electricity or other services;
“certificate by an authorized person”, in relation to moneys paid to a State under a provision of this Act, means a certificate signed by a person, or by a person included in a class or persons, authorized by the State Education Minister for the State to sign certificates in respect of the application by the State of moneys paid to the State under that provision;
“certificate by a qualified accountant” means a certificate signed by—
(a) a person who is registered as a company auditor or a public accountant under a law of a State or Territory;
(b) a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia or of the Australian Society of Accountants; or
(c) a person approved by the Minister as a qualified accountant for the purposes of this Act;
“child” includes young person;
“commencing day” means the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;
“Commonwealth Education Minister” means the Minister;
“disadvantaged school” means a school which the Minister declares, under section 4, to be a disadvantaged school for the purposes of this Act;
“equipment project” means a project for or in relation to the provision of equipment, library material or furniture;
“existing Act” means the States Grants (Schools) Act 1973 or that Act as amended and in force from time to time;
“government disadvantaged school” means a government primary school, or a government secondary school, which is a disadvantaged school;
“government primary school” means—
(a) a government school at which primary education is provided; or
(b) in the case of a government school at which primary education, and also education other than primary education, are provided—that school in so far as it provides primary education;
“government school” means a school in a State that is conducted by or on behalf of the Government of the State;
“government secondary school” means—
(a) a government school at which secondary education is provided; or
(b) in the case of a government school at which secondary education, and also education other than secondary education, are provided—that school in so far as it provides secondary education;
“government special school” means a government school that is a special school;
“library material” includes books, periodicals, newspapers, films, sound recordings, musical scores, maps, plans, pictures, photographs and prints;
“migrant education” means the provision of special educational programs and facilities, and the adaptation of educational programs and facilities, for the purpose of meeting the special educational needs of migrant children and the children of migrants or for the purpose of meeting the special educational needs of those children and also providing education for those children and other children that takes account of the various cultures of peoples in countries from which persons have migrated to Australia;
“non-government disadvantaged school” means a school that is a systemic disadvantaged school or a non-systemic disadvantaged school;
“non-government primary school” means—
(a) a non-government school in a State at which primary education is provided; or
(b) in the case of a non-government school at which primary education, and also education other than primary education, are provided—that school in so far as it provides primary education;
“non-government school” means a school in a State that is not conducted by or on behalf of the Government of the State, but does not include a school conducted for the profit, direct or indirect, of an individual or individuals;
“non-government secondary school” means—
(a) a non-government school in a State at which secondary education is provided; or
(b) in the case of a non-government school at which secondary education, and also education other than secondary education, are provided—that school in so far as it provides secondary education;
“non-government special school” means a non-government school that is a special school;
“non-systemic disadvantaged school” means a non-systemic school that is a disadvantaged school;
“non-systemic school” means a non-government primary school, or a non-government secondary school, that is not a systemic school;
“previous schools assistance Act” means the existing Act or any other Act that came into operation before the commencing day and provides for the granting of financial assistance to the States in relation to schools;
“primary education”, in relation to a non-government school in a State, means education of a kind similar to that provided for students at government primary schools in the State;
“recurrent expenditure” means expenditure other than capital expenditure;
“school” includes an institution similar to a school, but does not include—
(a) a school or institution at which education is provided at pre-school or kindergarten standard only; or
(b) where the State Education Minister for a State notifies the Commonwealth Education Minister that a school or institution in the State that is specified in the notice is not recognized by the State Education Minister as a school and the Commonwealth Education Minister does not approve the school or institution as a school for the purposes of this Act—that school or institution;
“schools census date”, in relation to a State, means the date in the year to which this Act applies as at which the Australian Statistician compiles statistics in relation to the numbers of students in schools in the State;
“Schools Commission” means the Schools Commission established by the Schools Commission Act 1973;
“secondary education”, in relation to a non-government school in a State, means education of a kind similar to that provided for students at government secondary schools in the State;
“special education teacher training course” means a course for the training of teachers of handicapped children;
“special school” means a school in a State (whether or not it is a school or institution at which primary education or secondary education is provided)—
(a) at which special education is provided for handicapped children; and
(b) which the Commonwealth Education Minister, having regard to any advice in relation to the school furnished to him by the State Education Minister for the State, declares to be a special school for the purposes of this Act,
or, in the case of such a school at which special education for handicapped children, and also education other than special education for handicapped children, are provided—that school in so far as it provides special education for handicapped children;
“State Education Minister”, in relation to a State, means the Minister of State for the State who is responsible, or principally responsible, for the administration of matters relating to primary and secondary education in the State;
“student” means a full-time student;
“systemic disadvantaged school” means a systemic school that is a disadvantaged school;
“systemic school” means a non-government primary school, or a non-government secondary school, which is included in an approved school system and which the Minister declares to be a systemic school for the purposes of this Act;
“year to which this Act applies” means the year that commenced on 1 January 1976.
(2) A reference in this Act to primary education or secondary education shall, in relation to students who, by reason of their being handicapped children, require special educational treatment, be read as including a reference to education which the Minister declares to be education of a kind that should be treated as primary education or secondary education, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act.
(3) A reference in this Act to a building project shall, except where the context otherwise requires, be read as including a project that is in part a building project and in part an equipment project.
(4) In the application of a provision of this Act in relation to any time occurring, or any period commencing, before the commencing day—
(a) a reference in the provision to an approved school system shall be read as a reference to a school system which the Minister, on or after the commencing day, declares to be an approved school system for the purposes of this Act;
(b) a reference in the provision to the approved authority of a school system or of a non-government school shall be read as a reference to the person who, or body which, the Minister, on or after the commencing day, declares to be the approved authority of that school system or of that school, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act;
(c) a reference in the provision to a systemic school shall be read as a reference to a school included in a school system which the Minister, on or after the commencing day, declares to be a systemic school for the purposes of this Act;
(d) a reference in the provision to a non-systemic school shall be read as a reference to a non-government primary school or a non-government secondary school which the Minister does not, on or after the commencing day, declare to be a systemic school for the purposes of this Act;
(e) a reference in the provision to a disadvantaged school shall be read as a reference to a school which the Minister, on or after the commencing day, declares to be a disadvantaged school for the purposes of this Act;
(f) a reference in the provision to a special school shall be read as a reference to a school which the Minister, on or after the commencing day, declares to be a special school for the purposes of this Act; and
(g) a reference in the provision to an approved education centre shall be read as a reference to an education centre which, on or after the commencing day, is approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
(5) Unless the contrary intention appears—
(a) references in this Act to government primary schools and to government secondary schools shall not be taken, by reason of the express references in this Act to government disadvantaged schools and to government special schools, as not including references to disadvantaged schools and special schools that are government primary schools or government secondary schools;
(b) references in this Act to non-government primary schools and to non-government secondary schools shall not be taken, by reason of the express references in this Act to non-government disadvantaged schools and to non-government special schools, as not including references to disadvantaged schools and special schools that are non-government primary schools or non-government secondary schools;
(c).references in this Act to systemic schools shall not be taken, by reason of the express references in this Act to systemic disadvantaged schools, as not including references to disadvantaged schools and special schools that are systemic schools; and
(d) references in this Act to non-systemic schools shall not be taken, by reason of the express references in this Act to non-systemic disadvantaged schools, as not including references to disadvantaged schools and special schools that are non-systemic schools.
Minister may declare schools to be disadvantaged schools.
(a) the students, or a substantial number of the students, at a school are members of a community which is, for social, economic, ethnic, geographic, cultural or lingual reasons, or for similar reasons, of such a kind that the capacity of the students to take advantage of educational opportunities ordinarily available at schools in the relevant State is below average;
(b) in the case of a government school, the State Education Minister for the relevant State informs the Commonwealth Education Minister that the students, or a substantial number of the students, at the school are members of such a community; and
(c) the Commonwealth Education Minister is of the opinion, in the case of either a government school or a non-government school, that the school should, for any of the reasons referred to in paragraph (a), be treated as a disadvantaged school for the purposes of this Act,
the Commonwealth Education Minister may declare the school to be a disadvantaged school for the purposes of this Act.
PART II—GENERAL BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT GRANTS
Grants for buildings and equipment projects in connexion with government schools.
(2) The Minister shall not authorize the payment of an amount to a State under sub-section (1) unless the Minister is satisfied that the amount will be applied for the purpose of meeting commitments already undertaken or to be undertaken not later than 31 December 1976.
(3) The financial assistance to a State constituted by a payment of moneys under sub-section (1) (in this section referred to as the “relevant financial assistance”) is granted on the conditions that—
(a) the relevant financial assistance will, without undue delay, be applied by the State for the purpose of meeting expenditure in respect of building projects and equipment projects in connexion with government primary schools, and building projects and equipment projects in connexion with government secondary schools, in the State, other than any project the sole or principal object, or one of the principal objects, of which is to provide housing or other residential accommodation in any capital city for teaching or other staff;
(b) the State will cause to be furnished to the Minister (not later than 30 June 1977 or such later date as the Minister approves)—
(i) a certificate by an authorized person to the effect that the person has satisfied himself that the relevant financial assistance has been applied by the State for the purpose referred to in paragraph (a); and
(ii) a statement in writing that specifies—
(A) the projects (not including a project the total expenditure in connexion with which was less than $20,000) in respect of which the relevant financial assistance has been applied, the amount so applied in respect of each of the projects and the total of those amounts; and
(B) the amount of the relevant financial assistance applied in respect of projects the total expenditure in connexion with each of which was l
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.