TASSO acknowledges the government’s commitment to parental and community consultation in the drafting of the Act.
Our concerns revolve around the very tight deadline in reviewing an act that comprises 252 Sections and six schedules over 319 pages.
The draft Bill was issued for review on 14 March with final submissions closing on 13 May – a mere nine-week period, during which we have Easter and school holidays.
We are concerned that this is insufficient time to allow comprehensive stakeholder consultation and feedback.
There are a number of new concepts in the draft Bill that require clarification and consultation.
Some examples:
- The draft Bill legislates that School Associations are to be unincorporated. At present they are encouraged to be incorporated to provide protection to the members and to allow certain advantages to be taken with the use of ABN numbers.
- The re-assignment of the powers and duties of Associations from the Act to the Regulations.
- We are concerned that parental choice may not have been specifically legislated for in the section on home areas. The draft Bill does not specify that parents have a choice as to where their child is enrolled.
“It would be great to have more time to consult with our stakeholders” said TASSO President Ant Dry.
Click here to view the PDF version