How is funding calculated?
Funding is calculated according to eligible student attendance plus a base amount of $1,500 for each community language school (CLS). Total grant funding per CLS is capped at $40,000 per annum, inclusive of the base and per-student amounts.
What if our CLS doesn’t want to apply for funding?
There is no obligation for CLS to apply for Department of Education (DoE) funding.
However, non-funded CLS using DoE premises still need to complete the
insurance information form if they wish for the department to arrange and pay for public liability, voluntary workers personal accident and property insurances.
What is the curriculum?
To be eligible to receive funding, CLS must have a language program that aligns with one of the following:
DoE may ask to view a CLS language program at any time throughout the year. Please ensure that the programs are kept up to date and that there is a master copy filed in a secure place.
Will students have homework?
Individual CLS make their own decisions in relation to homework. Students in senior classes are likely to need extra study as they prepare for their examinations.
Who needs a blue card?
You need a blue card if you are working or volunteering within a church, club or association or similar entity and:
- providing services directed mainly towards children
- conducting activities mainly involving children
- engaging in decision-making in relation to children as a member of an
executive committee, such as a committee leadership group.
Teachers, with valid registration with the Queensland College of Teachers, must apply for an exemption card to work in a CLS.
Parent volunteers offering occasional support in the classroom, generally
do not need a blue card if volunteering for activities their own child is participating in, however, parent volunteers
do need a blue card if:
- the activity is an overnight camp or excursion
- the service or activity includes close personal contact with a child, such as bathing, toileting or dressing
- volunteering for activities their own child is not directly participating in.
Other relatives (such as grandparents and uncles and aunts) are not considered parents and are not afforded the volunteer parent exemption.
The above is on the basis that the CLS falls under the ‘churches, clubs and associations’ category of regulated employment. If another category applies, refer to
blue card services.
For more information regarding blue card requirements, please visit the
Blue Card Services website.
What is Child Safe Organisations?
Queensland’s new child safeguarding law—the
Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) will commence from 1 April 2026. It aims to protect Queensland children from harm when they interact with businesses and organisations.
Under this law, businesses and organisations that work with children or provide services or spaces for them are required to introduce the
10 Child Safe Standards and the
Universal Principle, (creating environments that promote and uphold the right to cultural safety of children who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons).
The standards aim to create environments that prioritises the safety and wellbeing of children.
What is the Reportable Conduct Scheme?
A scheme under the
Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) requiring organisations with a high degree of responsibility for children to notify the
Queensland Family and Child Commission when allegations or convictions involving a 'worker' constitutes reportable conduct.
Organisations listed in Schedule 2 of the
Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) that cares for, supervises or exercises authority over children are reporting entities that are required to comply with the requirements of the
Reportable Conduct Scheme.
Does the Reportable Conduct Scheme apply to all CLS?
All CLS must implement and comply with the 10 Child Safe Standards and the Universal Principle. However, this does not automatically make a CLS a reporting entity under the Reportable Conduct Scheme.
Only CLS where the legal entity operating the school is a reporting entity in section 29 Schedule 2—‘reporting entities’ of the
Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) must comply with the Reportable Conduct Scheme. This may include CLS operated by religious bodies that provide activities, facilities, programs or services which adults interact with children.
For further information of reporting entities, visit the the
Queensland Family and Child Commission website.