The legislative and regulatory requirements for boarding schools in Australia vary depending on the State or Territory in which they are located. Due to the unique nature of boarding schools, in addition to the common law student duty of care, there is a complex array of legislation and regulations that apply to boarding school operations.
The publication of AS 5725:2015 “Boarding Standard for Australian schools and residences” (the Standard) in July 2015 has introduced a common framework that is designed to provide owners, operators, managers and staff of boarding services with a framework of required topics that need to be addressed in order to deliver a safe, healthy and productive environment for boarders.
The Standard applies to all boarding schools and residences across Australia, including those run by government and non-government schools. Compliance with the Standard is not legally mandated, but rather the Standard establishes a benchmark for best practice in providing a boarding service in Australia.
The Standard was developed in consultation with key stakeholders in the Australian boarding sector including Boarding Australia, the National Catholic Education Commission, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools Australia, Anglican Schools Australia, Lutheran Education Queensland, government school bodies as well as various associations representing principals and parents. The Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) instituted and funded the Standard. ABSA also provided the drafting chair.
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