Student Resource Package – Managing the Budget

Policy

This policy provides schools with information about managing their budgets.

Details

This section outlines some further requirements for schools in managing their budget and provides advice and further detail regarding specific aspects of the Student Resource Package (SRP) and staffing costs.

The Guidance tab provides information on the following categories:

• Salary and Related Expenditure – reports and processes to assist schools with the SRP Budget Management
• Relief Staffing – issues relating to teacher and other staff leave management
• Surplus/Deficit – credit financial position of a school
• Credit Carryover Policy
• Reports – some of the key SRP reports
• Planning – SRP modelling tool for school
• Reconciliation – the annual reconciliation cycle used to finalise the position of a school at the end of a budget year.
• Cash – Quarterly Cash Grants, offline payments and other information about cash payments
• Deficit Management and Workforce Bridging – assistance provisions for schools with deficit or workforce management issues
• Principal Classification Budget – remuneration range for each principal position
• Enrolment Variation Funding

In particular, the information in the guidance on how to manage the budget sets out the following requirements for schools.

Workforce planning

• All schools are expected to have planning strategies in place to manage their workforce requirements within available funds, including adequate provision for relief staffing.
  • Casual relief teaching staff are to be provided only when face-to-face teaching is required and where no internal resources are available.
  • School workforce plans must include contingency planning to deal with changing circumstances, including factors such as enrolment variations and changing workforce commitments.
• Schools participating in re-organisations are expected to undertake workforce planning within their overall budget allocation while giving due consideration to clauses contained in the department's Human Resources School Merger or Closure — Staffing Guide.
• Teacher relief for periods in excess of 30 working days must be through fixed-term arrangements on eduPay. If a casual relief teacher is used initially because the absence is believed to be short-term, the employment must be converted, where the teacher is absent on personal leave, to fixed-term immediately when it is recognised that the absence will extend beyond 30 days. Refer to the Casual Relief policy.
• A school is responsible for administering pay and workplace entitlements for the period of employment, as recorded in eduPay, undertaken at that school.

Budgeting requirements

• Actual salary costs on eduPay are charged to schools each year according to the actual number of working days in the year. Schools must take into account the minor variations in working days as part of their normal budget planning.
• Credit/cash transfer (CCT) requests must be based on the annual amount of the transfer (not monthly or quarterly) except where the transfer relates to a surplus brought forward from the previous year or an accumulated balance.
• All cash payments must be recorded appropriately in CASES21 Finance using the general ledger and sub-program codes provided in the EFT remittance advice descriptions.
• Where there is insufficient overall credit surplus in the SRP to employ relief, schools must have a deficit management strategy in place to reduce the deficit and to meet relief contingencies, having a view to using both the credit and cash components of the SRP.

Related policies

• Student Resource Package – Overview
• Student Resource Package – Core Student Learning Allocation funding (Student Based Funding)
• Student Resource Package – Equity Funding (Student Based Funding)
• Student Resource Package – School Infrastructure
• Student Resource Package – School Specific Programs
• Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Other contacts

For regional contacts, refer to Office locations.

Guidance

This guidance contains the following chapters:

• Salary and related expenditure
• Relief staffing
• Surplus or deficit
• Credit Carryover Policy
• Reports
• Planning
• Reconciliation
• Cash
• Deficit management and workforce bridging
• Principal classification budget
• Enrolment variation funding

Salary and Related Expenditure

This section on salary and related expenditure in the Student Resource Package (SRP) includes guidance on transfers between schools, resigning and fixed-term teaching staff, higher duties and travel allowances.

• Actuals
• Projections
• Transfers between schools (including transfers over vacation periods)
• Resigning teaching staff (including vacation periods)
• Fixed-term teaching staff (including vacation periods)
• Higher duties (including vacation periods)
• Salary mischarges
• On-costs: SRP and student support services
• Travel allowance
• Principal salary charge

Actuals

Salary charges to schools are based on actual payroll debits for individual staff as reflected on eduPay. This includes the actual cost of annual leave loading and all allowances, such as higher duties and special payments.

Staff may choose to package part of their salary in the form of non-cash benefits. Therefore, the charge to the school for an individual teacher may be a regular salary, or a combination of salary and non-cash benefits.

Schools are liable for the entire employment period of a staff member at that school, as defined in eduPay.

Projections

The SRP School Budget Management Report includes an estimate of expenditure for the full year, using the total of year-to-date charges plus a projection to 31 December. To facilitate this, salary figures for future pay periods are generated for each employee based on the latest payroll data.

Transfers between schools (including transfers over vacation periods)

Schools are liable for the charging of an ongoing staff member from the date of transfer until the return to base-school date in eduPay. The actual transfer date should be entered in accordance with eduPay guidelines and should be consistent with Recruitment in Schools.

Note: Principals of both schools are responsible for confirming the start and end date prior to the commencement of a transfer. In most cases this would be at the start of a term/school year and returning at the start of a term /school year to ensure that charging of vacation periods is against the correct school

Example 1 — End of year vacation

Ongoing staff member John Teacher is transferring from Orange Primary School to Blue Primary School to fill a one year fixed-term contract. Start and end dates have been agreed by both principals and entered into eduPay. Based on the eduPay data, John’s salary is therefore charged as follows:

• Blue Primary School (one-year fixed term position) will pay John’s salary from the first day of Term 1 to the day before Term 1 starts in the next year.
• Orange Primary School (John’s base school) will pay John’s salary from the first day of Term 1 (of the next year) on an ongoing basis.

Example 2 — Term 1 vacation

Ongoing staff member, Jane Support, is transferring from her base school, Red Secondary College, to Green Secondary College to fill a fixed-term contract for Term 1. Start and end dates have been agreed by both principals and entered into eduPay. Based on the eduPay data, Jane’s salary is therefore charged as follows:

• Green Secondary College (fixed term for Term 1) will pay Jane’s salary from the first day of Term 1 to the last day of the school Term 1 school holidays.
• Red Secondary College (Jane’s base school) will pay Jane’s salary from the first day of Term 2 on an ongoing basis.

Example 3 — Negotiated transfer date

Ongoing staff member, Joseph Teacher, is transferring from Green Secondary College to Red Secondary College to fill a one year fixed-term contract.

The principal at Red Secondary College wants Joseph to start work at the school early to assist in preparing for a new program at the school. The start date is the 16 January and end date (return to base school) is the 15 January the following year. Both principals have agreed to these dates and they have been entered into eduPay. Based on the dates entered into eduPay, Joseph’s salary is therefore charged as follows:

• Red Secondary College will pay Joseph’s salary from 16 January until 15 January the following year.
• Green Secondary College (Joseph’s base school) will pay Joseph’s salary from 16 January in the following year on an ongoing basis.

Resigning teaching staff (including vacation periods)

Example 1 — Staff member resigns on first day of Term 1

Staff member Lyn Teacher is resigning from Orange Primary School on the first day of Term 1 (further information can be found at Cessation of Employment — Teaching Service). Lyn is therefore charged as follows:

• Orange Primary School will pay Lyn’s salary from the first day of vacation to the last day of vacation.

Fixed-term teaching staff (including vacation periods)

Recruitment in Schools provides schools with clear guidelines on fixed-term teacher vacancies. The duration of the vacancy must include relevant school vacation periods. A Fixed term Teacher Vacancy Ready Reckoner is available at Recruitment in Schools to assist schools in establishing the appropriate employment end date. Dates are reflected in eduPay and used to determine how schools should be charged.

Example 1 — End of year vacation (fixed-term staff member worked Term 3 and Term 4)

Orange Primary School fixed-term staff member, Elizabeth Teacher, has a new fixed-term position at Blue Primary School. She has worked as a fixed-term staff member at Orange starting on the first day of Term 3 and had no other employment before that date. Using the fixed-term ready reckoner, it is determined that, as Elizabeth did not work for the entire year, she is only paid through the holiday period to the end of her leave entitlement. Based on the dates entered into eduPay, Elizabeth is therefore charged as follows:

• Orange Primary School will be charged Elizabeth’s salary from the first day of vacation to the end of leave entitlement.
• Elizabeth will not be paid from the end of leave entitlement to the last day of vacation and therefore there is no cost for any school to incur.
• Blue Primary school will be charged for Elizabeth’s salary from the first day of Term 1 until the end of her contract.

Example 2 — Term 1 vacation

Fixed-term staff member, Jane Support, has a new contract at Green Secondary College for Term 2. She currently has a contract with Red Secondary College for Term 1. Based on the dates entered into eduPay, Jane is therefore charged as follows:

• Red Secondary College will be charged Jane’s salary from the first day of Term 1 to the last day of vacation.
• From the first day of Term 2 onwards Green Secondary College will be charged Jane’s salary.

Higher duties (including vacation periods)

An employee in the principal or teacher class, who is assigned higher duties for a period that includes a school vacation period, will continue to be paid the allowance during the school vacation period. Higher duties assignments commence from the date of taking up the duty and cease at the end of the assignment period, or the last day of the school year, whichever is the earlier. Where an employee is in receipt of a higher duties allowance for at least one month immediately prior to the last day of the school year, he/she shall be paid the allowance to 31 December of that year. For more information refer to Higher Duties — Teaching Service.

Example 1 — Term vacation

Ongoing staff member, Edward Teacher, has been given higher duties as an Assistant Principal at Green Secondary College for Term 2. He is currently an ongoing teacher at Red Secondary College. For more information refer to: Transfer and Promotion for Teaching Service (including over vacation periods).

Based on the dates entered into eduPay, Edward is therefore charged as follows:

• Green Secondary College will be charged Edward’s salary from the first day of Term 2 until the last day of vacation.
• Red Secondary College will be charged from the first day of Term 3 onwards for Edward’s substantive salary.

Salary mischarges

Salary mischarging amendments can be submitted by schools via eduPay for situations such as staff charged to the incorrect budget category, for example Teaching Support to Integration Aide or to arrange split ledgers between schools.

For amendments related to leave, refer to: Relief Staffing.

On-costs: SRP

Funds are included in the budget to meet salary on-costs associated with the payment of salaries and allowances on eduPay. These on-costs comprise payroll tax and superannuation. This funding is not separately itemised within the budget. When hiring staff, it is important to factor in these on-costs.

Superannuation

Superannuation is cost neutral as it is funded and charged at the same level based on the total credit allocation within the SRP. The rate at which superannuation is funded and charged each year can fluctuate. Superannuation expenditure is shown as a separate line in the School Budget Management Report. If salary expenditure exceeds the credit allocation, then additional superannuation may be charged (refer to the next section). The superannuation rate for 2024 is 9.8%.

Calculation

Superannuation = ([Total credit budget] − [Workers’ compensation budget]) × [Superannuation rate]

Additional super

If a school’s credit expenditure generates a superannuation charge in excess of the funded superannuation amount, then additional superannuation may be charged. Any carry forward surplus on which superannuation was charged, using previous year(s) prevailing rates, is excluded from the calculation. This adjustment cannot make the additional superannuation figure negative and additional super cannot be zero or less.

Calculation

Additional superannuation = (Credit expenditure × Superannuation rate) − Superannuation

Additional super (with a surplus carried forward) = (Credit expenditure × Superannuation rate) − Superannuation − (Surplus carried forward × Previous year superannuation rate)

Where:

• Credit expenditure = Total credit expenditure excluding Workers’ Compensation, Teaching Practice Supervision, additional superannuation, Credit/Cash Transfers or administrative adjustments.
• Superannuation rate = Superannuation rate for the current budget year.
• Previous year superannuation rate = Superannuation rate for the previous budget year.
• Superannuation = Superannuation amount charged to the school.
• Surplus carried forward = Surplus figure carried forward from previous year.

Payroll tax

Funding for payroll tax is included within the budget and is based on the salary expenditure for a school. The payroll tax rate for 2024 is 5.40%.

Calculation

Payroll tax = (Salary expenditure − Teaching practice) × Payroll tax rate

Where:

• Teaching practice = The teaching practice supervision credit expenditure line is excluded from the payroll tax calculation.
• Payroll tax rate = Payroll tax rate for the current budget year.

Sabbatical

The participation of teachers in the sabbatical leave scheme is cost neutral to the SRP over the period of the scheme. Teachers participating in the scheme are charged to the SRP at 100 per cent of their salary at their relevant classification. The charge represents the actual cost of the teacher to the school over this period. When the staff member is on sabbatical leave, or receives a pay-out of their sabbatical, no charge is made to the school.

On-costs

On-costs are calculated as a single line which can be seen on your Budget Management Report. When budgeting to hire staff, it is important to factor in these on-costs.

The on-costs figure is based on actual salary expenditure and, as such, it may vary throughout the course of the year based on projected expenditure.

Travel allowance

Travel allowance will be charged as a deduction against the school’s cash line for the impacted program. This can be reviewed throughout the year on the School Budget Management and Cash reports. For information on administration and processes relating to travel allowance in eduPay refer to Travel and Personal Expenses — Teaching Service.

Principal salary charge

Special charging arrangements apply for the principal position in the SRP to ensure that the cost of the movement of principals’ salaries within classification scales is not borne by schools. This is achieved by ensuring the principal salary charge is consistent with the system of funding. Funding for the principal’s position is incorporated into the SRP formulae through the per-student rates and the Enrolment-Linked Base.

The principal's salary will be charged to the school according to the formulae below for primary, secondary and primary/secondary schools. In this way, the charge for the principal's salary is aligned with the amount effectively funded into the overall SRP model.

*Rounded to the whole dollar

**Rounded to two decimal places

Relief staffing

Funds are incorporated into the Student Resource Package (SRP) to enable schools to manage all of their short and long-term relief teaching requirements.

There are exceptions in the nominated leave items outlined below. Relief funds are incorporated throughout the SRP formulae and are not separately identified.

Long-term leave is defined as leave of greater than 30 consecutive school days.

• Relief planning
• Nominated leave items
• Relief funding
• Defence Force leave
• Long-term leave
• Identification of a replacement
• Trailing holidays
• Teaching scholarship scheme

Relief planning

As part of the relief planning process, principals should consider the duties and expertise of all staff and allocate tasks accordingly. A re-allocation of duties may be required to provide or maintain the desired curriculum or support provision in the school.

Replacement teaching staff are to be provided only when face-to-face teaching is required and where no internal resources are available. Contingency plans should be in place to provide for the temporary re-organisation of teaching programs and extras to maintain necessary face-to-face teaching.

It is expected that principals will develop a school-based staff replacement plan and make adequate provision for relief costs to be met from within the total credit component of their SRP. Special support arrangements operate in respect of long-term leave via the 'Long-term Leave Support Scheme’ detailed below.

Nominated leave items

Schools will be reimbursed for the cost of relief for the following types of leave:

• long service leave and paid parental absences, for example maternity, partner, other paid parental leave (over and under 30 days)
• workers’ compensation absences after the first 10 days (WorkCover threshold)
• Transport Accident Commission Leave
• major sporting competition leave.

Where leave is 30 working days or less the department's Schools Finance and Resources Branch will approve reimbursement from contingency funds, providing that relief is required (where no internal resources are available) and is employed. For leave over 30 days, funds will be allocated to cover the range of potential replacement costs, including fixed-term appointments and higher duties.

Where there is insufficient overall credit surplus in the SRP to employ relief, schools must have a deficit management strategy in place to reduce the deficit and to meet relief contingencies, having a view to using both the credit and cash components of the SRP. A summary of relief fund sources is provided in the table below.

A replacement can be a central or local/agency employee who meets the criteria below. The reimbursement will be cash or credit depending on the type of replacement nominated by the school. However, a cash reimbursement can only be for periods up to 30 school days. Schools are required to process and submit nominated replacement details on a regular basis and need to be submitted no later than by the end of the next term after the replacement took place.

Please note: the SRP leave reimbursement will only be provided where a teacher replaced a teacher and where an education support staff member replaced an education support staff member.

Cash reimbursements are subject to investigation which will be undertaken continuously throughout the year. Periodic and random checks will be made at schools to ensure the integrity of the process is maintained and schools maintain accountability for the submission process. Documentation will also be reviewed to ensure appropriate evidence is on file such as time sheets and invoices.

Relief funding

The following table summarises the funding source for each leave type for principals, teachers and education support officers:

*Funding of up to 5 days already funded in SRP.

** Identify replacement through the leave portal on the SRP website to claim leave for the holiday period.

*Funding of up to 30 days already funded in SRP.

** Identify replacement through the leave portal on the SRP website to claim leave for the holiday period.

Defence Force leave

Defence Force leave is unpaid; some teachers on Defence Force leave may receive make-up pay to cover the difference between their Defence Force salary and the department’s salary. Schools are to be fully reimbursed for this amount. To claim a reimbursement, a Service Desk Request should be submitted to the Schools Finance and Resources Branch.

For more information on Defence Force Leave, refer to Leave for Defence Reserve Service.

Long-term leave

During periods of extended paid leave for teachers, such as long service leave, there is normally an additional salary cost against eduPay. In addition to the salary of the teacher on leave, replacement costs arise from the appointment of fixed-term staff, payment of higher duties, time fraction increases or special payments.

Funds to meet these extra costs are not included in the SRP due to the highly variable impact of extended leave on individual schools. In these instances, separate administrative arrangements are in place for funding to be provided for replacement costs when the actual leave occurs.

For more information on short-term and long-term vacancies, please refer to Recruitment in Schools guidelines.

Teacher relief for periods in excess of 30 working days must be through fixed-term arrangements on eduPay. If a casual relief teacher is used initially because the absence is believed to be short-term, the employment must be converted, where the teacher is absent on personal leave, to fixed-term immediately when it is recognised that the absence will extend beyond 30 days. Refer to the Casual Relief Teachers policy.

The following funding arrangements operate for long-term leave over 30 days, including long-service leave, paid parental absences e.g. maternity leave, partner, other paid parental, Workers’ Compensation leave, Transport Accident Commission Leave and long-term sick leave:

• in the case of principals, classroom teachers and education support staff, the whole salary will be charged outside the SRP during the period of leave
• in the case of promotion level staff, the amount charged outside the SRP will equate to a Classroom Teacher CT2-6 plus the higher duties at the base level of the classification
• the salary leave loading (SLL) of the absent staff member or the replacement (smaller amount of 2) will be only charged outside if the employee is on leave in the pay period SLL is paid.

Under this arrangement, long-term leave will be charged outside the budget automatically when the leave occurs. The model allows budget flexibility for schools that may choose not to replace directly, who replace at lower cost, or who replace using a combination of means such as special payments and time fraction changes.

Long term part time sick leave

This is a special arrangement where an employee having taken a block of leave greater than 30 continuous school days is returning to school under an agreed part time arrangement. Requests must be submitted for approval by SFRB management and must be supported by appropriate documentation. If the submission is approved and replacements are to be placed against absences, the absences must first be entered in eduPay. Only absences entered in eduPay will be displayed in the leave portal.

Long-term leave support scheme premium

A long-term leave support scheme operates to support schools in the management of leave costs for both teachers and education support staff. The scheme effectively provides for schools to contribute a fixed annual premium towards the state-wide cost, rather than deal individually with potentially significant unplanned leave costs. The annual premium is displayed as a deduction in the cash section of a school’s SRP management report.

Long term leave support scheme rates 2024:

• Index-model specialist schools: $ per student (included in index): $221.13
• All other schools: % of the total credit component in the SRP: 1.92%

Leave capping

The following funding arrangements operate for leave where a credit reimbursement is made to the school.

In the case of school principals, classroom teacher, education support staff, and allied health staff based in schools, the whole salary will be charged outside the SRP during the period of leave.

In the case of promotion level staff (Assistant Principal, Leading Teacher and Learning Specialist), the amount charged outside the SRP will equate to a Classroom Teacher 2-6 plus the higher duties at the base level of the classification.

Where the absent staff member is not at the base level of the classification the school will still incur a residual cost due to the gap between the reimbursement rate and actual salary cost.

Leave reimbursement cash (short term leave)

Leave reimbursement cash (short-term leave) is a process whereby schools can apply for the reimbursement of nominated leave items that are less than 30 continuous working days.

If schools experience extraordinary periods of short-term paid leave they should log a call for alternative support with the Schools Finance and Resources Branch at the Services Portal or on 1800 641 943.

Leave reimbursement cash rates

The following table contains the rates at which schools will be reimbursed for relief staff; these figures include superannuation and other on-costs.

For information on payment rates for relief staff, please refer to Salary rates.

Identification of a replacement

Central (credit) replacements are identified by any of the following methods using data from eduPay:

• increase in time fraction
• transfer from another school
• temporary resumption from unpaid leave
• fixed-term contract.

Local (cash) replacements are identified by any of the following methods using data from CASES21:

• local payroll payment (eduPay school local payroll)
• creditor invoice payment (agency).

Supporting documentation

• SRP Leave Portal User Guide (PDF)
• SRP Leave Portal User Guide (DOCX)
• Sample spreadsheet for leave replacements (XLS).

Trailing holidays

Where a staff member is absent during the term and vacation period, and the replacement staff member is employed throughout that term and into the following vacation period, this is referred to in the SRP system as a ‘trailing holiday’.

This leave type is only applicable to replacements for absences of 30 days or more of continuous leave, where the replacement is a centrally paid staff member, and where the leave covers the last day of term. This option can be selected from the SRP leave replacement portal.

Example 1 – Term 2 Break

John Teacher is an ongoing staff member at Blue Primary School who took long service leave for the whole of Term 2. During his absence Elizabeth Teacher was hired into a fixed-term position. Although John’s leave ended on the last day of term, he will not actually return to the school until the first day of Term 3. At the same time, Elizabeth is entitled to be paid for the Term 2 vacation period.

Charging both staff to the school would result in a double charge. Blue Primary School recorded Elizabeth as the central replacement for the full period of leave including the vacation period (trailing holidays). The school was charged as follows:

• From the first day of Term 2 to the last day of Term 2 John’s salary will be charged outside the Blue Primary School's budget. Elizabeth's salary in the same period will be charged to Blue Primary School.
• John's salary will continue to be charged outside Blue Primary School's budget between the first day of Term 2 vacation until the last day of Term 2 vacation. Elizabeth's salary in the same period will be charged to Blue Primary School.

Note: Leave charging rules apply, refer to Leave Capping (above).

Example 2 – End of year break

Jane Teacher is an ongoing staff member at Orange Primary School who was absent on long service leave for the last 7 weeks of Term 4 (greater than 30 continuous working days). During her absence she was replaced by Fred Teacher, a fixed-term teacher who was employed at Orange in a different capacity to the end of Term 3. He was retained at the school through Term 4 to cover the absence of Jane.

Jane’s leave ended on the last day of term, but she will not actually return to the school until the first day of Term 1. Fred is entitled to be paid for the end of year vacation. Charging both staff to the school would result in a double charge. Orange Primary recorded Fred as the central replacement for the full period of leave including the vacation period (trailing holidays). The school was charged as follows:

• From the first day of Term 4 to the day before Jane goes on leave, Orange Primary School will be charged for her salary. Fred’s salary will also be charged to Orange Primary School during this time.
• From the first day Jane is on leave to the last day in Term 4, her salary will be charged outside of Orange Primary School's budget. During this time, Fred’s salary will be charged to Orange Primary School.
• Additionally, from the first day of the end of year vacation to the last day of end of year vacation, Jane's salary will continue to be charged outside Orange Primary School's budget. Fred's salary during this period will continue to be charged to Orange Primary School.

Note: Leave charging rules apply, refer to Leave Capping (above).

Surplus or deficit

This section provides information on the annual pay cycle and rollover of surplus / deficit from one year to the next for the Student Resource Package (SRP).

Annual pay cycle

Allocations in the SRP for salaries are based on a full calendar year, which is 260.893 working days per year. This equates to 365.25 calendar days, taking account of the leap-year cycle.

Actual salary costs in eduPay are charged to schools each year according to the actual number of working days in the year. This may be 260, 261 or 262 working days in any given year.

Schools must take account of these minor variations as part of their normal budget planning. SRP financial reports, including the SRP Management Report and Salaries Fortnightly Transaction Report (both available from the SRP Portal), and the SRP Planner (accessible from the SRP Portal) are programmed to take account of these annual variations.

End of year deficit

Any credit deficit remaining against the school will be recovered from the school’s cash component in the following year. This recovery will occur against the first quarterly cash grant (QCG) after the reconciliation is finalised for all schools. If there are insufficient funds available in the first QCG to cover the outstanding deficit amount, the balance will be recovered from the next QCG(s). If there remains an outstanding deficit amount after the Term 4 QCG, the school will be contacted, and arrangements made for the balance to be paid, preferably via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

Credit Carryover Policy

Any credit surplus remaining against the school after the reconciliation process is completed has historically been carried forward to the following year.

• From 2024, under a staged transition plan, schools will no longer be able to carry forward the full amount of unspent credit funds into future years. The amount of carryover allowed will be capped based on a proportion of the total credit component of their SRP funding. Any surplus carried forward to the following year will form part of the total credit component for that year, noting that: in 2024, schools will be allowed to carry over up to 7.5% of the total credit component of their SRP into 2025. Any amount of surplus above that threshold will be withheld by the department.
• In 2025, schools will be allowed to carry over up to 5% of the total credit component of their SRP in 2026. Any amount of surplus above that threshold will be withheld by the department.
• In 2026, the threshold will remain at 5% of the total credit component into 2027, with the remaining balance to be withheld by the department.
• In 2027, the threshold will reduce to 3% of the total credit component of their SRP and remain at 3% ongoing.

The carryover threshold represents the maximum amount of funds a school can carry over at any given time.

Carryover threshold for small schools

In line with Small Schools Base Funding, small schools are defined as either primary schools with less than 80.1 students or secondary schools with less than 400 students.

In order to give protection to small schools and ensure they have sufficient flexibility to manage year-on-year enrolment and funding fluctuations, schools that have surplus balances that exceed the percentage threshold requirements will not have their surpluses reduced below $100,000.

Carryover threshold for specialist schools

A higher carryover threshold for specialist schools will be allowed to recognise the more unpredictable nature of their expenditure patterns.

From 2024, specialist schools will be permitted to carry over up to 10% of the total credit component of their SRP into future years. The 10% threshold will not change and will remain ongoing, though in common with mainstream schools, specialist schools will no longer be able to accumulate unspent credit funds over multiple years.

The threshold represents the maximum amount of funds a specialist school can have carried over at any given time.

Specialist schools that have surplus balances that meet the threshold requirements will not have their surpluses reduced below $200,000.

Schools will not be permitted to transfer credit funds to cash without a legitimate reason.

Formula

Any school that has a surplus balance that exceeds the threshold requirements will not have their surplus reduced to below $100,000, or $200,000 for specialist schools.

In other words, in year one of this policy:

• All schools: Maximum SRP credit that can be retained = the greater of:
  • Total Annual SRP Credit × 7.5% or $100,000
• Specialist schools: Maximum SRP credit that can be retained = the greater of:
  • Total Annual SRP Credit × 10% or $200,000

Accumulated balances

All credit surplus funds accumulated up until 2023 reconciliation will be quarantined from being withheld, but schools must spend all accumulated funds by the end of transition period (end of 2027 school year).

Any funds remaining from the accumulated balance after 2027 will be withheld by the department.

Deficit write-off incentive for small schools

In recognition of the difficulty in recruitment and managing staffing in small schools, coupled with the requirement to balance staffing over multiple years with smaller budgets, there will be an opportunity to have small deficits written off by the department.

Small schools that, in the spirit of trying to spend their SRP credit allocation in full for the benefit of the existing students, exceed their full allocation, thus pushing the school into a small deficit, will have an opportunity to have their deficits reduced by the department up to $50,000.

This incentive only applies to very small and small schools (in line with Small Schools Base Funding which defines small schools as:

• primary schools with less than 80.1 enrolments
• secondary schools with less than 400 enrolments
• specialist schools with less than 45 enrolments (to align with the size adjustment supplementation)
• primary/secondary schools with less than 400 enrolments. While the SRP treats primary/secondary schools based on their primary enrolment and secondary enrolments separately, for the purposes of the incentive, the primary/secondary threshold will align with the secondary enrolment threshold.

This incentive will automatically apply to all small schools. However, the incentive may be reduced if the school undertakes a CCT request that is above and beyond genuine cash flow need.

Schools should contact the Schools Finance and Resources Branch for further information on the deficit write off incentive via schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au

Support

Schools will be supported in managing their credit budgets and expenditure to ensure that, as far as possible, current year funds benefit current year students.
Schools can see their surplus through budget management reports and can contact their Strategic Financial Management Advisor (SFMA) if they wish to seek support and advice on managing their credit budgets. Each SFMA is an experienced former principal with an established record leading school improvement supported by highly developed technical financial leadership skills.

Schools that are likely to incur the most material credit underspends (either through their accumulated balances or through in-year underspend) will be identified through central tracking and offered assistance from an SFMA.

Support documentation, including FAQs, are available on the Resources tab.

Any queries or concerns regarding the policy can be directed to the Schools Finance and Resources Branch via schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au

Reports

Some of the SRP reports are listed and described below.

School Budget Management Report

Summary

The School Budget Management Report is a one-page summary of budget allocations and projected expenditure for your school relating to the current calendar year. It shows the school’s financial position including the projected surplus, or deficit, as at 31 December based on current salary commitments.

The report also provides information on:

• the surplus from previous year
• total credit to cash transfers
• total cash to credit transfers
• total accumulated surplus balance (if applicable).

Credit items

This is a report for analysis of expenditure against budget. The report provides:

• year-to-date expenditure broken down into staffing
• classifications and on-costs
• the projected credit budget position by offsetting projected salary commitments
• previous year surplus brought forward
• credit to cash and/or cash to credit transfers undertaken
• total accumulated surplus balance (if applicable).

Schools that finish the year in a deficit will have that amount deducted from the next cash grant after the annual reconciliation.

Cash items

This report details the annual cash grant budget items provided to the school. It also includes processed credit to cash, cash to credit transfers and the long-term leave premium deduction. ‘Outside Global Budget Items — Section 3’ is included in this report and provides information relating to staff on long term leave or pay in lieu of long service leave. Outside global budget items are not charged to the school.

Salaries Fortnightly Transaction Report

The Salaries Fortnightly Transaction Report (available through the SRP Portal) displays the salary transactions for each staff member and the year-to-date salary expenditure and payroll liability projected to the end of the calendar year. The payroll liability is based on current information recorded in eduPay. Included at the end of the report are items that have been charged outside SRP, that is not charged to the school.

Employee Charging History Report

The Employee Charging History Report (available through the SRP Portal) itemises the history of salary charges for individual employees, for each fortnight, expenditure year to date and a projection to the end of the year. The report is based on current eduPay information.

Planning

SRP budget planner

The SRP budget planner (available through the SRP Portal) is a modelling tool to allow principals and other school planners to model the impact of enrolment variations and other changes impacting the Student Resource Package (SRP), and build an overall workforce plan that acknowledges current salary commitments for staff and considers the affordability of planned changes. The planner allows schools to develop three-year plans. It includes useful analytical tools and graphical information.

It is important to remember that the SRP budget planner is a modelling tool, not a personnel or payroll system. It can model a school’s planning scenarios, but it does not interact with the eduPay payroll to amend personnel and payroll data. Actual payroll amendments need to be made directly in eduPay.

The planner provides salary projections and estimates using current payroll parameters, such as classifications, time fractions, increment dates and appointment dates. Certain eduPay entries may not be reflected in the cost projections, particularly those relating to salary reassessments, arrears, or other payments that are independent of these payroll parameters. For this reason, the 'current' year-to-date figures shown in the planner may, on occasion, vary slightly from the actual expenditure shown in the School Budget Management Report.

For more information refer to the Planner overview (PPTX).

Reconciliation

A reconciliation process is undertaken at the end of the calendar year to verify each school’s Student Resource Package (SRP) budget and expenditure position. This process is completed in order to finalise any surplus amount to be carried forward, or deficit amount to be recovered.

Schools that do not sign off their school’s position hold up the process state-wide, as the reconciliation requires every school in the state to finalise the process before surpluses and deficits can be confirmed.

• What to check
• Attestation

What to check

Budget

Schools should review their budget details report after any change and forward enquiries to the relevant contact in the policy unit or region.

Program for Students with Disabilities

Schools may be provided with funding through the Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD). This information should be reviewed in the Program for Students with Disabilities Management System (PSDMS). All PSD funding queries can be submitted via the DE Services Portal (select 'log a request' and choose 'PSDMS').

Cleaning

The cleaning allocation for a school is based on the physical dimensions of the buildings and the schools enrolments (visit Contract Cleaning). Schools should ensure that their school information in the Atrium system is correct to ensure that they are receiving the correct cleaning budget.

Salary expenditure

Schools should ensure that they have been charged correctly for all staff at their school in their SRP by monitoring fortnightly reports when they are published.

Credit to cash or Cash to credit

Schools should ensure that there are no outstanding cash to credit or credit to cash amounts remaining at the end of the year. This can be done by checking the Credit and Cash Transfer Status report for your school. If there are outstanding requests, a correction should be made during the reconciliation attestation process to cancel the outstanding amount of the request.

Attestation

The end of year attestation process represents recognition by the school principal that the school’s SRP position is correctly shown in the reports or that the position will be represented correctly factoring in nominated corrections and amendments.

During the reconciliation period, only adjustments submitted via the reconciliation attestation process will be investigated, and no adjustments will be made to the school reports until after the reconciliation is submitted. When completing the attestation process, a principal has two options:

1. Attest
   The SRP reports, as shown, accurately reflect the end of year position for the school and no amendments need to be made.
2. Attest with corrections and amendments
   If corrections or amendments need to be made, you can submit your attestation with corrections or amendments attached. These corrections or amendments will then be investigated by Schools Finance and Resources Branch staff and appropriate action taken.

Cash

Quarterly cash grant

The cash component of the Student Resource Package (SRP) is paid over four quarterly cash grant (QCG) payments on the first day of each term. These payments are based on:

• Term 1 grant – Indicative SRP using projected enrolments
• Term 2 grant – Confirmed SRP using February census enrolments, with a retrospective adjustment (increase or decrease) for Term 1
• Term 3 grant – Revised SRP using audit corrections to the February enrolments
• Term 4 grant – Revised SRP using audit corrections to the February enrolments

Note: Census enrolments are subject to audit corrections. In this event both credit allocations and cash grants are adjusted.

The QCG can include:

• cash allocations from the SRP
• credit to cash transfer amounts from the SRP
• other cash grant amounts such as school support
• deductions for long term sick leave premium
• other departmental deductions.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) remittance advice (how SRP cash appears)

The Accounts Payable area in the department's Financial Services Division provides schools with remittance advice for every payment that is made to the school. Schools should email Cash Management Unit cashmanagement@education.vic.gov.au for assistance with EFT queries.

This remittance advice provides a breakdown and a description for each component of the payment. Payments made from the SRP or strategic programs will appear on this remittance advice. There are three different types of descriptions that may appear on the remittance advice for a QCG payment:

1. SRP quarterly cash grant payment

This payment includes SRP budget allocations, credit and cash transfers and any deductions:

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH - QUARTERLY CASH GRANT - CASES21 Finance General Ledger : Sub Program

2. Other payments

Some schools will receive other forms of payment through the SRP payments system at the same time as the QCG:

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH - QUARTERLY CASH GRANT – Other Cash Grants - : Sub Program

Definitions

In the samples above, some placeholders were left using >, please see the below table for definitions:

Credit and cash transfers

School’s allocation of credit and cash is set automatically by the SRP. However, schools can request:

• a credit-to-cash transfer (CCT) where they transfer funds from their credit balance to cash
• a cash-to-credit transfer.

Credit allocations should support staffing requirements for schools. In some cases, a CCT may be required to align the funding to the nature of the expenditure. For example, a school may have unavoidable reasons why it would need a casual relief teacher (funded via cash) rather than staff on payroll at a particular time.

In line with the overriding principle that in-year funding should benefit the same cohort of students (rather than future students), from 1 January 2024 CCTs should not be used to fund expenses that are not designed to be covered by the credit allocation of the SRP, such as for capital investment.

In line with the credit carryover requirements set out above, schools have until 31 December 2027 to spend credit balances accumulated prior to 31 December 2023 and can request a CCT for the purposes of capital investment for these balances only.

Schools that want to request a CCT must do so through the SRP Portal. As part of the request, the school is required to:

1. select whether the CCT is to come from a current year projected surplus or an accumulated surplus (surplus accrued prior to 2023 reconciliation)
2. choose an expenditure option:
   • requests for capital works will no longer be considered for current year projected surpluses
   • requests for capital works from the accumulated balance will be permitted. However, schools must attach supporting documentation, such as an invoice from the VSBA, demonstrating the amount required, and confirm that they have explored options to invest the accumulated balance in staffing and student support
3. outline the reason for the request (for example, to meet large, unexpected CRT costs)
4. demonstrate that they do not have sufficient cash balances available in their bank account:
   • schools that have more than 12 months’ worth of operating expenditure (6 times their operating reserve) in their bank account will have their requests automatically rejected on the basis the school has sufficient funds available
   • schools that have more than 12 months’ worth of operating expenditure in their bank account will be permitted to request CCTs from their accumulated surplus balance on a case-by-case basis
5. provide a copy of their cash budget that has been approved by school council:
   • the need for a CCT request should be outlined in the cash budget.

Further information on the CCT process can be found in the Resources tab, including a list of expenditure options for schools with SRP credit surpluses.

Timeline

CCT requests will open on the SRP Portal on the first day of Term 1 and will close on the last day of Term 3.

CCT requests made outside of these timeframes will only be reviewed in exceptional circumstances, such as genuine cash flow need.

Approved requests made from current year projected surpluses will be paid out over the remaining quarterly cash grants.

Approved requests made from the accumulated balance will be paid out in a lump sum.

While each CCT request will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, schools that cannot demonstrate why they require a CCT or schools that have sufficient cash balances available will have their request rejected.

Cash to credit transfers and end of year deficit adjustment

Cash to credit transfers may occur if a school wishes to better align credit expenditure with the appropriate funding source (for example, if a school decides to use over 50% of equity allocation on salary costs). If sufficient cash is available these requests will generally be supported.

Eligibility

Schools can undertake a credit to cash transfer for uncommitted credit allocations in the SRP for certain types of expenditure. Schools will not be permitted to submit a credit to cash transfer without a valid reason. In addition, schools may undertake cash to credit transfers in instances where it is planned to use the cash component of the SRP to appoint ongoing or fixed-term staff on eduPay. Care must be taken when appointing ongoing staff in this way to ensure the position can continue to be funded in future years. Cash to credit transfers must include provision for salary on-costs (payroll tax and superannuation).

Submitting requests

Schools can undertake CCT request using the online Credit Cash Transfer module by selecting ‘CCT’ (Credit Cash Transfer) on the SRP Portal. Access to the Credit Cash Transfer module is limited to the principal or the principal’s delegate and requires an authenticated username and password.

Since 2019, schools are required to nominate a category that identifies the purpose of the CCT. In addition, there is the ability to attach supporting information to the request.

The list of categories, and some suggestions as to the type of supporting information required, are outlined below. Where possible or relevant, schools should try to link the submission back to Annual Implementation Plans, School Strategic Plans, Professional Learning Plans or the School Cash Budget.

1. Capital works

This category relates to school capital works, such as building additions or refurbishment of buildings or facilities. If the project is being undertaken with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), noting this and providing a VSBA reference would be useful information to provide. If the project is not being undertaken with the VSBA support, schools must attach relevant project information.

Under the SRP principles that in year funding should support the current cohort of students, CCT requests for capital works will not be approved unless the transfer is coming from an accumulated surplus balance. That is, the surplus balance accumulated up until reconciliation 2023.

Schools will no longer be permitted to submit CCTs for capital works using their surplus achieved through current year underspend.

2. Equipment

This category relates to the purchase of new equipment. As an example, supporting information may be a quote/scheduling for the installation, etc. (Note: If the equipment is being purchased to support a curriculum program then it should be categorised as part of the curriculum program)

3. Maintenance

This category relates to general maintenance in schools. As an example, supporting information may include the type of maintenance to be undertaken.

4. Staffing costs

This category includes costs directly related to staffing, such as Casual Relief Teaching (CRT), local payroll reimbursement or professional development. Specific examples of support information could include CRT costs to replace someone on sick leave or to top up the CRT budget for the school as specified in the annual budget.

5. Curriculum programs and student support

This category relates to specific curriculum programs schools operate or support being provided to students.

6. Other

Any other reason for the CCT request.

Requests must be based on the annual amount of the transfer (not monthly or quarterly) except where the transfer relates to a surplus brought forward from the previous year. Approved transfers against a current-year surplus will be apportioned equally over the remaining quarterly cash grants for the year. Approved transfers relating to a surplus brought forward from the previous year or the accumulated balance will be paid as a lump sum.

Credit to cash transfers are paid and cash to credit transfers are committed quarterly with schools’ quarterly cash grants. Amounts paid or committed can no longer be adjusted and a new request will need to be submitted.

Enquiries can be addressed to the SRP Service Desk and information should be provided in writing to:

• Services Portal or
• Log a call on 1800 641 943

Verification

Schools are only able to enter a CCT amount up to the value of the ‘Available SRP Credit’ or ‘Available SRP Cash’ amounts. If a school wants to make a larger transfer, then a service call will need to be logged through the Services Portal.

Offline payments

Offline payments can occur at any time throughout the year. Common reasons for an offline payment to be made are:

• credit to cash transfer against previous year SRP surplus
• leave reimbursement payments.

Offline payments can also be triggered by cash flow support payments or other cash grants.

The description for offline payments will take the form:

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH - OFFLINE PAYMENT - - - - CASES21 Finance General Ledger : Sub Program

Definitions

In the sample above, some placeholders were left using >, please see the below table for definitions:

Example:

The below example would relate to a school that is receiving a basic payment against the SRP relating to a budget adjustment occurring after the Term 4 QCG.

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH 000999 – OFFLINE PAYMENT - Not Subject to GST (Code NS6) – CASES21 Finance General Ledger 70001

Examples:

The below examples would relate to a school that is receiving payment for the SRP, two strategic programs and one other payment. This would represent a complex example of what would be seen on the remittance advice:

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH 000999 - TERM 2 QUARTERLY CASH GRANT - Not Subject to GST (Code NS6) - CASES21 Finance General Ledger 70001
• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH 000999 - TERM 2 QUARTERLY CASH GRANT - Other Cash Grants - Repayable Cash Flow Support - Not Subject to GST (Code NS6) - CASES21 Finance General Ledger 70001

The below example would relate to a school that is receiving a payment against the SRP relating to a Credit to Cash Transfer against previous year surplus.

• STUDENT RESOURCE PACKAGE (SRP) - BATCH 000999 – OFFLINE PAYMENT – Credit to Cash Transfer – Previous Year - Not Subject to GST (Code NS6) – CASES21 Finance General Ledger 70001: Sub Program 9611

Cash payment statement

A ‘cash payment statement’ is produced for every payment made via the SRP Payment System. It is available to schools on the reports page of the SRP Portal. This report provides a detailed breakdown of every payment, including the budget lines from which the payment was made, and any deductions held against the payment.

End of year cash balance

Due to budget changes or other adjustments that occur after the Term 4 QCG, there will often be an outstanding cash balance for a school at the end of the calendar year. A positive cash balance will be paid through the following year’s QCG. A negative cash balance will be deducted from the following year’s QCG.

CASES21 Finance

All cash payments must be recorded appropriately in CASES21 Finance using the general ledger and sub-program codes provided in the EFT remittance advice descriptions.

Deficit management and workforce bridging

Background

Devolved budgets and workforce management responsibility have operated in Victorian schools since 1996. All schools are expected to have planning strategies in place to manage their workforce requirements within available funds.

The SRP allocates the available state government funding to all schools in a transparent and equitable manner based on student needs. The imperative for all principals is to manage their school within available resources. Deficit management and workforce planning support may be available to schools in circumstances where the school is not able to meet commitments within their allocated budget. Support is provided in these circumstances through a combination of:

• management support via workforce planning through:
  • Strategic Financial Management Advisors
  • Schools Finance Liaison Officers
• financial support via workforce bridging – if the shortfall is not linked to local management decisions.

This will assist schools to make the transition from a deficit to a ‘within budget’ situation.

Underlying principles

The SRP is allocated to all schools based on the principles of equity, consistency and transparency. The SRP is adjusted periodically to reflect salary and other cost movements, consistent with the State Budget and the prevailing Victorian Government Schools Agreement.

Schools operate in a devolved environment, where workforce planning and SRP management is the responsibility of the principal and school council. Principals are therefore expected to have a sustainable workforce management plan for their school that is capable of being funded within the SRP. Schools participating in re-organisations are also expected to undertake workforce planning within their overall budget allocation while giving due consideration to clauses contained in the Human Resources School Merger or Closure — Staffing Guide.

School workforce plans must include contingency planning to deal with changing circumstances. This includes accommodating potential budget changes linked to such factors as enrolment variations and changing workforce commitments including staff salary increments and leave returnees.

Regional and central office departmental staff are available to assist schools with the workforce planning process through the provision of management advice and support. The SRP Planner (accessible from the SRP Portal) provides a useful modelling tool for schools for this purpose. If credit deficits arise, whether or not caused by local management decisions, it is incumbent on the school to take action to remove the deficit, within appropriate departmental policy.

Procedures for assistance

Management advice and support

Since the first imperative is to manage the school's SRP to avoid a deficit, principals should develop a workforce plan that is capable of being funded within the SRP. Should this process identify that the school has a need for possible assistance, the principal should contact the Schools Financial Management Support Unit (SFMSU) in central office or their Senior Education Improvement Leader (SEIL). The SEIL may refer to SFMSU for further support.

Discussions regarding workforce bridging will encompass the overall financial position of the school, including salary mischarges, credit/cash transfers and accumulated surpluses. This analysis will involve assessment of the school’s capacity to manage within its budget.

Support

If potential workforce bridging support is identified, SFMSU will assign a support officer to work with the school and prepare a report for the Workforce Bridging Panel. The support officer and school principal will develop a workforce bridging report based on the school’s workforce plan that will include strategies to return the school to a sustainable budget position. Factors considered in determining whether workforce bridging financial assistance is provided include:

• the budget shortfall is not the result of local management decisions
• the school has a viable deficit management strategy
• the school undertakes to consult with the SFMSU if it anticipates moving outside of its deficit management strategy.

On completion of discussions, the support officer will:

• provide the principal with a copy of the workforce bridging report
• submit the workforce bridging report to SFMSU who will present the report to the Workforce Bridging Panel for assessment and possible recommendation to the Deputy Secretary, Financial Policy and Information Services.

The Workforce Bridging Panel will meet as required and consists of:

• a Chairperson – Director, Schools Finance and Resources Branch
• a representative of People Division
• 2 practicing principals – one secondary and one primary
• a practicing Strategic Financial Management Advisor.

A letter confirming the Workforce Bridging Panel’s decision will be sent to the principal, with copies to the Regional Director and Regional Finance Manager. The principal will be asked to inform the school council of the Panel’s decision.

The level of support determined by the Workforce Bridging Panel and approved by the Deputy Secretary, Financial Policy and Information Services will be reflected on the School’s Budget Management Report.

The final amount of any workforce bridging financial assistance is subject to confirmation at the end of the calendar year as the amount is notionally approved and may be reduced subject to reconciliation of the school’s SRP.

Review

A process is available for schools that wish to have the decision of the Workforce Bridging Panel reviewed. Requests, outlining the grounds for the review, should be lodged within 14 days of the receipt of the letter confirming the Workforce Bridging Panel’s decision by notifying:

Manager
Schools Financial Management Support Unit
Department of Education and Training
Financial Services Division
GPO Box 4367
Melbourne 3001

If additional information is provided it should be explained why it was not included in the original report.

The review will, in the first instance, be considered by the Workforce Bridging Panel and may be referred to the Deputy Secretary, Financial Policy and Information Services.

Ensuring consistency

SFMSU has overall responsibility for the workforce bridging process and works with schools, regions, professional associations, and stakeholder reference groups to ensure that the process is supportive of schools, while remaining fair and consistent with the principles of devolved school self-management.

Principal classification budget

Budget for principal classification

The principal classification budget is set annually with the confirmed school resource allocation. It sets the remuneration range for each principal position.

Enrolment variation funding

Significant variation

Significant variation funding is included automatically to the Term 3 cash grant, after the mid-year census. It is designed to provide additional cash funds only to schools where there has been an increase in student numbers of:

• Primary – the greater of 10 students or an increase of 10%
• Secondary – the greater of 40 students or an increase of 10%

Equivalent funding for only 2 terms will be provided based on the minimum per student cash rate and once assessed will appear in your reports as an item under the ‘Curriculum Support’ budget line by the end of Term 3.

For example:

Additional funding post February census must be supported by the regional director of the relevant region.

Additional credit funding may be considered where a new school in operation for the first year can demonstrate that the establishment of new classes after the February census significantly increased costs as a result of additional student numbers. Schools must also demonstrate that additional staffing costs are unable to be accommodated within the existing budget.

The request should be made in writing to the respective regional director and should include a business case outlining the detail of the enrolment growth and subsequent requirement to add an additional class after the February census and the subsequent employment required to teach the additional class. Employment details must include teacher name, PIN number and date of employment, which must be post census.

The business case will be assessed by the Schools Finance and Resources Branch and a decision will be conveyed to the school and relevant regional officers.

Resources

School student resource package (SRP) interactive site (staff login required)

To see budget and planner reports for principals and delegates, login to student resource package

Current SRP guidance

• 2024 student resource package revised guide (PDF)
• 2024 student resource package revised guide (DOCX)

Salary and related expenditure

SRP Portal (staff login required) – contains school specific SRP information and actions (i.e. for submitting salary amendments, credit cash transfers).

Relief staffing and the SRP

• Excel Calculator for Leave (XLSX)
• Leave Portal – supporting documentation
  • SRP Leave Portal User Guide (PDF)
  • SRP Leave Portal User Guide (DOCX)
  • Sample Spreadsheet for Leave Replacements (XLSX).

Planning

• SRP Budget planner (available in the SRP Portal (staff login required) – the SRP Budget Planner is a dynamic planning tool enabling principals to enter and change enrolment data, which then informs funding allocation. This assists schools to forecast and plan for expenses such as those arising from hiring new teachers.
• Planner Overview (PPTX) – for more information about the SRP Budget Planner.

Credit carryover additional resources

• School Credit Carryover Policy FAQ (DOCX) – this document aims to address frequently asked questions schools may have in relation to the School Credit Carryover Policy.
• Credit-to-cash transfers (DOCX) – guidance on the review process and preferred expenditure options.

Support for small schools

The School Administration Support Hub (SASH) (staff login required) is a centralised support service for small schools with up to 200 students enrolled. SASH provides support with financial and payroll administration processes to reduce administrative workload for small school principals.