Funding for New Schools and Campuses

Supporting the Establishment of New Independent Schools

QIS BGA allocates capital funding to assist Approved Authorities establish new schools and campuses across Queensland.

The QIS BGA New Schools and Campuses Policy provides for the New School Funding Model by overviewing a clear framework that:

outlines how funding is allocated;
identifies the information and evidence required in a funding application under the Model; and
describes how applications are assessed.

The Model is designed to:

provide funding certainty once an Approved Authority has demonstrated a strong educational vision, accompanying design vision, enrolment demand, and a quality business case, and
encourage an economies-of-scale approach to the staged delivery of new school and campus infrastructure.

Recognising that Queensland's independent school sector is built on choice and diversity, the Model accommodates a range of school types, sizes and development pathways.

The Queensland Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (NSSAB), under the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2017, requires governing bodies and schools to comply with their accreditation criteria available here. Before a governing body can receive Queensland or Australian Government funding for a school, NSSAB must approve its eligibility.

Site Selection

The Queensland School Planning Reference Committee provides a Queensland School Site Selection Guide. This guide provides governing bodies, developers, design consultants and local governments with an overview of the criteria all school sectors in Queensland may consider when selecting new school sites.

Application Preparation

A complete capital application will require detailed master planning, architectural design work, business case development, demographic analysis, lender support, regulatory approvals, and governance endorsement.

For this reason, Approved Authorities are strongly encouraged to contact the QIS BGA Secretariat early in the planning process. Early engagement will help clarify:

· eligibility requirements

· evidence expectations

· funding allocation arrangements

· project timelines, and

· application assessment processes.

Application Process

Pre-Application Scan

New mandatory pre-application process
Establishes how ‘progressed’ an applicant school is towards the next funding round
Explores in detail eligibility criteria, planning undertaken to date, proposed project scope and approximate cost.

The pre-application Capital Funding Pathway Scan will assist Approved Authorities and QIS BGA by determining the type of new school or campus being developed, i.e.:

Type 1: Mid to large schools
Type 2: Small schools, or
Type 3: Schools accredited as Special Assistance Schools, Special Schools or Majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Schools.

Complete the Capital Funding Pathways Scan

Preliminary Approval Gateway

The Preliminary Approval Gateway ensures a proposed new school or campus has the key foundations needed to progress to a full application. It allows Approved Authorities to test the readiness of their proposal before committing significant resources to detailed planning and design work.

To progress to a full application under the New School Funding Model, Approved Authorities must complete a Pre-Application Scan and move through the Preliminary Approval Gateway by 31 October in the year prior to the intended capital application round. Upon approval the QIS BGA New Schools and Campuses Procedure will be provided for further guidance with completion of the New School Application.

The Preliminary Approval Gateway provides strategic and conceptual information about the proposed new school or campus and enables QIS BGA to determine whether the proposal is sufficiently advanced to proceed. This process confirms that critical foundations such as governance support and strategy, site arrangements, enrolment demand, organisational capability, and financial viability are in place before substantial expenditure on detailed design and documentation occurs.

Why a Preliminary Approval Gateway?

The gateway process helps mitigate risks commonly associated with premature or under-developed proposals, including:

Incomplete internal approvals
Misalignment with long-term strategy
Inadequate community and stakeholder engagement
Regulatory non-compliance or delays
Inadequate understanding of development approval conditions
Unsecured or unclear site arrangements
Insufficient demonstrated enrolment demand
Lack of delivery capacity
Inaccurate budgeting and financial strain
Uncertain lender support
Missed External Infrastructure Subsidy (EIS) opportunities

New School Application

Approved Authorities that receive preliminary approval may submit a full New School Capital Application in the following funding round.

The full application comprises two parts:

Submission	Timing
Part One - Educational Need	Due first working day in March
Part Two - Financial Need	Due last working day in March

The full application requires comprehensive supporting documentation and detailed evidence to demonstrate the proposed new school or campus educational, financial, operational, and strategic viability.

Contact QIS BGA Secretariat

Before commencing any work on a new school or campus feasibility, Approved Authorities are strongly encouraged to contact the QIS BGA Secretariat. This will help Approved Authorities gain a strong understanding of the assessment and funding approach.