Registration
Registration is a non-government school’s licence to operate and ensures the requirements of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) (the Act) are met.
A non-government school may be registered as either:
- an individual non-government school
- a member school of a system of non-government schools.
Accreditation
Accreditation authorises a non-government school to present candidates for the award of the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) and/or the Higher School Certificate (HSC). It is optional for a secondary school to apply for accreditation in addition to registration.
How long does registration and accreditation last?
A non-government school may be registered and accredited, if relevant, for renewable periods of up to 5 years.
The list of non-government schools identifies the registration status of each school in the following terms:
- Registered – registered for up to 5 years
- Initial – first period of registration is limited to one year
- Extension – extended period of registration in order for the school to address concerns about an area of compliance
- Provisional – reduced period of registration in order for the school to address concerns about an area of compliance
- Conditions – section 53 of the Education Act 1990 provides that the registration of a non-government school may be subject to such conditions relating to the requirements for registration as the Minister may impose.
If a registered non-government school is also accredited, the accreditation status is identified in the following terms:
- Accredited – accredited for up to 5 years
- Initial – first period of accreditation is limited to one year
- Extension – extended period of accreditation in order to address concerns about an area of compliance
- Provisional – reduced period of accreditation to address concerns about an area of compliance.
How requirements apply
Registration and (if applicable) accreditation requirements are the same for all non-government schools. Schools must refer to the manual relevant to their sector.
All non-government schools:
- are subject to the same registration and (if applicable) accreditation requirements
- need to comply with the current Act
- need to be across any amendments to the Act.
NESA is committed to complying with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act NSW) and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PIPPA NSW).