Buildings and Grounds Maintenance and Compliance

Emergency Maintenance Program Guidelines

Discovery of unforeseen and serious maintenance issues

Where a school discovers an unforeseen and serious maintenance issue which poses a risk to health and safety and the school lacks the funds to address it, they must contact their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) to discuss the issue.

The regional office will assist the school to prepare an Emergency Maintenance Program (EMP) application via the Asset Information Management System (AIMS) (staff login required) if they meet the EMP eligibility criteria (outlined below). This system allows schools to track the status of their applications. The regional office will assess eligibility and validate the information provided by the school. Once endorsed by the region, the application will be assessed by the VSBA against the eligibility criteria.

The regional office will advise schools on emergency maintenance issues and alternative avenues for support, if they do not meet the EMP eligibility criteria (outlined below).

If schools meet the eligibility criteria for EMP, they may request part- or whole-funding for the works in their application.

Emergency Maintenance Program eligibility criteria

The EMP addresses unforeseen and serious infrastructure maintenance issues which pose a risk to health and safety, where schools do not have the financial capacity to rectify the issue.

The program is only applicable in circumstances where the following eligibility criteria has been met:

• the health and safety of students and/or staff is at risk
• the problem could not reasonably have been foreseen
• the school has provided the required application materials (see below)
• the critical repairs will cost $5,000 (excluding GST) or more
• the school has insufficient funds from all sources, including in reserves, to fund the repair and maintenance costs (see criteria below)
• the school has followed the proper application process (detailed below)
• the school can demonstrate that SRP funding already provided for maintenance has been spent on routine maintenance
• the school has considered options to address the maintenance issue and has given the VSBA sufficient information to make an informed decision
• the school can demonstrate that any discretionary financial capacity is either contractually committed to other projects or is allocated to works that are higher priority than the unforeseen maintenance issue
• the proposed works are within the school’s designated facilities area as per the Capacity and Area Allocation policy, and the affected area cannot be reasonably closed with the exception that Special Development and Specialist Schools will not be restricted to facility area allocations.

The EMP does not provide immediate or urgent responses to infrastructure damage. Schools should be aware that if their application is successful, the EMP process could take up to 52 weeks to complete depending on the scope of work and complexity (detailed below). Schools are recommended to refer to the EMP or Make-safe Program section below if they need immediate or urgent assistance.

Outside of these programs, schools are provided with SRP funding which can be used to manage foreseeable maintenance issues that arise and that do not need immediate or urgent rectification to make the site safe. Schools can refer to the Student Resource Package – School Infrastructure policy for further information or contact their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) for advice on this.

EMP or Make-safe Program?

The EMP is designed to assist schools with larger projects requiring specialist assistance, such as major roof repairs, retaining walls, or other structural issues that may require time to be rectified.

More immediate and urgent damage to school infrastructure may be more suitable for funding or support under the VSBA's Make-safe Program. The Make-safe Program assists schools who have sustained damage in an 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, they can refer to the Make-safe Guidelines or call the Make-safe service provider, Programmed Facilities Management on 1300 133 468.

EMP application materials

Once schools have spoken with their regional office, applications for EMP can be made at any time via AIMS (staff login required). Please refer to the Accessible Buildings Program and Emergency Maintenance Program Quick Reference Guide (PDF) for instructions on how to lodge a service request for EMP in AIMS.

Once submitted, schools can track their application status on AIMS, or may contact the VSBA directly at vsba.inclusion.infrastructure.unit@education.vic.gov.au

Required application materials

1. Evidence of compulsory financial documentation
2. Evidence of compulsory supporting documentation
3. A quote, except if region and VSBA agree there are exceptional circumstances and a quote is not required – or 2 of the following 3 criteria are met:
   1. enrolments are less than 200 students (refer to the School Entity Register System (staff login required))
   2. the school’s bank balance is less than operating reserve plus $250,000
   3. the school is located in a rural location (LGA based, refer to list of rural and regional schools (XLSX) (staff login required))

Compulsory financial documentation

The following compulsory financial documentation must be provided to explain the school’s financial position and support the assessment criteria of ‘insufficient funds’:

• CASES21 sub-program transaction account reports for '6201: Maintenance and Minor Works'
• statement of school’s financial commitments
• breakdown of the school’s spend and commitments against the school’s overall bank balance
• evidence of funds that have already been contractually committed to other projects. This may include a purchase order or a term contract.

Criteria for ‘insufficient funds’

1. The schools has:
   1. less than 200 students (refer to the School Entity Register System (staff login required)) or
   2. a bank balance less than operating reserve plus $250,000 or
2. The school has:
   1. a bank balance less than 5 times the operative reserve and:
      1. is up to date with their School Maintenance Plan (SMP) actions or
      2. if their annual maintenance spend is within 10% of their SRP maintenance allocation or
      3. the school’s reason for not being up to date with SMP actions are related to the EMP application (or VSBA-led Planned Maintenance Program)

Compulsory supporting documentation

Schools must provide evidence of their eligibility against the criteria.

If schools need assistance with this process, they can contact their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) for support.

The following compulsory supporting documentation must be provided to explain the maintenance issue:

• photographs of the issue
• a marked-up School Plan (downloadable from the Facilities page of their School profile in AIMS), formally known as School Asset Management System (SAMS) plan, showing the location and scale of the issue
• proposed scope of works to address the maintenance issue.

If relevant, schools can also provide an independent professional report for the maintenance issue. This may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:

• specialist assessment obtained through the Rolling Facilities Evaluation (RFE)
• structural engineering report
• other documentation, such as a quote, from a tradesperson or specialist identifying the issue.

EMP application and approval process

The EMP process is outlined below. Depending on the scope of work, the process from start to completion can last up to 52 weeks. The VSBA’s Inclusion Infrastructure Unit will provide schools with updates and estimated timelines for their individual project, once approved by the VSBA.

If an EMP application is approved, the VSBA may decide to fund all or part of the proposed project. This may include a request for an appropriate contribution from the school.

Step 1: Regional advice

The school contacts their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) for advice in preparing an immediate plan. Regional office staff can advise if the issue is suitable for an EMP application, or alternative avenues of support available to the school.

Step 2: School submission

The school makes an application through AIMS (staff login required). Regional offices are available to assist with the application.

Step 3: Regional endorsement

The regional office reviews the application, assessing it against eligibility criteria and checking that the application is complete. The regional office then endorses the application in AIMS and forwards it to the VSBA for assessment. Schools can view the status of their application at any stage and will be notified of the application’s progress or if any additional information is required.

Step 4: VSBA approval

The VSBA assesses the application against the EMP eligibility criteria and seeks further information from the school as required. The VSBA may approve all, part or none of the project.

Step 5: Notification to school

Where the application is endorsed and approved, the VSBA will contact the school principal to notify them of next steps. The VSBA will also notify schools if an application is unsuccessful. Schools who are unsuccessful can speak with their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) to discuss the next steps.

Step 6: Project delivery

School-led grant: School arranges and funds work with a grant.

VSBA Delivery: VSBA engages a consultant and contractor to design and deliver the project.

Roles and responsibilities

Role of the principal

• Seek assistance from their regional office (through their Provision and Planning Manager or their Provision Planning Officer) to complete the EMP application
• Submit the EMP application, and attach all relevant supporting documentation outlined in the 'EMP application material' 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 (Provision and Planning Managers and Provision Planning Officers)

• 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

• Periodically review and amend the EMP criteria and guidelines
• Ensure that all endorsed and approved 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
• 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

EMP application guide

The EMP application guide (DOCX) provides guidance for each section of the EMP application.

Contacts

EMP is managed by the Victorian School Building Authority’s (VSBA) Inclusion Infrastructure Unit. Schools can contact the unit with queries or concerns on vsba.inclusion.infrastructure.unit@education.vic.gov.au

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

Victorian regional offices

South-Western Victoria Region

Ballarat, Footscray, Geelong, Keilor and Warrnambool
1300 333 232
swvr@education.vic.gov.au

North-Western Victoria Region

Bendigo, Coburg, Greensborough and Mildura
1300 338 691
nwvr@education.vic.gov.au

North-Eastern Victoria Region

Glen Waverley and Benalla
1300 333 231
nevr@education.vic.gov.au

South-Eastern Victoria Region

Dandenong, Frankston, Moe and Sale
1300 338 738
sevr@education.vic.gov.au