On 18 June 2021, we begun regulating school boarding premises in Victoria.
This means certain types of student accommodation needs to be registered with us.
A new section on our website explains the types of accommodation and services that are classified as school boarding premises and how to determine if your school or organisation needs to be registered with us, see:
What has changed?
School boarding premises must be registered with us and meet the minimum standards for the registration of boarding premises (the school boarding minimum standards) set out in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017.
The school boarding minimum standards provide a foundation for ensuring school boarding premises are safe environments for children.
To reduce the regulatory burden for schools, the school boarding minimum standards closely align with the existing minimum standards and requirements for school registration (the school minimum standards).
They also overlap with AS 5725:2015 Boarding Standard for Australian Schools and Residences (the Australian Standards).
If your school or organisation already meets the school minimum standards or the Australian Standards, a significant amount of your existing policies and procedures can likely be adapted to meet the school boarding minimum standards. However, you may need to develop some additional policies and procedures.
If your organisation doesn't currently operate against either of these standards you will have work to do to develop and implement appropriate policies, procedures, and governance structures.
How do I register my school boarding premises?
Existing school boarding premises will have three months to complete a deeming process for registration.
We have already contacted known school boarding premises providers to request they complete a pre-deeming form.
If we have not contacted your school or organisation and you believe your school boarding premises will need to be registered, email us to request the pre-deeming form:
We will use this information to make sure we have the correct details about your school boarding premises and all locations are part of the deeming process.
Once your school or organisation completes the online pre-deeming form, we will email you further instructions about the two-step deeming process. It will involve a:
- self-assessment of your compliance with the minimum standards for school boarding premises registration
- statutory declaration.
The self-assessment will require you to indicate your level of compliance with the minimum standards. You are not required to demonstrate current compliance to be registered through the deeming process.
How will the VRQA support you?
To help schools and organisations, we have produced guidance material that explains how you can meet the minimum standards and where you may have to develop new policies and procedures.
For more information, see:
To stay informed, you can subscribe to email updates about the introduction of the boarding premises regulations: