MEDIA RELEASE

School infrastructure report tabled

Mr Michael Pettersson, Chair of the Assembly’s Education and Community Inclusion Committee, today tabled the Committee’s report into school infrastructure in the ACT.

During the inquiry, the Committee received 24 submissions, held nine hearings, and visited 10 schools.

The report’s recommendations include that the ACT Government:

• excludes library and specialist teaching facilities from school capacity calculations;
• commits to ensuring that all public schools are universally accessible as soon as possible;
• adequately funds operational asset plans and annual maintenance plans to remove the current need for schools to use money from other areas of their budget for maintenance;
• ensures that infrastructure decisions are informed by community engagement and relevant professional advice; and
• implements traffic management plans and upgrades traffic infrastructure.

The report is available from the Committee’s webpage.

The Committee Chair, Mr Pettersson, said that “the Committee received a great deal of evidence during the inquiry. We wish to acknowledge the assistance off experts, stakeholders, and the Government. We also acknowledge the Government’s assistance in facilitating visits to 10 schools, which the Committee found valuable.”

The committee intends to conduct a subsequent inquiry into the future of school infrastructure, including vertical schools, in the coming months, with a view to exploring options to improve amenity and access for ACT school students as the ACT population continues to grow.

Under the Assembly’s standing orders, the Government is required to respond to committee reports within four months of tabling.

5 May 2022

Committee Chair, Mr Michael Pettersson MLA, on (02) 6205 1436

Committee Secretary on (02) 6207 5498 or at LACommitteeECI@parliament.act.gov.au