Information for kindergarten services operated by a committee of management

The role and responsibilities of the committee of management

In Victoria, kindergartens are operated by various business structures which include Incorporated Associations or Co-Operatives. Kindergarten services that are registered as Incorporated Associations or Co-Operatives are most often not-for-profit. These are usually overseen by either a committee of management (CoM) who are volunteers or a board of Directors.

The committee of management or board of Directors is accountable for decision making and management of the kindergarten service operations. They are accountable for setting good governance practices which includes that those members of the committee or board:

are aware of their role and responsibilities and know where to seek support from
manage and lead staff and educators to ensure staff are clear about their roles and how to meet their responsibilities
conduct strategic planning for the service to ensure it continues to deliver a high quality kindergarten program and make necessary adjustments where this is at risk.

This means the committee of management is responsible for being the employer and the kindergarten operator, in their capacity as the approved provider, to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children being educated and cared for at their kindergarten service.

Typical committee/board role and responsibilities are:

preparing and taking reasonable steps to ensure the service provides children with a safe learning environment that provides opportunities to interact and promotes positive relationships
ensuring there are effective management systems and clearly delineated roles and responsibilities to support the effective operation of a quality kindergarten service
preparing and reviewing budgets for the service operation to ensure it is viable. The committee/board is accountable for sound financial management of the kindergarten service
developing written rules, sometimes referred to as a constitution, and voting on changes to the rules of the committee
recruitment of educators, Early Childhood Teachers and staff for the service. The committee/board is accountable for staff employment contracts
performance development and management of staff employed by the service
managing relationships with parents of children enrolled including complaints management
meeting regularly, in line with the rules/constitution, as a committee to discuss kindergarten operations and plan for next steps
ensuring lease agreements are followed including the maintenance of property (where relevant)
promoting the role of the committee to inform the community and seeking expressions of interest for new committee members.

Operational requirements for committees of management

Operational requirements for committees of management include legal, regulatory and business matters which are those outlined in the:

Service Agreement with the Department of Education including obligations under the Kindergarten Funding Guide
Associations Incorporation Reform Act
National Law and National Regulations
Child Safe Standards

To operate as a successful committee, it is good practice to familiarise yourselves with the information included in the above links.

The Service Agreement your service has with the Department of Education outlines policies that the committee need to follow and information on the kindergarten funding the service is in receipt of. A copy of the Service Agreement is saved into the electronic system SAMS.

For information about the Service Agreement committee members are encouraged to speak to the President and/or Secretary.

Consumer Affairs Victoria who administer the Associations Incorporation Reform Act outlines specific requirements that the committee must meet under the running an Incorporated Association. This includes that the committee must:

Have written rules, see: Incorporated association rules - Consumer Affairs Victoria. Rules are sometimes referred to as a constitution, which cover the 23 matters set out in Schedule 1 of the Act. These must be submitted to Consumer Affairs Victoria for approval before the committee start using them.
The rules must:
- cover which members have the right to vote at general meetings, and how decisions are made
- state how many general meetings the association must have each year
- set out how to apply to be a member of the committee and how members can resign or cease their membership.
Have a register of members that is maintained. The register must contain the person’s name and address, class of membership and date the person became a member. If a person on the committee ends their membership the register must be updated within 14 days with the record of the date the person stopped being a member.
Appoint a secretary who maintains this role. If there is a change in the person taking on the role of the secretary the role must be filled within 14 days, using the process in the rules. If it is not practical to appoint a new secretary within 14 days, the committee must appoint a person to fill the role temporarily. The new secretary must update the secretary contact details recorded with Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Distribute roles among members to ensure that each member can contribute to the operation of the service. One member may hold the role of treasurer whereas another may hold the responsibility for ensuring maintenance is coordinated and kept up to date for the playground areas.
Hold an annual general meeting at least once in each calendar year. The purpose of the annual general meeting is to provide members with a view of the activities and financial position for the previous year. It is also an opportunity for members to ask questions and to elect new members for the committee.
Understand the reporting requirements and takes proactive steps to meet the obligations.

For more information about the National Law and Regulations please visit: National Quality Framework | vic.gov.au

For more information about the Child Safe Standards please visit: The Child Safe Standards - Early childhood services | vic.gov.au

Supports for implementing policies and practices

There are supports available for committees of management to understand and implement policies and practices in their service. These include:

Support is also available from:

The Early Childhood Improvement Branch which has dedicated teams across the State to support all early childhood services. The teams have an emphasis on supporting implementation of kindergarten programs including provision of:
- operational advice related to kindergarten funding and policies, as per the kindergarten funding guide
- tailored advice to support the roll out of the Victorian Government’s early childhood reform agenda, including Best Start, Best Life, Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and School Readiness Funding
- improving access, participation, and engagement in quality early years services for children and families
- building capacity of the sector and services to understand and implement continual improvement and best practice initiatives.
The Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) which is the Regulatory Authority for early childhood services in Victoria. The Regulatory Authority:
- regulates service providers of early childhood services to ensure they protect children’s health and wellbeing and comply with the Child Safe Standards
- assesses service quality under the National Quality Standard
- provides information and guidance to support early childhood services to meet their regulatory requirements.
Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA). ELAA is a peak body for the early childhood education sector, championing excellence in early learning for children and supporting parents and service providers. ELAA provide Committees of Management with:
- advice on governance and management of operations
- advice and support on staffing
- advice on delivery of sustainable high quality service delivery.

The Department of Education has a service agreement with ELAA which provides funding for ELAA to provide support and resources to committees, in addition to support ELAA provide under their membership. Under the service agreement with the Department, ELAA offer access to information sessions, training and resources to further embed management and good governance practices.

Calendar of key kindergarten reporting activities and operations

Committees of management, as service providers are accountable for the information they provide to the Department of Education and must ensure data entered through reporting systems is current and accurate at all times.

Operational requirements for committees of management include legal, regulatory and business matters. Some of the operational requirements include those listed below. Please note times listed are general and are subject to change.

You may, as a committee, discuss these activities with educators and staff at your service and add any additional activities relevant to your service.

- Annual Confirmation. Service providers are required to confirm data about their kindergarten program including enrolments, early childhood teacher(s), educator(s) and program delivery each year. The data collection process opens in January of each year and must be completed within the required timeline set by the department.
- Early Start Kindergarten attendance tracker. Tracks information on children enrolled in Early Start Kindergarten. Service providers are required to collect attendance information for children enrolled in Early Start Kindergarten. At the end of each term, service providers are required to complete an Early Start Kindergarten attendance tracker providing data on the number of hours the child attended funded kindergarten each week and the reason for any absences.
- Planning documentation and strategies. All kindergarten services are expected to have planning strategies in place to manage their workforce requirements within available funds, including adequate provision for casual and relief staffing.
- Budget planning. The budget should be reviewed at the beginning of the year when the actual enrolments are confirmed. If enrolments are lower than anticipated, the management team may need to review areas of expenditure.
- Pre-prep roll-out. The Pre-Prep roll-out means that services can expect to receive additional children at their service in 2026, when children from priority cohorts gain access to a program of between 16 to 25 hours. Your local ECIB can provide tailored information around how to plan for the participation of priority cohort children at your service in 2026.
- Department of Education Kindergarten Leadership Forum. Provides a platform for leaders in the sector to connect with others locally and engage with the department, as we share the latest updates on early childhood reforms. Held annually in Term 2 and late Term 3. For more information, please contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.
- Quality Improvement Plan. Helps service providers self-assess their performance and outline goals for achievement. The plan must be updated at least once a year which does not need to be in April.
- Annual Kindergarten Census. The department undertakes a kindergarten census each year to collect data as part of Victoria’s reporting requirements, based on a reference week in the first week of August. The Annual Kindergarten Census data collection is open from the first Friday in August until the end of August each year and must be completed within the required timeline set by the department. For more information please refer to Kindergarten Funding Guide (PDF, 3MB).
- Service Agreement Compliance Certificate (SACC). All funded services must complete a SACC to annually attest that they are compliant with their contractual requirements. Services funded by Department of Education are required to complete a SACC form via the Service Agreement Module (SAM) accessed through My Agency. The system confirms the default due date, which is approximately 90 days after the end date of the annual reporting period.
- Annual general meeting. A meeting of all the members of the incorporated association. The AGM must be held after the end of the financial year which varies for services. Financial statements need to be presented to the members. For more information please refer to: Incorporated association meetings - Consumer Affairs Victoria
- School Readiness Funding. Funding to address educational disadvantage, through building the capacity of educators and families to respond to children's learning and development. Services in receipt of School Readiness Funding are required to complete a plan for the funding and receive approval from the department. From 2025, School Readiness Funding will move from an annual plan to a 2-year planning cycle. This will benefit services through providing greater predictability to be able to plan over a longer time, reducing the administrative requirements associated with the planning and implementation processes and ensuring timely intervention and support is provided.
- Early Start Kindergarten attendance tracker. In Term 4, additional data on needs, barriers and supports required to deliver high quality services to children is collected as part of the early start kindergarten attendance. For more information please refer to Kindergarten Funding Guide (PDF, 3MB).
- Kindergarten parent opinion survey. An annual online survey that seeks feedback from parents, carers or legal guardians of children who are enrolled in a funded kindergarten program.

Communication between the committee of management and the kindergarten community

Ongoing and regular communication between the service and families provides opportunities to build relationships to enhance children’s inclusion, learning and wellbeing.

For committees it is best practice to consider:

What are the goals for communication in the Quality Improvement Plan? What is the service doing well now and how can this be sustained or continue to improve?
Do all staff understand the legal requirements of the National Quality Framework for working in partnership with families to better support children’s learning and development? (National Law and Regulations, NQS and learning frameworks)
What are the steps the committee has identified to establish a positive relationship with families?
How can this relationship improve to better support children’s learning and development? (NQS, Quality Area 1)
What opportunities are there for shared decision making with families about the overall service? (NQS, Quality Area 6)
How is partnership with families valued and reflected in your philosophy, policies and every day practices of staff? (NQS, Quality Area 6 and 7)
Do staff show respect for the lifestyle choices and cultural traditions of families attending your service? (Staff bias should be addressed promptly and appropriately)
What message does your entrance and overall environment give to families (new and existing)? How does it reflect your partnership with families? For more information please refer to: how to series Build Strong Partnership with Families (acecqa.gov.au).
What channels are you using to communicate with your community, and how are you using them?
How do you support staff to engage with professional development that will build their skills and capacity?
How do you collect feedback from staff in relation to continuous improvement within the organisation?
How are you communicating the role of the committee of management to families? How are you gathering interest and support for new committee members in the future?

Funded support

The Department of Education funds a range of supports to help with administrative burden and operations of a kindergarten program which funded kindergarten services operated by a committee of management or Board are eligible to access.

These supports include:

Payroll Services. The provider for payroll services and contracted by the Department of Education is, Automatic Data Processing (ADP).
Information Technology services and support through the Kindergarten IT program. The provider for the Kindergarten IT program is State Library of Victoria.
Governance advice, training and resources support. The provider is Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA). Contact ELAA at: Contact Us - Early Learning Association Australia.
Employee mediation, confidential counselling and critical incident response. The provider for this service is Teleus.

Please contact an Early Childhood Improvement Branch representative for information on how to access these supports.

Further information and support

Early Childhood Improvement Branch. Contact a representative at: Contact an Early Childhood Improvement Branch | vic.gov.au.

Best Start Best Life Reform. Learn more about the biggest changes to Victoria’s early childhood education sector in a generation. Please refer to: The Best Start, Best Life reforms | vic.gov.au.

Kindergarten Funding Guide. Information for funded kindergarten service providers about the range of funding that is available, eligibility criteria and the obligations and accountability in receiving funding. Please refer to: Kindergarten funding guide | vic.gov.au.

Arrival. A new purpose-built system for kindergarten data reporting. Please refer to: Arrival | vic.gov.au.

Early Learning Association Australia. ELAA is the national peak body in early learning for children and supporting parents and service providers. For more information please refer to: Free Resources - Early Learning Association Australia.

Education

Updated 3 February 2025