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2. Registration systems and member schools
3. Member Schools
4. Registration requirements for member schools
5. Proprietor

Proprietor

The types of legal entities approved by the Minister to be the proprietor of an individual registered non-government school are:

• corporations
• registered companies
• trusts including religious bodies.

The proprietor is the legal entity that owns the school.

The role of the proprietor is primarily concerned with the governance of the school, including:

• long-term financial planning
• administrative policies and
• accountability.

The proprietor determines the role of the principal (or equivalent).

The principal (or equivalent) is usually responsible for the management, day-to-day functioning and routine operations of the school. Where a school has no designated principal, the Education Actprovides that:

• any notice required or permitted to be given by or under the Education Act that is given to any of the teachers at the school, is assumed to have been given to every teacher at the school, and
• an obligation imposed by or under the Education Act is an obligation imposed on every teacher at the school. Any one teacher may act on behalf of all teachers at the school to discharge this obligation.

Evidence of compliance

The above requirement relates to individual non-government schools rather than a registration system's authority/proprietor or member schools of a system formed under the Education Act. However, pursuant to Part 7, Division 2 of the Education Act, the Minister requires equivalent provisions for system authorities/proprietors/member schools of a system. The Minister's approval for an existing or new registration system is subject to the approved authority for a system of non-government schools formed under the Education Act providing evidence that:

• either the approved authority is one of the types of legal entity approved by the Minister or the proprietor of each individual non-government member school of the system is one of the types of legal entity approved by the Minister
  and
• a legally binding relationship exists between the approved authority and member schools that allows the approved authority to comply with its obligations under the Education Act.