Standards for non-government schools

The Minister for Education and Training determines the registration standards which apply to all non-government schools.

In August 2019 the Minister determined registration standards effective from 1 January 2020. Significant changes include:

• requiring all non-government schools to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations;
• amending the list of critical and emergency incidents which must be reported to the Director General;
• explaining the record which must be kept of staff working with Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students; and
• further defining the eligibility requirements for enrolment in online-only learning.

A detailed summary of the changes is also available.

Although all schools must be compliant with the new standards from the start of the 2020 school year, the following should be noted in respect of Independent schools applying for registration renewal:

• Schools whose registrations expire on or before 30 June 2020 will have their renewal applications assessed against the 2018-19 standards.
• Schools whose registrations expire on or after 1 July 2020 will have their renewal applications assessed against the 2020 standards.

The 2020 registration standards and the information in the Guide have been developed in consultation with the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia and Catholic Education Western Australia.