Our policies
Code of Conduct
Under the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, the Chairperson of the Board is required to develop a code of conduct for members of the Board, Funding Committee and other committees, and for any employees of the Board.
A code of conduct must be approved by the relevant Minister.
On 7 March 2018, the Minister approved the Code of Conduct [PDF 313KB] for Members of the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board, other Committees of the Board and Authorised Persons appointed by the Board under the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2017 ('the Act'), section 130.
Complaints handling
The Board is an independent body that has certain prescribed statutory responsibilities under the Act. It is therefore reasonable to expect that persons who have issues with non-State schools will make complaints about those schools to the Board. The nature of these complaints may be about aspects of school operations or particular incidents that happen in schools.
The Board’s jurisdiction under the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2017 is confined to a limited number of matters in relation to non-State schools. The two key areas of this jurisdiction are whether the governing body of a non-State school is suitable to continue to be the school’s governing body; and whether a school is complying, or has not complied, with one or more of the statutory accreditation criteria prescribed by the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Regulation 2017.
Some complaints received, however, are not of a type that fall within the jurisdiction of the Board. In these situations, the Board directs the complainant to the appropriate authorities who can then address the matters or areas of concern.
The Board acts within the Compliance concerns and Complaints Management Policy.
Procedures to deal with Public Interest Disclosures
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (PID Act) replaces the repealed Whistleblowers Protection Act 1994. The Public Interest Disclosure Standard No.1 took effect from 1 January 2013. Revised Public Interest Disclosure standards took effect from 1 March 2019.
Public Interest Disclosure Policy and Procedures [PDF 342KB] provides a process and guide for the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board to follow and comply with its obligations under the provisions of the PID Act and the revised standards, so that a member or an authorised person, or another person, may make a public interest disclosure and be provided information on how to manage the public interest disclosure, including the provision of support.
Purchasing procedures for authorised persons
The Board has in place purchasing procedures for authorised persons. These procedures take account of the State Purchasing Policy, which applies to all statutory bodies and departments of Government, and to certain Government-owned corporations.
The objectives of the State Purchasing Policy are to:
- advance Government priorities;
- achieve value for money; and
- ensure probity and accountability for outcomes.
The State Purchasing Policy aims to ensure that the benefits of Government purchasing are maximised. The policy is not prescriptive and provides scope for individual agencies to conduct their procurement activities in a manner that enables the agency to link its procurement activities with Government priorities.
The purchasing procedures, in conjunction with sections 129 and 130 of the Act, provide a framework for the Board to:
- recruit suitably qualified and experienced persons as authorised persons;
- assign assessments to particular authorised persons in an appropriate manner; and
- provide fair remuneration for the work that gives an appropriate level of assurance to the Board about receiving value for money.
Last updated 10 February, 2023