Examining Private School Compliance with Education Law

The Department of Education (Cth) engaged a compliance audit of private schools under the Australian Education Act 2013 and related regulations.

Engagement Objectives

• Assess compliance of private schools with ongoing requirements of the Australian Education Act 2013 and the Australian Education Regulations 2023 (collectively referred hereto as “the Act and related regulation”) during a specific period of time.
  • Not-for-profit—subsection 75 (3) of the Act and section 26 of the related regulation
  • Financial viability—subsection 75 (4) of the Act and section 27 of the related regulation
  • Fit and proper person requirement—subsection 75 (5) of the Act and section 28 of the related regulation
  • Use of funds—subsection 78 (2) (a) of the Act and subsection 29 (1) of the related regulation
  • Financial accountability/record keeping—section 78 of the Act and section 37 of the related regulation
  • Other matters—conflict of interest, related party transactions and arrangements, service agreements, financial management, board governance and constitution.
• Issue limited assurance reports under ASAE 3100 Compliance Engagements.

Engagement Approach

We completed the following, among other procedures, to achieve the engagement objectives:

• assessed whether money derived from or relating to each private school has been applied for its purposes or has been distributed (whether directly or indirectly) to its owner or any other person.
• assessed whether the private school may need to be wound up
• assessed whether the affairs of the private school are under any form of external control under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory
• assessed whether the liabilities of the private school are greater than its assets
• assessed whether the private school is unable to pay its debts as and when they fall due for payment
• assessed whether the private school has governance arrangements in place, including arrangements to receive independent and professional advice about the way in which the person complies with its obligations under the Act
• assessed whether records were kept for seven years, relating to compliance with the Act and related regulation, its financial administration, enrolments and attendance records (Regulation 37).

Engagement Results

Key findings from our assessment were reported to the Department of Education (CTH) and will be taking further action necessary because of our report. Our findings provided improvement opportunities to the private schools assisting them comply with the Act and related regulation.

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