1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Education Act 2015.
Bills and explanatory statements from legislation.nt.gov.au; second reading speeches from the NT Parliamentary Record (Territory Stories). Links open the official source in a new tab.
Bill homepage (legislation.nt.gov.au)This Act may be cited as the Education Act 2015.
(1) The provisions of this Act (except Part 3, Part 6, Divisions 2 and 4 and Part 7) commence on 1 January 2016.
Part 6, Divisions 2 and 4 and Part 7 commence on 1 April 2016.
Part 3 commences on 1 July 2016.
The objects of this Act are:
to provide education programs that are appropriate for all children and young persons in the Territory; and
to ensure that education programs are responsive to the individual needs of children and young persons; and
to facilitate the effective transition of young persons to employment or further education through the flexible delivery to them of education programs; and
to facilitate the operation of schools as safe and supportive learning environments; and
to provide for the involvement of parents and communities in the governance of Government schools; and
to provide for the registration and ongoing assessment of non‑Government schools.
(1) Everyone involved in the administration of this Act, or in the education of children or young persons in the Territory, must apply the following guiding principles in performing functions in that regard:
(a) all students are entitled to an education of a quality that is capable of enabling them to reach their potential and so maximise their achievements and contribution to the community;
(b) education provides the foundation for the social and economic advancement of the Territory;
students and staff of schools are entitled to a safe environment;
parents play a vital role in the education of their children;
(e) the best educational outcomes for students are achieved by parents, schools, communities and non‑government organisations working together;
(f) learning environments should be culturally appropriate and reflect the diversity of the Territory;
(g) the social and family context and general wellbeing of students play an important role in their engagement with education and achievement of outcomes;
(h) the document issued by the Australian Human Rights Commission outlining national principles for the operation of child safe organisations.
(2) Subsection (1) does not give rise to, and cannot be taken into account in, any civil cause of action.
In this Act:
advisory council means an advisory council established under section 19.
affected person, see section 178.
approved form means a form approved under section 183.
assessor means an assessor appointed under section 123B.
attend, in relation to a school, see section 9.
authorised officer means any of the following:
the CEO;
an authorised person;
a departmental officer.
authorised person, see section 167.
basic principles, for Part 7, see section 122.
Board, for Part 3, see section 23.
CEO means the Chief Executive Officer.
chairperson, for Part 3, see section 23.
child means a person under the age of 18 years.
child with special learning needs means a child to whom Part 4, Division 4 applies.
completion of year 10 of secondary education, see section 38(4).
compliance notice:
for Part 7 – see section 155A; or
for Part 8 – see section 172(2).
compulsory school age, see section 38.
criminal record, of an applicant for enrolment as a mature age student, see section 3(1) of the Criminal Records (Spent Convictions) Act 1992.
criminal record report, see section 59(1).
daily care and control, of a child, see section 8.
decision notice, for a decision, means a written notice setting out:
the decision and the reasons for it; and
(b) any right the person to whom the notice is to be given has, under this Act, to apply for a review of, or to appeal, the decision.
departmental officer means a public sector employee employed in the Agency.
director, of a governing body, for Part 7, see section 121.
disability, see section 4(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).
disqualifying offence, for an application for enrolment as a mature age student, means an offence prescribed by regulation to be a disqualifying offence.
distance education centre means a Government school that is established as a distance education centre under section 15(5)(a) and includes a school of the air and the Government school known as the Northern Territory Open Education Centre.
eligible option, see section 38(2)(a).
expert, for Part 3, see section 23.
facilities, of a non-Government school, for Part 7, see section 121.
governing body, of a non-Government school, for Part 7, see section 121A(1).
Government school means a school declared to be a Government school under section 73(1).
home education, for a child, means education of the child conducted by a parent of the child or a teacher, primarily at the child's usual place of residence, but does not include education through a distance education centre.
independent public school means a Government school designated as an independent public school by the CEO under section 74(1).
information notice, see section 171(2).
initial assessment, for Part 7, see section 121.
international student means a person who holds a visa issued under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) under which the person is permitted to apply for enrolment in a Government school.
living independently, in relation to a child, see section 10.
mature age student means a student who is of or above the age of 18 years.
member, of the Board, see section 23.
misleading information means information that is misleading in a material particular or because of the omission of a material particular.
multi-school management council means a multi-school management council established under section 118(1)(b).
non-Government school means a school other than a Government school and, for Part 7, see section 121.
parent, see section 6.
parental responsibility, see section 7.
parent consultative group means a parent consultative group established under section 116(2).
principal, in relation to a school, means the person directly responsible for the administration and control of the school.
priority enrolment area, for Part 5, Division 3, see section 78(2).
registered means registered under this Act.
registrar, for Part 7, see section 121.
registration, for Part 7, see section 121.
registration requirements, for Part 7, see section 125.
repealed Act means the Education Act 1979 as in force immediately before the commencement of Part 1 of this Act.
routine assessment, for Part 7, see section 121.
school means a Government school or a non-Government school.
school attendance officer means a person appointed to be a school attendance officer under section 166A.
school day, in relation to a school, means a day on which instruction is provided at the school for students enrolled in the school.
school enrolment management plan, see section 79(2).
school management council means a school management council established under section 118(1)(a).
school representative body means a school representative body established under section 103(2).
school week, in relation to a school, means a week during all or part of which instruction is provided at the school for students enrolled in the school.
second compliance notice, for Part 7, see section 155B(2)(a).
second or subsequent offence, see section 11.
semester, in relation to a year, means 2 consecutive terms in the same half of the year.
special investigation, for Part 7, see section 121.
standard allocation, see section 82.
standard curriculum program, see section 75(2)(a).
student means a person enrolled at a school and, where the context requires, includes a person whose enrolment has been cancelled under Part 5, Division 8.
term, see section 15(5)(d).
training means training in the knowledge and skills required for a vocation, whether by way of course, instruction or practical training.
transition year means the year of full-time schooling for a child immediately before their first year of compulsory school age.
Tribunal means the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Tribunal reviewable decision, see section 177.
unregistered non-Government school, for Part 7, see section 121.
variation, of the registration of a non-Government school, for Part 7, see section 121.
vetting entity, for Part 4, Division 5, see section 57(1).
young person means a student of or above the age of 12 years.
Note for section 5
The Interpretation Act 1978 contains definitions and other provisions that may be relevant to this Act.
(1) A parent of a child is the child's father, mother or any other person who has parental responsibility for the child.
(2) However, a person standing in the place of a parent of a child on a temporary basis is not a parent of the child.
(3) A parent of an Aboriginal child includes a person who is regarded as a parent of the child under Aboriginal customary law or Aboriginal tradition.
In this section:
Aboriginal child means a child who is:
a descendant of the Aboriginal people of Australia; or
(b) a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands.
Aboriginal customary law means:
customary law of the Aboriginal people of Australia; or
(b) customary law of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands.
Aboriginal tradition means:
tradition of the Aboriginal people of Australia; or
(b) tradition of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands.
(1) A person has parental responsibility for a child if the person:
has daily care and control of the child; or
(b) is entitled to exercise all the powers and rights, and has all the responsibilities, in relation to the long-term care and development of the child; or
(c) has daily care and control of the child and the entitlement and responsibilities in relation to the child mentioned in paragraph (b).
(2) To avoid doubt, a reference in this Act to a person who has parental responsibility for a child includes a person who has been given that responsibility under a law of another jurisdiction.
A person has daily care and control of a child if the person is entitled to exercise all the powers and rights, and has all the responsibilities, in relation to the day-to-day care and control of the child.
Examples for section 8
The person has the right to make decisions about the personal appearance of the child.
The person has the right to make decisions about the people with whom the child may, or must not, have contact.
A child attends a school if the child is present at the school in which the child is enrolled at the times during a school day when instruction is provided at the school for the child.
A child is also taken to attend school if the child is participating in an education program prescribed by regulation.
A child is living independently if the child is of or above the age of 14 years and not living with a parent.
A child is also taken to be living independently, although living with a parent, if the parent is unable to control the child's behaviour to the extent necessary to ensure compliance with Part 4.
An offence is a second or subsequent offence for a person if:
(a) the person is found guilty of an offence against a provision for which a specific penalty is specified for a second or subsequent offence; and
the person has previously been found guilty of:
an offence against that provision; or
(ii) an offence against another provision for which a specific penalty is specified for a second or subsequent offence; or
an offence against Part 4 of the repealed Act; or
(iv) an offence of the same nature as an offence mentioned in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii).
This Act binds the Crown in right of the Territory and, to the extent the legislative power of the Legislative Assembly permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
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