Buildings and Grounds Maintenance and Compliance

EMP is designed to assist schools with larger projects requiring specialist assistance, such as major roof repairs, retaining walls, or other structural issues.

Immediate and urgent damage to school infrastructure may be more suitable for the Make-safe Program. The Make-safe Program assists schools who have sustained damage in incident or event, where that damage presents an immediate health and safety concern for students, staff and/or the community.

If a school has been damaged in an incident or event and requires assistance to make the site safe, please call the Make-safe service provider, Programmed Facilities Management on 1300 133 468.

Role of the Principal

• Seek assistance as required from the Regional Office to complete the EMP application.
• Conduct routine maintenance for school infrastructure, buildings and facilities with SRP funding.
• Submit the EMP application, and attach all relevant supporting documentation outlined in the 'Applying for funding' section of these guidelines.
• Provide financial documentation to explain the school’s financial position, and the prioritisation of proposed expenditure.
• Clarify and supply information related to the EMP application upon request from the Regional Office or the VSBA.

Role of the Regional Offices

• Advise schools on maintenance issues and assist in exploring available options. This may include urgent breakages and failures, and planned works where there are budgetary issues.
• Advise schools on strategies to manage urgent maintenance and facilities issues. This may include visiting the school to inspect the issue and to discuss strategies.
• Provide guidance to schools as requested on the detail required to complete the EMP application. This may include helping schools to assess their capacity for contributing surplus SRP funds to the cost of the works.
• Confirm with schools that assessment and explanation of all available SRP has been provided in the application.
• Review applications for sufficiency and compliance, and endorse for VSBA review.

Role of the VSBA

• Publish and periodically amend the Emergency Maintenance Program’s criteria and guidelines.
• Ensure that all endorsed applications meet the program’s eligibility criteria. This includes the requirement that schools review cost-effective alternatives to the proposed work.
• Apply a priority criteria and assess the priority of emergency requests.
• Assess if immediate safety works are needed to rectify the maintenance issue, or whether available funds can be re-allocated to address the maintenance issue.
• Assess if there is a case for referring the request to the capital planning pipeline.
• Advise schools of the outcome of their requests, and negotiate an appropriate contribution from the school for the proposed works if required.
• Facilitate school-led grants for projects as appropriate. School-led grants are available at the VSBA’s discretion.
• Engage and oversee project consultants and contractors to carry out works if the project is approved.

Schools will receive an email notification if their application is endorsed by the region and sent to the VSBA.

Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and timelines will vary. However, once an application is submitted, schools should allow up to 3 weeks for an application to be endorsed by the Regional Office and assessed by the VSBA.

Schools may track the progress of their application via Sharepoint. When the VSBA makes a decision on the application outcome, the applicant will be notified via email. The application outcome will also be updated on Sharepoint.

When an application is endorsed, a VSBA program manager is nominated to oversee the project. The program manager will contact the school to gather preliminary information for a consultant brief.

Once a consultant is appointed, the program manager will also make arrangements with the school to coordinate access arrangements as required.

The consultant creates a scope of works in consultation with the school and the program manager. When the scope of works has been endorsed by the program manager, the consultant seeks acknowledgement that the school understands the works being proposed.

The consultant will coordinate and oversee the completion and handover process for the school.

Schools are responsible for inducting consultants and contractors to the relevant on-site requirements and policies, and must ask for proof of current professional and trade licenses. Schools must provide a copy of the school’s asbestos management plan and Division 5 asbestos audit report. Schools should also ask for evidence of valid insurances, such as public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance or WorkCover.

Any concerns that a school may have with the contractors on-site need to be negotiated and managed with the contractor in the first instance. Most projects will have scheduled site meetings to discuss the project milestones and address issues.

If the school is unable to resolve the issue(s), they should inform the project consultant or the VSBA program manager.

Works can be undertaken through different methods based on the project scope, cost, and complexity.

EMP Project Management

In most instances, works are managed and delivered through the VSBA. Either a building contractor or a consultant is appointed to oversee the project and be the point of contact for the school and community.

The consultant’s responsibilities can include:

• visiting the school to develop a scope of works and a cost estimate
• prioritising works to accommodate the specific needs in the application
• briefing the school and community on the proposed amenity modifications
• managing project operations, including site access, project progress, work quality assurance, contractor claims and advice
• coordinating the completion and handover process

Grants

If the school is seeking minor works that are considered straight-forward, the project can be delivered through the school as a grant. This is where the school engages a builder directly to undertake the approved works.

Schools are required to comply with the following:

• DET policies relating to building on school sites and
• Building Quality Standards Handbook and
• asbestos removal requirements (Division 6 report) and
• any necessary building permits

The school is also responsible for ensuring that contractors provide statutory and other compliance documentation for the works.

Upon completion of the project, the school must submit completion acquittal documentation to the VSBA as outlined in grant correspondence provided to the school. Reimbursement of funds is then made to the school.

Example Primary School discovered significant gas leaks in two of their school’s buildings. The school engaged a plumber, who conducted pressure testing, evaluated the pipework and concluded that the gas lines were beyond repair and needing replacement.

Continued use of the gas lines would have constituted a significant health and safety risk, so the lines were isolated. The school did not have sufficient funds to replace the gas lines.

Application process

In January 2019, Example Primary School submitted an application with the following supporting documentation:

• a report from the local plumber outlining the problem, stating that replacing the gas lines was the only solution
• video footage of the gas leak detection
• CASES21 Subprogram Transaction reports, proving that SRP funds allocated to maintenance had been spent
• budget information demonstrating that discretionary funds had been contractually committed to another project

The application was endorsed by the Regional Office, and then the VSBA, in February 2019.

Emergency works timeline*

March

• VSBA Project Manager appointed and contacts school
• VSBA appoints a Consultant to oversee the project
• Consultant visits school to assess the issue

April

• Consultant prepares a Report and Estimate, outlining the issue and recommended actions
• Consultant prepares a Scope of Works, which is put out to tender
• Successful contractor is appointed in late March 2019

June

• First site meeting between contractor and school
• Work begins 4 June, 2019

July

• Works completed 10 July, 2019

*Please note the period of time it takes to complete the works component is dependent on the type of works needed to resolve the particular issue. Therefore, completion time frames are likely to differ between projects.