Parent Contributions

Policy

This policy outlines the ways in which schools can request voluntary contributions and other payments from parents and carers.

Summary

• Schools must provide students with free instruction and free access to all items, activities and services that are used by the school to fulfil the requirements of the curriculum.
• Schools can invite parents and carers to make voluntary contributions to be used towards enhanced educational programs and school environment, and additional resources and opportunities offered by schools.
• Schools must advise carers of children and young people in out-of-home care, and parents or carers who hold a financially means-tested card (such as a healthcare card) that the invitation to make voluntary contributions does not apply to them. Schools must not follow up these parents and carers to make contributions.
• Schools determine the level of voluntary contributions to invite each year, taking into consideration the views, needs and expectations of the school community.
• Schools must apply the Financial Help for Families policy to their Parent Contributions Arrangements.
• Parents and carers decide whether to make voluntary contributions, how much to contribute and when to contribute. Schools cannot set payment plans or schedules for voluntary contributions.
• Other payments that schools can invite parents and carers to make are for:
  • extra-curricular items and activities such as yearbooks, or camps or excursions that are not required for curriculum delivery (provided as user-pays – if payment is not made, then schools are not required to provide to students)
  • learning materials for students to own and use (noting that if these materials are not bought by parents or carers, the school must provide access to what students need for curriculum delivery).
• School councils must review and approve all Parent Contributions and other payment arrangements, including extra-curricular activities scheduled throughout the year.
• Schools can ask the department for advice about their Parent Contributions and other payment arrangements. They can also ask the department to review their draft Parent Contributions arrangements.
• It is recommended that schools communicate their Parent Contributions Arrangements to parents and carers at least 6 weeks prior to the end of the previous school year.

Schools must:

• not have their own local Parent Contributions policy
• not indicate that items or activities required for curriculum delivery are extra-curricular or offer them on a user-pays basis
• use one of the department’s approved Parent Contributions Arrangements templates and other approved language when communicating with parents and follow all instructions (including not editing text that is marked as not to be edited). Refer to the Guidance tab for approved language and to the Resources tab for templates
• publish a link to this Parent Contributions policy and the school’s Parent Contributions Arrangements (including the Parent Contributions policy – information for families included in the template) on the same page of their school website. This will demonstrate compliance with the Minimum Standards for School Registration
• nominate staff members to be the contact for parents or carers who have queries about Parent Contributions or who require financial help
• follow all the requirements in this policy and the Guidance tab.

Details

Free instruction

All Victorian government schools must provide students with free access to instruction to fulfil the requirements of the curriculum.

This refers to the Victorian Curriculum F–10, the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) including the VCE Vocational Major and the Victorian Pathways Certificate, and includes elective subjects.

Free instruction includes teaching, administrative support and the facilities needed to deliver the curriculum, including reasonable adjustments to support students with disability.

How much and how often students need to access the items and activities required for curriculum delivery depends on the school’s context and their approach to delivering the curriculum.

Schools are not required to provide students with items used for delivery of the curriculum to own or keep, or on a one-to-one basis. However, schools must determine appropriate resourcing to ensure students have free access to items for as long as required for delivery of the curriculum.

Schools cannot indicate that items or activities required for curriculum delivery are user-pays.

Parent Contributions categories

Schools can ask parents and carers to make voluntary contributions and other payments under the following categories.

Voluntary contributions

Schools can invite parents and carers to make voluntary contributions to be used towards the cost of items and activities that:

• enhance the education programs delivered by the school
• enhance the school environment
• are not part of the curriculum but support the school’s priorities and goals.

When inviting voluntary contributions schools must:

• follow all instructions in the Parent Contributions arrangements – including voluntary contributions template (DOCX) (staff login required)(opens in a new window), and not edit or amend language that is specified as not to be edited, or add any text
• clearly state in all communications with parents and carers that each contribution is voluntary and not use coercive language or terms, such as fees, charges or levies that suggest or communicate that voluntary contributions are compulsory
• not use language that implies the standard of education will change if voluntary contributions are not made
• include only one single value as a suggested amount that parents can contribute, rather than an itemised list of values for individual items (note that contributions to tax-deductible building or library funds are able to be presented separately, for parent and carer tax purposes)
• not approach or communicate with students for the purpose of requesting, encouraging or following up on contributions from their parents or carers
• maintain confidentiality regarding the payment of voluntary contributions
• not refuse a student instruction in the curriculum, limit student subject choice or deny access to items or activities required for the curriculum because their parents or carers do not make a voluntary contribution
• advise carers of children and young people in out-of-home care (as defined in the Supporting Students in Out-of-Home Care policy) and parents and carers who hold a financially means-tested card such as a health care card that the invitation to make voluntary contributions does not apply to them.

In determining the proposed voluntary contribution amount, schools may wish to give consideration to the amount requested in previous years, any feedback from parents and carers and what kinds of enhancements to the education program or environment the school is proposing to use this funding for in the coming year.

Voluntary tax-deductible contributions

Schools can invite parents and carers to make voluntary tax-deductible contributions towards an Australian Taxation Office-endorsed building and/or library Deductible Gift Recipient fund, that are listed separate to their overall voluntary contributions suggested amount. Schools wishing to establish a building and/or library fund can do so by following the guidance in the Finance Manual.

Specialist schools can apply for Deductible Gift Recipient status. This means parents and carers who make any voluntary contributions to these schools can claim a tax deduction.

To set up Deductible Gift Recipient status, schools can refer to the Finance Manual.

Other payments

Extra-curricular items and activities

Extra-curricular items and activities are additional to the free instruction provided to all students to fulfil the requirements of the curriculum. These items and activities can be offered on a user-pays basis, meaning that schools are not required to provide the items or activities if payments are not made.

Extra-curricular items and activities can support curriculum-based learning. However, schools must continue to provide all students with access to the curriculum, regardless of whether a parent or carer chooses to pay for the related extra-curricular item or activity. As schools deliver the curriculum according to their local context, each school has discretion to determine whether an item or activity is extra-curricular or required for curriculum delivery. Items and activities that are required for curriculum delivery cannot be classified as extra-curricular or offered on a user-pays basis.

Schools must ensure that extra-curricular items and activities are specific, clearly described and identified as optional. Examples of items and activities that might be considered extra-curricular include:

• excursions and camps that are not required for curriculum delivery
• instrumental music lessons/programs that are not required for curriculum delivery
• sporting programs that are not required for curriculum delivery
• alternative forms of instruction (for example the International Baccalaureate, language immersion or binational programs that are provided as an optional alternative form of instruction)
• non-curriculum-based school events (for example, graduation ceremony)
• non-curriculum items (for example, school magazine, yearbook)
• outside of school hours care (before and/or after school care and school holiday programs).

Extra-curricular items and activities must not include:

• items, activities and services that are required to fulfil the curriculum (this includes accelerated or select entry programs delivering the Victorian Curriculum)
• learning materials and tools such as stationery packs, digital devices, textbooks (including digital textbooks), calculators
• general enrolment fees
• subject enrolment fees (including subjects defined by the school as ‘elective’)
• the hire, lease, or lease-to-own of school owned digital devices.

Schools must not indicate that a user-pays camp or excursion is compulsory for students to attend.

Schools must ensure the costs of extra-curricular items and activities are kept to a minimum and are affordable for families. Schools must apply the Financial Help for Families policy in relation to extra-curricular items and activities to support families experiencing financial hardship. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund is available to help eligible families with the cost of certain types of extra-curricular activities.

Learning materials for students to use and own

Schools can invite parents and carers to provide, buy or lease learning materials for their child’s personal use instead of using what is made available for free by the school for curriculum delivery.

When inviting parents or carers to provide, buy or lease learning materials, schools can:

• provide a list of items or specifications they are recommending, which must be published on the school website and attached to the Parent Contribution Arrangements
• link to third-party provider/supplier websites.

However, schools must not require parents to use a specific third-party supplier. Parents and carers can buy or lease items from a supplier of their choice.

If a parent or carer does not provide, buy or lease learning materials, the school must ensure that the student has free access to items required for delivery of the curriculum.

Schools are not required to provide students with items to own, or keep, on an individual basis. However, schools must provide students with appropriate access to relevant items for the duration required to access the curriculum.

Learning materials or tools that schools can invite parents and carers to buy or lease include:

• textbooks (paper or digital versions)
• digital and online learning subscriptions
• stationery
• calculators
• digital devices (for secondary school students only – refer to the Digital Learning policy for more information).

Learning materials that schools must not invite parents and carers to buy or lease include:

• classroom consumables required for curriculum delivery (including class materials such as food ingredients or art supplies that contribute to finished products that students take home. Parents and carers can be invited to buy learning materials that are beyond those provided by the school if they choose – refer to the Guidance tab for further detail)
• items that students do not take individual possession of (for example, class sets of devices, sports equipment, whole-school subscriptions)
• items that are developed and produced by the school (for example, school-developed workbooks and exam papers)
• items used for extra-curricular activities (such as individualised equipment used by students participating in optional interschool sports or instruments used in optional instrumental music lessons. These items must be categorised as extra-curricular items, not learning materials)
• services (for example, device repair costs).

Financial help for families

While contributions are voluntary, schools must prepare for and support families experiencing financial hardship to facilitate student participation in the full school program (for example, supporting families with access to extra-curricular items and activities and learning materials for students to own).

Schools must:

• advise carers of children and young people in out-of-home care, and parents or carers of students who hold a financially means-tested card (such as a healthcare card) that they should not make voluntary contributions. Schools must not follow up these parents and carers to make voluntary contributions
• apply the Financial Help for Families policy to their Parent Contributions Arrangements, particularly with respect to extra-curricular items and activities
• nominate a Parent Contributions contact person(s) to support families with financial help arrangements and support programs.

While schools must provide students with access to all items, activities and services that are used to access the curriculum if parents do not provide or buy learning materials for students to own, schools are recommended to consider options to facilitate ownership at a lower cost. This may include supplying or offering also low-cost access to second-hand textbooks, devices, and calculators to families experiencing hardship. This will support the requirement of the Financial Help for Families policy that ensures dignity for students.

Refer to Financial Help for Families for further information.

Implementing the policy in schools

Schools develop their Parent Contributions Arrangements each year to suit the contextual needs, expectations and aspirations of their school community while ensuring their arrangements are consistent with this policy.

School Parent Contributions Arrangements must:

• use the department’s approved Parent Contributions Arrangements templates (including not edit or amend text that is marked as not to be changed), ensuring that all examples of learning materials to own or extra-curricular items and activities are consistent with the requirements of the Parent Contributions policy
• include the Parent Contributions policy – information for families (DOCX)(opens in a new window) supplied in the department’s approved templates
• be published on the school’s public website along with a link to the department’s Parent Contributions policy, and lists of learning materials for students to own
• be reviewed and approved by the school council
• support the functions and objectives of the school, including promoting student learning, access, equity, inclusion and wellbeing
• ensure costs to parents and carers for extra-curricular items and activities are kept to a minimum, affordable for families and align with the expectations of the school community
• follow the finance requirements set out in the Guidance tab
• follow the communication requirements set out in the Guidance tab for all communications with parents and carers throughout the school year
• follow all monitoring and compliance requirements as directed by the department.

Schools must not:

• have Parent Contributions Arrangements that are inconsistent with any of the requirements of this policy
• itemise voluntary contributions
• undertake debt recovery activities for any payments or contributions
• have a local Parent Contributions policy
• use terms such as fees, charges or levies, in any communication with parents and carers, or any other term which suggests that voluntary contributions are compulsory or required
• use language in any communications that implies that the standard of education will change if contributions are not made.

Schools can choose to have one Parent Contributions Arrangement for all year levels or separate arrangements for each year level.

School that choose not to invite voluntary contributions must use the Parent Contributions arrangements – extra-curricular and learning materials only template (DOCX) (staff login required)(opens in a new window).

It is recommended that schools communicate their Parent Contributions Arrangements to parents and carers at least 6 weeks prior to the end of the previous school year.

The school must nominate suitable staff to be the contacts for parents who have queries about Parent Contributions or who require financial help.

Related policies

• Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
• Digital Learning
• Finance Manual – Financial Management for Schools
• Financial Help for Families
• Outside School Hours Care – Decision Making Regarding the Provision of OSHC
• Philanthropic Partnerships
• Purchasing Vocational Education and Training
• School Council – Powers and Functions
• Sponsorship
• State Schools' Relief
• Student Dress Code
• Supporting Students in Out-of-Home Care
• Swimming Instruction and Water Safety Education
• Vocational Education and Training (VET) Delivered to Secondary Students

Relevant legislation

• Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)(opens in a new window)
• Education Training and Reform Act 2006 (Vic)(opens in a new window)

Contacts

Schools

For policy enquiries, schools can contact the School Operations and Governance Unit: parent.contributions@education.vic.gov.au

For financial enquiries, schools can contact Schools Financial Management Support Unit: schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au

Parents

Parents and carers can speak with their school about Parent Contributions arrangements.

For general queries about the Parent Contributions policy, parents and carers can contact the department: Contact details for the Department of Education(opens in a new window).