22 Wanneroo school-use agreements kept under shared facilities policy

Community groups and residents in Wanneroo will continue to use education-linked facilities under the City of Wanneroo’s Joint Development and Shared Use with the Department of Education Policy, adopted by the Policy Review Committee on 31 August.

The policy supports joint development and shared use of education and community facilities. The City has 22 shared-use agreements with the Department of Education in place.

Those agreements are non-exclusive licence arrangements covering designated facilities, typically including sporting facilities. They outline the responsibilities of the City and the department for shared use.

The review did not change the policy’s intent or purpose. The amendments were described as minor and include updates to the City’s policy template, changes to protocols for considering the co-location of school sites with public open space, and removal of references to a memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum was originally intended to define the responsibilities of the City and the Department of Education. The revised policy relies on those responsibilities being set out in the protocols and principles, as well as individual shared-use agreements.

The policy was first implemented in May 2006 and was last reviewed in July 2022. The review also considered the Education and Health Standing Committee’s inquiry into community use of public school facilities in Western Australia, After the Bell: Community Use of Public School Facilities.

The adopted policy does not announce a new facility or funding commitment. It keeps a formal framework for existing and future collaboration between the City and the department, while the individual agreements continue to set out how particular facilities are shared and how responsibilities are divided.

For community users, access arrangements will continue to be governed by the relevant shared-use agreement. The policy supports continued community use of facilities connected with the Department of Education across the City of Wanneroo.