Policy last updated
10 February 2026
Scope
- Schools
- School councils
Policy
From the 2026 school year, school council members, except VIT registered teachers and students, are required to hold a Working with Children Clearance (WWCC) (either a volunteer WWCC, or employee WWCC if they already have this), when nominating for a role on school council. Current (as at commencement of Term 1 2026) school council members are not required to obtain a WWCC until they nominate for re-election/co-option. This policy, guidance and resources have been updated to reflect this change and other changes made to Ministerial Order 1280 (Constitution of Government School Councils) 2020.
Policy
This policy sets out school council composition requirements (including membership categories) and the roles and responsibilities of office bearer positions.
Summary
- Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils (Ministerial Order 1280) specifies the total size of the council and the number of members in each school council membership category.
- School councils comprise mandatory membership categories: parents, school employees and for schools with a Year 7 cohort or above, students (unless the school has a student category exemption).
- School councils may also co-opt community members to the council if the council has one or more community member positions listed in Schedule 1 of Ministerial Order 1280.
- It is mandatory to have a school council president, and an executive officer (the principal).
- It is mandatory for all parent and community school council members to hold a Working with Children Clearance (WWCC).
- School councils can apply to add, remove or restructure the positions on their school council. This is known as a Schedule 5 application to change a school council’s size and composition, and must be submitted to the department.
Details
School councils comprise parents, the principal, staff, and students if the school has enrolments in Year 7 and above. Many school councils also have community members.
Ministerial Order 1280 specifies the total size of the council and the number of members in each school council membership category. This is also referred to as a Council Constituting Order.
Government schools with a student cohort of Year 7 and above will have 2 student positions on school council, unless the school has received an exemption from the Regional Director in relation to the student membership requirements.
Other members can be co-opted by the school council within the limits of Ministerial Order 1280.
Membership categories
School councils are made up of the following membership categories.
A mandated elected parent membership category
Parent members must comprise more than one-third of the school council's total membership as detailed in Ministerial Order 1280. Parent members within this category are elected by parents of students currently at the school.
A parent member can be any person who has parental responsibility for a student enrolled at the school.
The only exception are parents who work for the school their child attends and meet the definition of a department employee provided below. These parents are only eligible to seek election as a school employee member.
Department employee means a person employed:
- under Part 2.4 of the Education and Training Reform Act (2006) or by the Secretary under the Public Administration Act 2004; or
- for 8 hours or more per week in either an ongoing capacity or for a fixed term of at least 90 days.
A department employee includes a person employed by a school council (for example, maintenance or grounds person, cleaner) for 8 hours or more per week in either an ongoing capacity or for a fixed term of at least 90 days but does not include a person who works at the school as a contractor).
Parents who work for the Department of Education, but not at the school their child attends, are classified as ‘department employee parent members’. They are counted in the parent membership category but are considered department employees when calculating quorum for school council meetings. Therefore, schools have a limit on the number of department employee parents they can have on council at any one time. This is outlined in Schedule 2 of Minister Order 1280 , in the maximum department employee parent column of the school council variable membership table.
A parent member of school council whose child no longer attends the school is no longer eligible to serve as a parent member. However, if the child finishes school at the end of a normal school year, the parent may continue on the school council until the next election, at the beginning of the next year.
A mandated elected school employee membership category
Members of the school employee member category make up no more than one third of council membership according to Ministerial Order 1280.
School employee members are elected by employees at the school, except for the principal who is an automatic school employee member of school council as the council’s executive officer.
Members under the school employee category include the principal of the school and department employees engaged in work at, and for, the school. The principal and department employees of a school are, and can only be, school employee members of the school council.
‘Department employee’:
- means a person employed:
- under Part 2.4 of the Education and Training Reform Act (2006) or by the Secretary under the Public Administration Act 2004 or
- for 8 hours or more per week in either an ongoing capacity or a fixed term of at least 90 days
- includes a person employed by a school council of a government school (for example, maintenance or grounds person, cleaner) for 8 hours or more per week in either an ongoing capacity or for a fixed term of at least 90 days.
Note: A person who works at the school as a contractor or an employee of a contractor, for example, a parent employed by a company to manage the school canteen, is not a department employee.
A mandated student membership category
Schools with a Year 7 and above student cohort have 2 student member positions included in their Council Constituting Order (size and composition), which can be filled by students enrolled at the school who are in Year 7 and above. There is no minimum age requirement.
Student members of school council have the same role and responsibilities as other council members including full voting rights. However, student members are not eligible to hold any office bearer position.
If a Year 12 student, who has been elected to the student member category, has completed the normal school year and ceases to be enrolled at the school, that student may continue to be a member of the council until the next council election, at the beginning of the next year.
Student member category – alternative arrangement requirements
Some school councils are exempt from having 2 student members on their school council, these schools are outlined in Schedule 3 of Ministerial Order 1280.
Schools who are finding it challenging to fill the student membership positions or wish to seek an exemption from having student members on their school council can contact the School Operations and Governance Unit for advice on 03 7022 5666 or school.council@education.vic.gov.au
Community membership category
The community member category is an optional category for school councils. Schools must have a community member position included within their School Council Constituting Order to co-opt a community member onto their school council.
Community members are co-opted onto council, usually at the first meeting of the newly elected council.
Community members can be any member of the public except Department of Education employees. School councils typically co-opt community members to bring special skills, interests or lived experience to the council including:
- members from parent clubs
- accountants, digital technology skills, project management, financial management, local community knowledge, previous experience on school council
- members of under-represented parent or local community cohorts.
Community members generally have the same rights, responsibilities and terms of office as elected members unless otherwise provided in Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils .
Nominee membership category
A very small number of school councils have a nominee member category. Nominee members are appointed by organisations authorised by the Minister for Education. Principals with nominee members on school council are strongly encouraged to review the terms of appointment of the nominees at the start of each school year and action as required.
Nominee members generally have the same rights, responsibilities and terms of office as elected members unless otherwise provided in Ministerial Order 1280.
Eligibility requirements for school council members
A person is not eligible to be a school council member if the person:
- is or has been insolvent under administration within the last 3 years
- has been found guilty or convicted of an indictable offence or an offence that would be an indictable offence if it had been committed in Victoria
- is subject to any medical condition that makes them unable to fulfil the role of a school council member
- is a registrable offender within the meaning of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004
- does not hold a valid Working with Children Clearance (WWCC) under the Worker Screening Act 2020 (school staff that have an active VIT registration and student members are not required to have a WWCC)
- Note: current (as at commencement of Term 1 2026) school council members are not required to obtain a WWCC until they nominate for re-election/co-option
- is subject to a court order that would prohibit them from attending school council meetings in person on school grounds (regardless of whether meetings are held in person or virtually).
Working with Children Clearance for school council members
Nominees for school council must hold a valid Working with Children Clearance, excluding teachers with an active VIT registration and students.
The Working with Children Check is free for volunteers such as school council members.
The process for administering and ensuring that school council members have valid Working with Children Clearances is the same as for any other volunteer.
Individuals seeking to join school council including through co-option must:
- nominate the Department of Education as the organisation they are working for when applying for a Working with Children Check
- provide evidence of their Working with Children Clearance when they complete the nomination or co-option form for school council).
For more information on how to comply with legal requirements for undertaking suitability checks for volunteers (including school council members), refer to the Working with Children Checks and Other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors policy.
Terms of office on school council
School council members are elected (or co-opted, in the case of community members) for approximately a 2-year term.
Usually half the membership expires each year creating vacancies for the annual school council election.
The terms of office of community or co-opted members are the same as those of elected school council members.
Office bearers: School council positions of responsibility
Office bearers are elected by school council members at the first council meeting after the declaration of the election poll.
Office bearers hold office until they resign as an office bearer or until they cease to hold office as a school council member or until the next election of office bearers, whichever occurs first.
Office bearers serve a one-year term of office. Student members are ineligible to hold an office bearer position.
School councils must include these positions:
- President: parent member (non-department employee) or community member who is chairperson of school council meetings
- Executive officer: the principal.
Other positions may include:
- Vice president: parent member (non-department employee) or community member
- Treasurer: elected from council members, preferably a parent member or community member. The business manager/bursar cannot hold this position. The treasurer may also be appointed as the convenor of the finance sub-committee
- Minute taker/Secretary: the school council member undertaking this role records the actions and discussion in school council meetings. It can be filled by any member of school council (other than a student member) or a non-council member. If this role is filled by a non-council member, this person is required to be a silent observer and has no voting rights.
Role of principal as executive officer of school council
The principal, as an ex-officio member and executive officer of school council, is included in the school employee category. The principal is responsible for:
- providing school council with timely advice about educational and other matters
- preparing the school council’s agenda in consultation with the president
- reporting regularly to council about the school’s performance against the school strategic plan
- ensuring school council decisions are acted on
- providing adequate support and resources for the conduct of school council meetings
- communicating with the school council president about school council business
- ensuring that new school council members are inducted
- liaising with the department about school council related matters
- ensuring school council is aware of their obligations to comply with relevant department policies.
Role of the school council president
The role of the school council president is to:
- chair school council meetings effectively (ensure that everyone has a say in meetings and that decisions are properly understood and well recorded)
- be a signatory to contracts, the school strategic plan and financial accounts
- together with the school council, endorse the school strategic plan and annual report and communicate this information to the school community
- ensure school council stays focused on improving student outcomes
- with the principal, be school council’s spokesperson and official representative on public occasions
- with the principal, confirm in the school’s annual report that the school has met VRQA registration requirements
- when votes are tied, have a second or casting vote
- access email communications each week from the department through the president’s eduMail account and communicate these to school council members where relevant.
Casual vacancies
A casual vacancy arises (Division 6 Clause 24.1, Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils ) when a school council member:
- becomes insolvent under administration
- resigns in writing to the school principal or school council president
- is found guilty or convicted of an indictable offence or an offence that would be an indicatable offence if it had been committed in Victoria
- becomes subject to a court order which prevents them from attending the school in-person (regardless of whether meetings are held in person or virtually)
- has their Working with Children Clearance suspended or revoked
- is a registrable offender within the meaning of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004
- is subject to any medical condition that would make them unable to fulfil the role of a member of school council
- ceases to be eligible for election or co-option to their membership category
- is absent from 3 consecutive school council meetings without prior special leave being granted by the school council
- is found to have been ineligible for election, co-option, or appointment to the school council at the time of their election, co-option, or appointment
- in the school employee member category takes leave from employment with the department (including secondment) for more than 6 months
- in the parent member category, becomes a department employee during their term of office where this change of status causes the school council to have too many department employee parent members and therefore causes the school council to be in breach of its constituting order. Principals are advised to remind school council members that they must advise the council if they take up a position with the department during their term. Refer to the mandated elected parent membership category section of this policy for further information
- in the student member category goes on any form of leave from the school (including an exchange) for a period of more than 6 months
- in the community member category becomes a student member during their term of office
- is part of a school council which has nominee members, a casual vacancy is created when a member of another membership category (for example, parent, community), is appointed as a nominee member of the school council or where a nominee member becomes a parent member, school employee member, or community member of the school council
- dies.
Filling vacancies through co-option
Community members are appointed to the school council through co-option.
However, if a casual vacancy arises in the parent, school employee or student member category, the school council can co-opt an eligible person into the vacant position.
A motion is presented to the school council to co-opt the identified eligible person. The motion is seconded and then voted upon. The school council process and decision to co-opt a new member onto school council must be recorded in the meeting minutes.
Regardless of a how a vacancy arises, the co-option process remains the same.
Prospective school council members require a valid Working with Children Clearance before they can be co-opted onto school council. Schools can ensure prospective members are eligible for school council through requesting they complete either:
- Form 15: Co-option to a community member position on school council
- Form 16: Co-option to a casual vacancy on school council
For further information on each membership category for the purposes of school council election process, refer to the School Council – Elections policy.
Privacy and records management
All personal information, including personally identifiable information collected as part of this policy must be handled in accordance with the Schools' privacy and Protecting personally identifiable information guideline.
All school council records must be managed in accordance with the Records Management policy and guidelines.
Adding, removing or restructuring positions on a school council (Schedule 5)
School councils may apply to add, remove or restructure their positions. These changes require a Schedule 5 application and approval by the minister (or their delegate).
Requirements for Schedule 5 applications
School councils must meet the following requirements when submitting a Schedule 5 application.
The proposed new council size must align with one of the options listed in School council variable membership table (Schedule 2) :
- A Schedule 5 application can only be submitted once in any 12-month period.
- Applications cannot be lodged in term 1 until the school council election process has concluded.
- Any proposed change must be approved by:
- at least 75% of the occupied school council positions (vacant positions and student member positions do not count) or
- if special circumstances exist, no less than 50% of members in occupied school council member positions as at the date of the council’s decision to apply for a change in membership, size or composition.
- The application must provide a clear rationale for the proposed change (for example, we are applying to increase the number of parents member positions due to rising enrolments and requests for greater parent representation on school council).
- Before submitting a Schedule 5 request, schools must ensure that current school council membership, including vacancies, is accurately reflected in their Declaration of School Council .
School councils are strongly encouraged to consider strategies to fill existing vacancies or operate with vacant positions before proceeding with a Schedule 5 application. The School Operations and Governance Unit can advise on whether a Schedule 5 application is necessary.
How to lodge the application
- Complete the Schedule 5 application form and pass a resolution with the support of at least 75% of the occupied school council members or request an exemption from this requirement.
- Send the completed application form to school.council@education.vic.gov.au
A briefing will be prepared by the department for the Minister or delegate’s consideration of the application requiring approval. The principal will be advised of the outcome of the application.
Related policies
- School Council – Elections
- School Council – Meetings
- School Council – Overview
- School Council – Powers and Functions
- School Council – Training and Good Governance
Relevant legislation
Guidance
Guidance
There is no further guidance for this topic.
For more information, refer to Resources tab.
Resources
Resources
Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils – schedules relevant to composition and officer bearers
- School council variable membership table (Schedule 2) – details school council size and configuration options
- Application to change the size or composition of the school council (Schedule 5) – this form needs to be completed and submitted to the department where school council is considering any change to their membership size or configuration
- School Council Portal – declaration of school council (formerly Schedule 7) – login to the secure online database with the principal’s email and password details, to view or edit school council’s membership form
- Form 15: Co-option to a community member position on school council
- Form 16: Co-option to a casual vacancy on school council
School council president email details
Each school has an email account specifically for the school council president. To create or update the school council president's email account details refer to the eduMail (employee email) policy.
Resetting the eduMail password for the school council president is the same as resetting the password for staff.
Reviewed 08 February 2026