Question on Notice No. 1109

MR M HART ASKED MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS AND MINISTER FOR RACING (HON G GRACE)
QUESTION:
With reference to Palaszczuk Government’s election commitment of $10.6m for additional
classrooms at Palm Beach State School—
Will the Minister advise (a) the process undertaken to identify the additional requirements for
Palm Beach State School, (b) if the Minister spoke to the school principal or a representative
of the school before announcing this commitment, (c) if a representative from the Department
of Education spoke to the school principal or a representative before the government made
this commitment and (d) with reference to parts (b) and (c), can the Minister give the date such
conversations occurred?
ANSWER:
The Department of Education monitors enrolment growth and enrolment trends at all state
schools to ensure that students have access to a high-quality education. The identification and
prioritisation of school projects to support enrolment growth considers recent and projected
in-catchment enrolment growth and available school capacity. Consultation with the region’s
infrastructure team is undertaken to confirm available data and identify any additional factors
for consideration.
Consultation on planning for growth at Palm Beach State School commenced in Term 4, 2019
with school engagement continuing during 2020 to progress planning and schematic design.
When considering new infrastructure projects for school facilities, the Department of Education
works with principals to develop a list of priorities through a School Strategic Infrastructure
Plan (SSIP). The SSIP is the department’s primary method for identifying and prioritising
important facility needs for each Queensland state school.
SSIP proposals are submitted for consideration and assessed through a prioritisation process
with the region and department to ensure the highest needs across the State are met. This
process is used to develop the department’s short, medium and long-term investment
outlooks, subject to the department’s allocated budget.
Prioritised projects are determined using a range of different criteria e.g. for growth
demographic data and capacity is used; for renewal SSIPs and Asset Lifecycle Condition
Assessment (ALCA) data is used. SSIPs are the mechanism by which school priorities are
identified and communicated.
New schools and growth projects are identified using enrolment projections from the
Queensland Government Statistician’s Office and Queensland Schools Planning Reference
Committee.
For the School Subsidy Scheme, external representatives such as the P&C Association and
the various Principals’ Associations are involved in the prioritisation process.
Priorities for capital funding are submitted for funding as part of the State Budget cycle. These
budget submissions go through a governance process that includes departmental and
Ministerial review and endorsement before being submitted to Queensland Treasury for
consideration by CBRC as part of the whole of government priorities. Various stakeholders
are consulted through this phase of the budget cycle.