All independent Australian schools operate in a governmental regulatory environment that requires certain educational standards to be met. Indeed, our educational licence to operate as a school comes through the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) – a government body which manages the registration and review of independent schools in Victoria. This involves, in part, regular five-yearly audits of each school.
Melbourne Grammar School is currently undergoing our VRQA five-yearly audit to ensure we continue to meet all its regulations. These regulations encompass areas such as enrolment procedures, curriculum, safety and welfare of students, staff employment, and infrastructure. This audit also involves a separate process to assess our provision of education and care for boarders.
In parallel, we are undergoing an audit to continue our accreditation with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), which allows us to enrol and educate international students.
Along with examining all the elements outlined above, these audits evaluate those who serve on our School governance bodies. This means each member of our School Council must certify that they are a “fit and proper person” to serve on a school board. Council members, in turn, take on the responsibility of ensuring the proper management of the School across all areas, from financial health through to infrastructure decisions and ultimately sign off on our audit submission.
While these audits necessarily represent increased workloads for a period of time, I am pleased to say that our regular practices, including ongoing review of policies, procedures and practices, ensure that we are well prepared to meet these regulatory demands as they arise.
There are clear benefits to undergoing audits of this nature. The certification they provide confirms that Melbourne Grammar has the right controls, checks and balances in place. We also learn from the audits of other schools and adopt positive lessons from the results of their practices. Finally, we see regular audits as opportunities to foster confidence across the Melbourne Grammar community, as the results show that we are meeting the standards we aim to uphold.
We are expecting the final report from VRQA later this year.
Changes to Council membership
Deputy Chair of Council Geoff Cohen (OM 1982) has served on our Investment Management Committee, and more recently, as a member and then Chair of our Finance and Audit Committee. Geoff has been a key contributor to the financial management of our School since October 2015, bringing enormous experience in asking the right questions at the right time to help us to make sound investment and resourcing decisions. He will retire from the Council and School committees at the end of the year after 11 years of outstanding voluntary service.
Current member of the Finance and Audit Committee, Don Grant (OM 1995) will become its Chair. Recently joining the School Council, Don brings experience in auditing and finance evaluations, along with knowledge of and commitment to the School as a current parent.
Our second new Council member, Jane Poole, brings a similar commitment to the School, having served as President of Friends of Grammar (FOG) during the review of its constitution. Jane offers extensive knowledge of the School as a recent past parent, and member of the Risk Management committee, as well as an invaluable perspective informed by her legal background.
As the Chair of School Council, I find particular satisfaction in bringing together the right mix of experience and knowledge across our committees and School Council to ensure we are consistently meeting external standards, and reaching those we continue to set for ourselves.
Andrew Michelmore AO
Chair, Melbourne Grammar School Council
