Excluded events for schools
GAIC excluded events for primary and secondary school land.
Key information
Some events for primary and secondary schools are excluded from the growth areas infrastructure contribution (GAIC). These exclusions are set out in the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
GAIC does not apply to a:
- subdivision carried out solely to provide land for an established or proposed school
- building permit application for building works relating to an established or proposed school, including ancillary works.
To be excluded, the application must be made by a school.
If these conditions are met, we issue a certificate of no GAIC liability.
Sole purpose requirement
A subdivision of land must be carried out solely to provide land for an established or proposed school under section 201RF(ba) of the Act.
If a subdivision creates land or lots for another purpose, it may still meet the sole purpose test if the creation of the non-school lot(s) is necessary for the subdivision to be approved.
Example 1
A subdivision of land creates 2 lots of land, one for a proposed school and another lot, which contains a carriageway easement linking the school lot to an external roadway.
This subdivision satisfies the sole purpose test if creating the carriageway easement is necessary for the subdivision to be approved.
Example 2
A subdivision of land creates 3 lots of land, one for an established school, one for a residential lot and one for the balance of the land. The remaining lot contains the carriageway easement for the school.
This subdivision will not satisfy the sole purpose test and will not qualify as an excluded event.
Ancillary building works
Building works ancillary to an established or proposed school are works that are dependent on, directly connected to and reliant on an established or proposed school under section 201RG(1)(ca) of the Act, including:
- out-of-school hours care facilities
- outdoor sporting facilities with limited public use.
Building works that are not dependent on, or are subservient to, an established or proposed school are not ancillary works, for example:
- theatres, places of worship or function centres with significant public use
- indoor and outdoor recreation facilities with significant public use
- private childcare centres separately registered and not directly connected with a school.
We assess applications on a case-by-case basis considering factors including:
- the area set aside for the ancillary use in comparison with the area set aside for school use
- whether the buildings for the ancillary use will appear to be integrated with school buildings
- whether there is any restriction on access between the school or proposed school and the ancillary use
- whether the ancillary use and school or proposed school share access points and car parking
- the number of users of the ancillary use in comparison with the number of school users
- whether the operating time of the ancillary use is consistent with normal school hours.
Evidence and application requirements
When applying for a certificate of no GAIC liability, you must provide:
- an estimated commencement date for the school, if it is not yet operating
- a copy of the registration certificate as soon as practical.
If the school is not registered by the estimated commencement date, you must notify us and provide a new date. See Registered schools for GAIC purposes below.
The documents required depend on the type of school and who owns the land. For details see documentation required for a no GAIC liability certificate application.
School definition for GAIC purposes
A school is defined under s201R of the Planning and Environment Act to have the same meaning as in s1.1.3 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (ETRA). It is a place where education is provided to children of compulsory school age during normal school hours but does not include:
- a place from which home schooling registered under the ETRA takes place
- a preschool
- a university
- a TAFE institute
- an education service exempted by Ministerial Order, or
- a regulated exempt body such as an adult education institution.
Compulsory school age means the age between 6 and 17.
Registered schools for GAIC purposes
The ETRA requires all Victorian schools to be registered before they start operating. We recognise a school for GAIC purposes if it is registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority as one of the following:
- a primary school
- a secondary school
- a co-educational school
- a single-sex school
- a specific-purpose school such as one that provides an alternative educational program, or
- a specialist school which caters mainly for students with disabilities or social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.