The Education Act 2004 
(the Act) requires that a school board be established for each public school.
The Act describes: the functions of school boards, the composition of school boards, proceedings of board meetings, responsibilities associated with financial and reporting requirements, and the board’s role in principal selection.
The board is responsible for overseeing the school's strategic direction. Operational matters are the responsibility of the principal.
School boards must observe Directorate directions and ACT Government priorities and all legislative obligations.
For information about School Board Elections see the School Boards Elections page.
School Board Handbooks
The School Board Handbooks provide principals, school board members, assistant returning officers, and business managers with information and guidance about school boards and their functions. The school boards handbooks have replaced what was previously called ‘School Boards Manual’.
The School Board Handbooks are available for you to download:
- School Board Handbook - Essentials
(239kb)
School Board Handbook - Essentials
(538kb) - School Board Handbook - Operations (306kb)
School Board Handbook - Operations (1.5Mb) - School Board Handbook - Selection and appointment of board members (247kb)
School Board Handbook - Selection and appointment of board members (503Kb)
An overview of the key requirements of the Act and the School Board Handbooks is available at:
A list of information sources that may assist school board members is available at:
- Fact sheet – Information sources (720kb)
Fact sheet – Information sources (873kb) - Factsheet – School Board Web Meetings (729kb)
- MS Teams User Guide Basic (2Mb)
Expression of Interest for Appointed Members
The Education Directorate is seeking expressions of interest from people to fill the positions of Appointed Member on multiple ACT public school boards.
The Appointed Member on a school board is usually someone from outside the immediate school community, who is interested in and committed to public education.
The first round of EOIs from Appointed Members for 2024 is open until COB Friday 10 May 2024.
The following form is used for Appointed Member nominations:
Please email the completed form to EDUSchoolBoards@act.gov.au.
Information about the roles and responsibilities of board members and the assistant returning officer is available in the following fact sheets.
- Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Board Member (721kb)
Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Board Member (853kb) - Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Chairperson (835kb)
Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Chairperson (824kb) - Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Principal (720kb)
Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities – Principal (827kb) - Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities - Representative Member (826kb)
Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities - Representative Member (922kb) - Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities - Assistant Returning Officer (719kb)
Fact sheet – Roles and Responsibilities - Assistant Returning Officer (823kb)
The operational requirements of the school board are set out in the School Board Handbook - Operations. Any queries should be directed to the school principal in the first instance. Governance and Community Liaison Branch is available to assist principals and boards with operational issues. Contact details are provided below.
A calendar of key dates is available at:
For information about School Board Elections see the School Boards Elections page
Board members must abide by the school board code of conduct. The code of conduct form that each member must sign is available at:
The code of conduct requires board members to declare and disclose any real or perceived conflict with the interests of the school or education system. Further information about conflicts of interest is available at:
- Conflict of Interest - Additional Information (716kb)
Conflict of Interest - Additional Information (346kb)
An annual disclosure of interest statement that identifies conflicts of interest that have been declared by board members throughout the financial year must be submitted by all board chairpersons by mid July. A form is available at:
School board members are protected from liability under section 49A of the Act if they perform their functions honestly.
The Directorate is guided in decision- making by a range of legislation which sets out the need for efficient administration, transparency, accountability and recognises the expectations and rights of students, parents and carers, and community members. Relevant legislation includes that relating to privacy, freedom of information, financial accountability, ethical conduct and human rights.
Board members should seek advice from the principal of their school if they have any queries about these matters. The Principal may then seek advice from the relevant area of the Directorate.
PowerPoint slides of training material for school boards are available here for you to download. The notes section of the PowerPoint presentation contains further information about each topic. If you require further information please contact EDU School Boards.
(35Mb)From 1 January 2021, the Education Amendment Act 2020 (the Amendment Act) came into effect and changed the composition of the parents and citizens members on school boards. The changes created sub-categories of parents and citizens members within the Act.
For schools with parents and citizens associations, these sub-categories are:
- parents and citizens association (P&C) member (coming from anyone who is a member of the P&C Association for the school)[1];
- parent member (including carers and guardians); and
- local community member (which is a person who lives nearby or is otherwise associated with the school, who is not also a parent, carer, or guardian.[2] [3]
For schools without parents and citizens associations, these sub-categories are:
- parent members (including carers and guardians); and
- local community members (people who live nearby or are otherwise associated with the school who are not also parents, carers or guardians).[2]
[2] Note: The ‘local community member’ is a separate role to the ‘Appointed Member’ positions which are directly appointed by the Director-General to school boards. In the past the Appointed Member has sometimes colloquially referred to as the ‘Community Member’.
[3] Note: in implementing the legislative changes, schools with a P&C association are supported to elect two parent members and one P&C association member, depending on the number of vacancies. Where there are insufficient nominations to fill a parent position, schools are supported to seek a local community member for their board.
EDU School Boards is frequently asked how often and when does a school board meet? How long is a term of appointment on the school board?
Answers to these questions and more are on our Frequently Asked Questions.
Key processes for school boards are presented in the following process maps:
- Process map – Selection and appointment of board members (145kb)
- Process map – Election of chairperson and deputy chairperson (108kb)
- Process map – Resignation of board member (109kb)
Forms to assist Assistant Returning Officers to manage the school board election process can be found on the School Board Elections page.
Contact details for school board matters in the Education Directorate are:
EDU School Boards
Governance and Community Liaison Branch
Education Directorate
Phone (02) 6207 6846
Email: EDUSchoolBoards@act.gov.au