Welcome to Term 2

If Term 2 feels like 'reporting season' that’s because it is! With obligations to the ACNC, Australian Government and VRQA, it’s easy to see annual reporting as just another compliance task. But it’s worth using this moment differently – turn reporting into a clear, compelling story about your school’s performance, priorities, and impact. This article unpacks the key requirements across all three reporting frameworks and provides practical tips to help you approach the reporting with greater clarity, consistency, and confidence.
Independent schools are required to prepare multiple “annual reports”, each serving a different regulatory purpose. While this may appear complex, the system is designed to ensure accountability, transparency, and financial integrity across the sector.
To be precise, Independent schools must address three distinct reporting obligations:

1. Reporting annually to Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

Under the ACNC Act 2012, to maintain their registration, all registered charities and not-for-profits are required to report annually to the ACNC. This annual reporting is completed through the Annual Information Statement (AIS), which is supported by an audited financial report for medium and large sized charities.

If you are unsure of your charity size, it is determined based on total annual revenue.

The AIS is an online form that collects information about a charity’s operations and finances over a 12-month period. For schools, it is due by 30th June. Information submitted through the AIS is published on the Charity Register.

The main sections of AIS include:

• The charity’s programs and activities.
• People, finance and reporting*, including:
  • the number of full time, part time, casual employees and volunteers,
  • the number of key management personnel and the total remuneration paid,
  • income, expenses, surplus/deficit, balance sheet figures (see note below).
• Responsible people register and changes.

*Please note that non-government schools submitting a Financial Questionnaire to the federal Department of Education are not required to provide financial information separately to the ACNC for the 2014–2029 reporting periods, unless otherwise advised. Under this transitional reporting arrangement, the ACNC accepts the financial information lodged with the Department of Education - including the financial report - as satisfying the requirements of the ACNC Act and fulfilling the financial reporting obligations within the Annual Information Statement.

The AIS provides a public, standardised snapshot of a school’s financial position, governance, and activities.

2. Commonwealth accountability requirements.

As per Regulation 60 of the Australian Education Regulations 2023, an approved authority for a school must make the following information about a school publicly available on their website within 6 months after the end of the year. The information should include the following:

1. contextual information about the school, including the characteristics of students at the school;
2. teacher standards and qualifications (as mandated in the State or Territory in which the school is located);
3. workforce composition, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander composition;
4. student attendance at the school, including:
5. the attendance rates for each year of schooling; and
6. a description of how non - attendance is managed by the school;
7. student results in NAP annual assessments;
8. parent, student and teacher satisfaction with the school, including (if applicable) data collected using the National School Opinion Survey;
9. school income broken down by funding source;
10. for a school that provides secondary education:
11. senior secondary outcomes, including the percentage of year 12 students undertaking vocational training or training in a trade and the percentage of year 12 students attaining a year 12 certificate or equivalent vocational education and training qualification; and
12. post - school destinations.

Here are some tips for above key annual report disclosures:

• Students’ outcomes. Present trend data, not just one year and compare against state average.
• Attendance rates. Reporting attendance by year level, as required, include a whole-school average, have a clear percentage and a short explanation of how non-attendance is managed. Be consistent with internal dashboards.
• Teacher qualifications. Please present teachers’ qualifications in a clear, aggregated, and accessible format, that demonstrates the proportion of staff holding relevant degrees and postgraduate qualifications, highlighting areas of expertise. Some schools choose to publish a list of all teaching staff along with their qualifications. While this approach can enhance transparency, it should be carefully considered in terms of length, privacy and presentation.
• Workforce composition. Clearly distinguish teaching staff and non-teaching staff. Be consistent with payroll reports and Australian Government submissions, such as FQ and Census.
• School income by funding source. Break income into standard categories:
  • Commonwealth funding,
  • State funding,
  • Fee income,
  • Other income.

Ensure numbers tie to the Commonwealth Financial Questionnaire.

• All figures should reconcile across annual report, Commonwealth submissions and financial statements. High-quality disclosures are not defined by volume, but by clarity, consistency, and credibility. For principals and business managers, the goal is to ensure that every figure reported can be traced, explained, and trusted across all regulatory frameworks
  
  

3. Victorian Registration & Qualifications Authority (VRQA) annual reporting obligations.

All schools must submit an annual report to the VRQA by email. The report, in a Word of PDF version, should be sent to vrqa.schools@education.vic.gov.au, no later than 31 August.

The annual report should include, at a minimum:

a description and analysis of student learning outcomes in statewide tests and examinations for the current year and the last 2 years,

a description and analysis of student attendance rates for the year,
a report of the school’s financial activities (including clear dollar amounts, not percentages only),

copies of any other reports the school needs to prepare for the school community under funding agreements with the state or Australian governments.

In practice, these requirements closely align with the Commonwealth obligations to make certain information publicly available by 30 June. For this reason, most schools prepare a single Annual Report that satisfies both Commonwealth and VRQA requirements and publish it on their website. This approach reduces duplication and ensures consistency across reporting frameworks.

However, it is important to note that submission to the VRQA is still a separate requirement – even if the report is already publicly available.