What business managers need to know for Term 1

A common question at the start of each year is whether funding can be adjusted early if enrolments have changed significantly. The short answer is yes – in certain circumstances.

At the state level, schools can seek an early adjustment if enrolments have changed by more than 15 per cent, particularly where there has been a significant increase. At the Commonwealth level, schools must submit a business case explaining why the enrolment change has materially affected their funding entitlement. If your numbers look different to last year, it’s important to act early and notify the relevant authorities.

Term 1 is also a critical time to focus on CSEF. This funding supports eligible students from families holding means-tested healthcare cards, those in temporary foster care, and certain recently arrived or temporary residents.

Schools have until June to apply on behalf of families, but now is the ideal time to start collecting information from parents and submitting data to the state department. Making early progress helps ensure no eligible student misses out.

There are three major data collections schools must complete during Term 1:

• The state census at the end of February (mandatory, though not used for funding)
• Parental and student name and address data, used by the Commonwealth to calculate Capacity to Contribute (CTC) scores
• Student background characteristics data, provided to ACARA, ISV and the VCAA, including for NAPLAN purposes