Department of Education and Training Annual Report 2021–22

Objectives

• Objective 1: Achievement

  Raise standards of learning and development achieved by Victorians using education, training, and early childhood education services.

  The department continues to equip children and students of all ages with the skills they need to reach their potential and achieve success in early childhood and school settings, and in life.

  Early childhood education

  During 2021, the department supported the early childhood education sector during periods of public health restrictions to ensure that children continued learning in services or at home, service providers remained viable, and teachers and educators continued to be employed.

  Access to high-quality ECEC services is central to giving every Victorian child the best start in life. Victorian services continue to perform well against the National Quality Standards for ECEC services, with 91.9% meeting or exceeding NQSA1 in 2021. This is a steady improvement in the quality of educational program and practice since 2015 from 87.0%.

  The most recent AEDC in 2021 indicated that more than 82% of Victorian children in their first year of school were developmentally ‘on track’ on the language and cognitive skills domain.

  School education

  The delivery of school education services in Victoria during 2021 continued to feature periods of remote and flexible learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial adjustments were made to ensure Victorian schools rapidly and successfully adapted to the changing circumstances.

  The department continues to monitor progress against NAPLAN-based BP3 measures, with a focus on improving student achievement in reading and numeracy. The department is implementing the Marrung: Aboriginal Education Plan 2016–26 to target learning and development improvements for Aboriginal Victorians.

  There have been strong improvements across most year levels relative to the 2015 NAPLAN results. In the 2021 NAPLAN tests, a greater proportion of Victorian students achieved above the national minimum standards than any other Australian state or territory. Key 2021 NAPLAN outcomes include:

  • increases of 8.3 and 7.9 percentage points in the top 2 bands of Years 3 and 5 Reading, and an increase of 1.6 and 1.1 percentage points in Years 3 and 5 Numeracy respectively, since 2015. Year 7 Numeracy results have also increased 6.5 percentage points since 2015.
  • Aboriginal student achievement in primary school increasing 8.3 and 13.0 percentage points in the top 3 bands in Years 3 and 5 Reading and 1.0 and 3.9 percentage points in Years 3 and 5 Numeracy since 2015. Year 7 Numeracy results for Aboriginal students have increased 4.0 percentage points since 2015.

  While these results are very pleasing, the department continues to monitor the cumulative impact of the pandemic on student learning and wellbeing.

  A key program that supports the development of graduate and returning teachers to achieve full registration is the Effective Mentoring Program. In 2021, 1,033 experienced teachers completed the Effective Mentoring Program, exceeding the target of 900. This supported those experienced teachers to more effectively mentor graduate and returning teachers in schools and early childhood settings.

  The Victorian PLC initiative provided professional learning to 368 schools during 2021. This comprised professional learning for 130 schools new to the initiative, coaching for 152 schools to strengthen implementation, and workshops for a further 86 schools to strengthen PLC structures within their schools.

  The Tutor Learning Initiative was introduced in 2021 to support students whose learning was most disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was available to both government and non-government schools and engaged more than 7,760 teachers and tutors. Through the program, targeted learning support was provided to approximately 200,000 students in 2021.

  Higher education and skills

  Victoria’s education and training system is helping to rebuild the Victorian economy by ensuring we have the right number of skilled workers in the right industries and that Victorians most impacted by the pandemic have the best possible reskilling opportunities and employment prospects.

  Training activities and programs recovered in 2021 as student confidence levels grew and the availability of practical placements increased. There were 328,811 government subsidised enrolments in the system in 2021, which exceeded the target of 317,500. Student satisfaction remained high as providers continued to deliver high-quality training.

  The Free TAFE for priority courses initiative had enrolments of approximately 55,000, and above the target. This contributed to more than 157,000 government-subsidised course enrolments in the TAFE network, exceeding the target of 145,000. In 2021, there were almost 53,000 government-subsidised apprenticeship course enrolments, exceeding expectations and the target of 49,900.

  Departmental indicators against achievement

  Indicators	Unit	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
  Early childhood education
  Children developmentally ‘on track’ on the AEDC language and cognitive skills domains
  Proportion of children developmentally ‘on track’ on the AEDC language and cognitive skills domains [1]	%	–	84.6	–	–	82.6
  Proportion of early childhood services meeting or exceeding NQSA1—Educational program and practice
  School education
  Students meeting the expected standard in national and international literacy and numeracy assessments [2]
  Proportion of students above the bottom 3 NAPLAN bands [3]:
  Year 3—Literacy	%	78.3	79.9	78.5	–	81.3
  Year 3—Numeracy	%	71.7	71.6	71.8	–	68.2
  Year 5—Literacy	%	66.9	70.4	69.7	–	73.8
  Year 5—Numeracy	%	61.8	62.2	64.0	–	64.3
  Year 7—Literacy	%	60.8	59.7	62.0	–	61.7
  Year 7—Numeracy	%	64.2	61.1	64.2	–	62.3
  Year 9—Literacy	%	50.4	53.0	52.3	–	49.7
  Year 9—Numeracy	%	53.6	57.5	55.4	–	51.9
  Proportion of students in the top 2 NAPLAN bands [3]:
  Year 3—Literacy	%	56.5	58.3	58.0	–	61.9
  Year 3—Numeracy	%	44.3	43.8	44.7	–	40.0
  Year 5—Literacy	%	39.7	43.0	40.4	–	44.8
  Year 5—Numeracy	%	30.6	31.1	33.3	–	33.0
  Year 7—Literacy	%	30.9	28.5	30.7	–	30.7
  Year 7—Numeracy	%	35.0	31.1	36.2	–	34.3
  Year 9—Literacy	%	20.5	21.7	22.6	–	21.8
  Year 9—Numeracy	%	23.8	27.2	25.7	–	21.4
  Proportion of Year 4 students reaching international benchmarks (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS))—Reading[4]	%	–	–	–	–	–
  Proportion of Year 4 students achieving the intermediate international benchmark (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS))— Mathematics [5]	%	–	–	72.0	–	–
  Proportion of Year 8 students achieving the intermediate international benchmark (TIMSS)— Mathematics [5]	%	–	–	67.1	–	–
  Proportion of 15-year-old students achieving at or above proficient standard (level 3) in PISA reading literacy [6]	%	–	62.3	–	–	–
  Proportion of 15-year-old students achieving at or above proficient standard (level 3) in PISA mathematical literacy[6]	%	–	56.5	–	–	–
  Average score in science (PISA 15-year-olds) in Victoria compared to global top performers
  Average score in science (PISA 15‑year‑olds) in Victoria compared to global top performers [7]	mean score	–	-19	–	–	–
  Percentage of positive responses to teacher collaboration within schools
  Percentage of positive responses to teacher collaboration within school	%	61.2	60.9	61.0	62.9	58.8
  Year 12 or equivalent completion rates of young people
  Year 12 or a non-school qualification at Certificate II level or above of young people 20–24 years [8]	%	87.7	90.5	90.4	89.9	89.0
  Higher education and skills
  VET course completions
  VET completions	number	94,300	101,300	94,200	71,600	85,800
  Certificate III or above completions
  Certificate III or above completions	number	75,000	78,700	71,600	53,800	65,600
  Proportion of graduates with improved employment status after training
  Proportion of graduates with improved employment status after training [9]	%	47.1	51.4	50.1	55.4	55.7

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  [1] The AEDC is held every 3 years, with the 2021 AEDC data collection being the fifth collection. Data source: AEDC 2021 Report – Findings from the AEDC.

  [2] Victorian government and non-government schools.

  [3] The 2020 NAPLAN assessment was cancelled in March 2020 – therefore results cannot be reported.

  [4] Source: PIRLS, 2021. Data collected every five years, international and national reports for PIRLS 2021 will be released in December 2022 and will be reported in the department’s 2022–23 Annual Report, contingent on international publication timelines.

  [5] Source: S. Thomson, N. Wernert, S. Rodrigues, & E. O’Grady, 2020, TIMSS 2019 Australia. Volume I: Student performance, Australian Council for Educational Research. TIMSS data is collected every four years. The intermediate international benchmark is considered the Australian National Proficient Standard. The next assessment is scheduled to be undertaken in 2023. Results will be published in the department’s 2024–25 Annual Report, contingent on international publication deadlines.

  [6] PISA data is collected every 3 years. In Australia, the national agreed baseline, in the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia (May 2015), is at or above the National Proficient Standard (Level 3). The next PISA assessment has been postponed to 2022 (due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on member countries) and will be reported in the department’s 2022–23 Annual Report, contingent on international publication timelines.

  [7] Top performing PISA jurisdictions are defined as the top 25% of jurisdictions (both countries and economic areas) undertaking the PISA test in that cycle based on their mean score. Country/economic area rankings may shift over time.

  [8] Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey of Education and Work (cat.no. 6227.0). These are survey estimates and subject to statistical error. Outcomes reported for 2014–17 are consistent with previous Annual Reports but differ slightly from those reported in the May 2018 ABS publication, as ABS revises this time series for various reasons, as described at https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6227.0Explanatory%20Notes1May%202018?OpenDocument .

  [9] Source: Victorian Student Satisfaction Survey (multiple years). The survey is of students who completed or left training in the previous year. Results have been rearranged to refer to the year of the Survey. Therefore, the 2021 result (latest available) in this table is of student training experiences in 2020, based on the 2021 Satisfaction Survey. Due to 2 changes in the survey methodology, the results for this measure cannot be compared over time. In the 2018 Survey (of 2017 experiences), respondents were given an extra response option in one of the relevant questions. In the 2020 Survey (of 2019 experiences), a further change was made to the job-related benefits question to reduce complexity and confusion.

• Objective 2: Engagement

  Increase the number of Victorians actively participating in education, training and early childhood education services.

  Engagement with early childhood education, school, and training and skills services has changed through the COVID 19 pandemic and associated restrictions. In 2021, we continued to see improvements across early childhood education and training and skills settings.

  Early childhood education

  The department is reforming the early childhood sector by making services more accessible and inclusive, and supporting higher-quality education. This gives Victorian children the best start in life.

  In 2021, 92.9% of children were enrolled in kindergarten in the year before school. This was higher than in the previous 3 years and shows strong engagement in kindergarten.

  The department continues to focus dedicated supports on cohorts more likely to miss out on kindergarten. These include children in out-of-home care, newly arrived migrants and refugees, and children attending family day care or other early childhood services that do not have a funded kindergarten program.

  Collaborative efforts in recent years have improved participation, particularly for Aboriginal children, and 3-year-olds known to Child Protection and who are eligible for Early Start Kindergarten. Three-Year-Old Kindergarten continued targeted supports for children who have a disability, developmental delay, or who are vulnerable or disadvantaged.

  In 2021, the participation of Aboriginal children in kindergarten was similar to the overall participation rate. Early Start Kindergarten was extended to include children of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and its participation rate increased by 8 percentage points to approximately 76%.

  Early Start Kindergarten and the Access to Early Learning Program ensures that children experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage are able to fully participate in quality, universal early education and care. In 2021, a total of 3,245 3-year-olds accessed a funded kindergarten program through the Early Start Kindergarten grant and Access to Early Learning Program. This is the highest number of children ever supported through these programs and includes approximately 400 children from a refugee or asylum seeker background.

  Victoria’s ECEC sector continues to provide high levels of care, with the vast majority of providers performing strongly against national standards. In 2021, 98.0% of Victorian ECEC services met or exceeded NQSA6. This improvement has been increasing since 2016.

  School education

  Student attendance and engagement were a significant focus for the department during 2021 to maintain wellbeing and social connection while progressing learning outcomes.

  Although the average number of days absent per FTE student in government schools increased from 2020 to 2021, absent rates remain below pre-pandemic for most year levels.

  During 2021, absence rates for Aboriginal students were higher than previous years, which may reflect concern regarding familial vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is positive, however, that Victoria’s Aboriginal students in Years 1 to 10 in government schools have the highest attendance rate in Australia at 84.2% [1].

  The department collaborated with program providers to support a range of flexible education delivery options to support student participation during the extended lockdown in Term 3, 2021. This included onsite and online delivery, outside‑of‑school‑hours delivery, and flexibility in the deployment of staff and supports for absent students.

  Participation in school sports is an indicator of student engagement. In 2021, over 400,000 student participation opportunities were provided via interschool sports. This was achieved despite the disruptions to School Sport Victoria programs during 2021. School Sports Victoria programs have resumed in 2022, including interschool sport, an expanded play program, and preparations for state representative teams to participate in the School Sport Australia Championships in 2022.

  Online resources were developed to support schools to deliver theory-based elements of a water safety curriculum while indoor and outdoor pools were closed during 2021. In October 2021, the School Swimming Outside of School Hours Voucher program was announced to support students to catch up on pool-based swimming programs during 2022.

  Positive engagement with schooling improves student achievement. Most Victorian students believe that their school provides a stimulating learning environment. Primary school student perceptions of stimulating learning increased in 2021, while secondary school students reported a slight decline from previous years.

  Higher education and skills

  VET provides critical skills that lead learners to jobs and strengthen Victoria’s economy. In 2021, an increase in enrolments was supported by the continued uptake of Free TAFE, which reported 16% more enrolments compared to 2020. The Free TAFE initiative reduces the financial barriers for students so they can train in courses that lead to in‑demand jobs that support the Victorian economy.

  The department also recognised that some people affected by the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on the labour market during 2020 and 2021 may want to retrain to change occupations or careers. TAFEs and other training providers were given an allocation of eligibility exemptions to offer in 2021. The eligibility exemptions allowed a person to retrain for a different career and get subsidised training, regardless of their previous qualification level.

  Teaching continues to be of a high standard, with 86.6% of VET students satisfied with teaching quality. This high level of performance has remained stable for the last 5 years.

  Departmental indicators against engagement

  Indicators	Unit		2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
  Early childhood development
  Participation in a kindergarten service in the year before school
  Participation in a kindergarten service in the year before school	%	93.4		92.1		91.8		89.1		92.9
  Proportion of ECEC services meeting or exceeding NQSA6 – Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
  Proportion of ECEC services meeting or exceeding NQSA6	%	96.2		96.9		97.4		97.8		98.0
  School education
  Mean number of student absence days per FTE per year
  Year 5	number	15.5		15.6		16.4		13.6		14.9
  Year 6	number	16.3		16.3		17.3		13.8		15.7
  Years 7–10	number	20.2		20.4		21.3		18.9		22.7
  Years 11–12	number	16.6		16.9		17.3		14.8		16.8
  Mean number of unapproved student absence days per FTE per year in primary schools
  Years 1–6	number	5.0		3.8		3.6		5.3		5.4
  Mean number of unapproved student absence days per FTE per year in secondary schools
  Years 7–12	number	7.8		6.6		6.4		8.3		9.2
  Students with a positive opinion about their school providing a stimulating learning environment
  Proportion of student responses that ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that their school provides a stimulating learning environment:
  Years 4–6	%	81.1		81.0		81.3		77.6		79.2
  Years 7–9 [2]	%	52.0		54.3		55.1		57.8		53.2
  Years 10–12 [2]	%	52.3		54.2		55.6		59.3		54.3
  Higher education and skills
  Accredited VET enrolments by student age and gender
  15–19 years	number	53,500		49,900		50,800		45,700		47,000
  20–24 years	number	65,200		60,700		62,900		61,400		68,100
  25–44 years	number	110,800		100,000		108,500		105,200		118,900
  45–64 years	number	56,100		49,500		51,400		45,700		48,800
  Female	number	144,600		133,500		143,400		135,000		149,900
  Male	number	147,000		131,800		135,100		126,400		136,600
  VET enrolments by administrative region
  South western	number	129,500		114,000		118,200		110,200		120,000
  North western	number	76,300		72,700		71,500		61,500		67,400
  North eastern	number	60,600		55,700		58,600		52,500		58,100
  South eastern	number	81,300		73,500		81,000		74,100		85,700
  VET enrolments by skills shortage category courses
  Government-subsidised enrolments in skill demand occupations	number	111,500		99,900		104,900		106,900		- [3]
  VET enrolments by specialised category courses
  Government-subsidised enrolments in specialist occupations	number	69,800		68,400		71,500		69,200		- [3]
  VET participation by learners facing barriers
  Indigenous people	number	5,000		4,900		5,300		4,900		5,300
  People with a disability	number	31,100		29,100		30,100		25,100		26,700
  VET participation by unemployed learners
  VET participation by unemployed learners	number	75,400		62,800		66,100		61,000		66,400
  Proportion of VET students satisfied with the teaching in their course
  Proportion of VET students satisfied with the teaching in their course [4]	%	85.6		85.6		84.4		86.3		86.6

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  [1] 2022 Report on Government Services - Table 4A.18

  [2] In 2020–21, the results were reported against the wrong year levels (Years 7–10 and Years 11–12). This has been corrected in this Annual Report.

  [3] Responsibility for reporting on skills in demand has transferred to the VSA which was established in July 2021 in response to the recommendations of the Skills for Victoria’s Growing Economy Review. The VSA is developing the first Victorian Skills Plan, which will outline occupations in demand across Victoria using an improved methodology. This will form the basis of ensuring alignment of enrolments to occupational demand.

  [4] Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) National Student Outcomes Survey Government-funded qualification completer outcomes: time series of key findings 2012–2021 Table 3. Results have been rearranged to refer to the year of the survey to align with results published by NCVER. Title of measure has been revised to align with title as published by NCVER.

• Objective 3: Wellbeing

  Increase the contribution education, training, and early childhood education services make to good health and quality of life for all Victorians, particularly children and young people.

  The department maintained a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing throughout 2021. The updated Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0) placed wellbeing alongside learning as a core outcome for Victorian government school students.

  Early childhood education

  Wellbeing indicators are positive for most Victorian children starting school. Results from the 2021 School Entrant Health Questionnaire, a survey of parents with children starting school, showed that more than 78% of children are at low risk of behavioural problems. The proportion of children entering school with no general development issues has also declined since 2019.

  More than three-quarters of Victorian children in their first year of school are assessed by their teachers as ‘on track’ against the AEDC social competence or emotional maturity domains.

  School Readiness Funding supports children’s engagement in kindergarten programs. The funding helps build child development in communication (language development), wellbeing (social and emotional), and access and inclusion. A menu of evidence–informed programs and supports has been developed to guide kindergarten services with their spending in these areas. In 2021, all eligible funded kindergartens in the state received an allocation of School Readiness Funding, including all Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. The funding reached more than 2,700 kindergarten services and approximately 87,000 children.

  School education

  Student wellbeing factors, such as feeling safe and connected to school, are important for student happiness and other aspects of school life. The student Attitudes to School Survey measures government school students’ responses to various aspects of school life, including how connected they feel to school, their sense of safety at school and the behaviour of students in their classroom.

  Nearly 80% of primary students and more than 50% of secondary students, reported feeling connected to their schooling. Results from 2021 indicated that the proportion of primary school students feeling connected to their schooling increased slightly, while secondary school student results declined.

  Student Support Services responded to the changing COVID-19 environment by adapting service delivery and providing remote support to at-risk and vulnerable students, including voice calls and video conferencing. When face‑to‑face learning resumed, Student Support Services continued to work as part of integrated health and wellbeing teams to support student wellbeing, and promote positive health and educational outcomes.

  School Wide Positive Behaviour Support coaches maintained their engagement with schools, and continued to provide online professional learning, including during the periods of remote and flexible learning in 2021. In addition, Mental Health Practitioners have provided direct student counselling and related activities, including family support and referral to specialist services, and supported students and schools through mental health prevention and promotion activities.

  Students have been supported through the Glasses for Kids program, which invited Foundation to Year 3 students at 115 targeted schools to participate. This included vision screening 5,629 students and providing free glasses to 1,344 students.

  The Affordable School Uniforms program also provided government school students experiencing financial disadvantage with school uniforms and other essential items. Between July 2021 and 30 June 2022, 67,244 students from 1,329 schools received support.

  The School Breakfast Clubs program continued to offer free and healthy food for students in 1,000 Victorian government primary, secondary, P-12 and specialist schools, including during periods of remote and flexible learning. Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, the program served over 6 million meals and delivered cooking classes to families at 23 schools.

  Higher education and skills

  VET student satisfaction levels continue to rise, as seen in their overall satisfaction with training which has risen from 85.3% in 2017 to 87.7% in 2021.

  Departmental indicators against wellbeing

  Indicators	Unit	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
  Early childhood development
  Proportion of children who have no behavioural issues on entry into Prep [1]
  Proportion of children who have no behavioural issues on entry into Prep	%	82.7	80.3	77.9	78.0	78.7
  Proportion of children who have no general developmental issues identified by parents on entry into Prep	%	43.8	35.0	36.6	36.0	33.1
  Children developmentally ‘on track’ on the AEDC social competence and emotional maturity domains [2]
  Social competence domain	%	–	77.3	–	–	77.8
  Emotional maturity domain	%	–	77.7	–	–	78.4
  School education [3]
  Students feeling connected to their school
  Proportion of Victorian government school student responses that ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they feel connected to schooling
  Years 4–6	%	81.7	81.2	81.0	79.2	79.5
  Years 7–9 [4]	%	56.0	56.7	56.0	59.9	53.2
  Years 10–12 [4]	%	52.8	53.1	53.3	59.4	50.1
  Students with a positive opinion about their school providing a safe and orderly environment for learning
  Proportion of Victorian government school students who say they have not been bullied recently
  Years 4–6	%	74.7	80.0	81.6	83.3	80.9
  Years 7–9	%	73.3	78.8	80.5	88.2	83.4
  Years 10–12	%	81.4	85.4	87.5	92.5	89.2
  Proportion of Victorian government school students who ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that their teacher sets clear rules / manages misbehaviour effectively
  Years 4–6	%	80.1	79.9	79.8	77.0	78.6
  Years 7–9	%	56.1	57.8	58.1	61.8	57.3
  Years 10–12	%	56.0	56.9	57.5	62.7	57.2
  Higher education and skills
  Level of student satisfaction with VET
  Proportion of government-funded graduates satisfied with training overall [5]	%	85.3	85.2	85.7	87.4 [6]	87.7

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  [1] In 2021, the number of health assessments conducted by school nurses was lower due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on face-to-face service delivery. As a result, there may be a small variation in results compared to prior years.

  [2] The AEDC is held every 3 years, with the 2021 AEDC data collection being the fifth collection. Data source: AEDC 2021 Report – Findings from the AEDC.

  [3] These school education measures relate to Victorian government schools.

  [4] In 2020–21 the results were reported against the wrong year levels (Years 7–10 and Years 11–12). This has been corrected in this Annual Report.

  [5] Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) National Student Outcomes Survey. Government-funded qualification completer outcomes: time series of key findings 2012–2021 Table 3. Title of measure has been revised to align with title as published by NCVER.

  [6] The 2020 results have been readjusted to the year of the survey to align with results published by NCVER.

• Objective 4: Productivity

  Increase the productivity of our services.

  Early childhood education

  Investments in services across early childhood, schools and higher education and training continue to grow. The minimum funding available for children attending kindergarten in the year before school has increased between 2016 and 2020, from $3,448 per child to $3,774.

  In addition, in 2021 approximately 98% of funded kindergarten services across Victoria participated in the time-limited Free Kinder initiative and were provided additional funding of $2,122 per eligible child in a funded sessional kindergarten service and $2,000 per eligible child in a funded long day care service. The Free Kinder initiative supported kindergarten participation and provided families with economic support as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

  School education

  Investment in Victoria’s schooling continues to grow with government real recurrent expenditure per FTE student in primary schools increasing to $16,345 in 2019–20 (most recent available data). Government real recurrent expenditure per FTE student in secondary schools increased to $20,277. Analysis of data published in the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services indicates that Victorian Government expenditure in government schools and all schools increased more than any other state or territory between 2014–15 and 2019–20, at 30.1% and 28.4% respectively. [1] The report also indicates Victorian Government expenditure per FTE in government schools increased more than any other state or territory between 2014–15 and 2019–20, at 16.4%. [2]

  Higher education and skills

  Investment in VET has continued to grow. Since 2016, investment in the VET system, as measured through expenditure per student contact hour, has increased in real terms from $12.87 per hour to $20.01 per hour in 2020 (2020 dollars).

  Victoria’s 38% increase in expenditure per student contact hour (2020 dollars) from $14.51 in 2019 to $20.01 in 2020 was the largest increase among all jurisdictions. This was partly due to additional time-limited government support for TAFEs and training providers to provide high quality training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Departmental indicators against productivity

  Indicators	Unit	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
  Early childhood development
  Dollar per kindergarten child per calendar year in the year prior to school
  Minimum funding available to the majority of children (approximately 90% in 2021) who access a kindergarten program in the year prior to school	$ per child	3,448	3,549	3,638	3,682	3,774 [3]
  School education—primary and secondary
  Dollar per primary school student per financial year
  Government real recurrent expenditure (including user cost of capital) per FTE student in primary schools (2019–20 dollars)[4]	$ per FTE student	15,445	15,975	16,345	– [5]	– [6]
  Dollar per secondary school student per financial year
  Government real recurrent expenditure (including user cost of capital) per FTE student in secondary schools (2019–20 dollars)	$ per FTE student	19,196	19,884	20,277	– [6]	– [6]
  Higher education and skills
  Dollar per VET student contact hour per calendar year
  Victorian Government real recurrent expenditure per annual hour (2020 dollars)	$ per hour	15.53	16.02	14.51	20.01	– [6]

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  [1] Calculations drawn from the 2022 RoGS, table 4A.10

  [2] Calculations drawn from the 2022 RoGS, table 4A.14

  [3] In 2021, funded kindergarten services participating in the time-limited Free Kinder initiative were funded an additional $2,122 per eligible child in sessional kindergarten services and $2,000 per eligible child in long day care services.

  [4] Government expenditure refers to Australian and Victorian Government expenditure. Time series financial data are adjusted to 2019–20 dollars as reported in Table 4A.15. 2017 data relates to 2017–18, 2018 to 2018–19, 2019 to 2019–20, 2020 to 2020–21 and 2021 to 2021–22.

  [5] The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services is published in early February each year. There is a time lag in reporting of financial data, with 2020–21 results to be released in 2023 and 2021–22 results in 2024.

  [6] The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services Table 5A.2 is published in early February each year. There is a time lag in reporting of financial data, with the 2021 results expected to be released in February 2023.

• Strategy, review and regulation

  This output develops, plans and monitors strategic policy settings across all stages of learning. It also includes intergovernmental negotiations, as well as research, data and performance evaluations. This output also supports regulation that ensures quality education and training is delivered.

  Strategy, review and regulation performance measures

  Performance measures		Unit of measure	2021–22 actual		2021–22 target	Performance variation (%)		Result
  Quantity
  Number of RTO quality audits and school reviews undertaken annually		number	120		102	17.6		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the school cyclical review program for independent schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than target, due to the school cyclical review program for independent schools being reconfigured to deal with the backlog arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Quality
  Education peak bodies that rate the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) effective or highly effective in performing its regulatory function		%	93		90	3.3		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Regulated schools and RTOs that rate the VRQA effective or highly effective in performing its regulatory function		%	93		90	3.3		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Percentage of government schools where an enrolment audit is conducted		%	32.5		32.5	0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and government schools only.
  Cost
  Total output cost		$ million	115.4		117.8	-2.1		✓
  No footnote required.
  Key:	✓ Target achieved or exceeded			⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance			■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• Early childhood education

  This output involves the provision of kindergarten and children’s services. Services include the monitoring of education and care services and specialist services to improve access to kindergartens among children experiencing disadvantage. This output provides early intervention and parenting support. It also includes a range of services and support for children with a developmental delay or disability and their families.

  Early childhood education performance measures

  Performance measures		Unit of measure	2021–22 actual		2021–22 target		Performance variation (%)				Result
  Quantity
  Children funded to participate in kindergarten in the year before school		number	80,926			80,000		1.2		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and includes first- and second-year kindergarten participants.
  Aboriginal children funded to participate in kindergarten in the year before school		number	1,497			1,550		–3.4		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and includes first- and second-year Aboriginal kindergarten participants.
  Kindergarten participation rate in the year before school		%	92.9			96.0		–3.2		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and excludes children who participate in a second year of the Four‑Year‑Old kindergarten program.
  Kindergarten participation rate for Aboriginal children in the year before school		%	92.9			96.0		–3.2		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and excludes children who participate in a second year of the Four‑Year‑Old kindergarten program.
  Children funded to participate in kindergarten in the year 2 years before school		number	5,810			5,000		16.2		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and includes children in Early Start Kindergarten and the phased rollout of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the ongoing roll out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.
  Children funded to participate in Early Start Kindergarten or Access to Early Learning in the year 2 years before school		number	3,245			3,000		8.2		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Early Start Kindergarten is available to children known to Child Protection; Aboriginal children; and refugee and asylum seeker children. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the benefits of outreach and other engagement work to support the enrolment and ongoing participation of children eligible for Access to Early Learning and Early Start Kindergarten.
  Average number of inspections per service		number	0.73			0.85		–14.1		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to inspection rates being impacted by COVID-19 restrictions between July and October 2021, resulting in postponement of visits to premises.
  Number of Early Years Management funded services		number	995			1,000		–0.5		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Proportion of approved eligible services assessed and rated		%	14.0			25.0		–44.0		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to lower-than-expected assessment and ratings visits conducted in the period of COVID-19 restrictions between July and October 2021.
  Quality
  Education and care services offering a funded kindergarten program assessed as exceeding the National Quality Standard		%	38.4			46		–16.5		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the impact of COVID‑19 restrictions on assessment and ratings visits.
  Education and care services offering a funded kindergarten program assessed as meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard		%	91.5			91		0.5		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Parent satisfaction with kindergarten services		%	90			90		0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. It is based on a parent opinion survey that is administered to all funded kindergarten services.
  Cost
  Total output cost		$ million	894.9			973.4		–8.1		✓
  The lower 2021–22 actual primarily reflects carryover and budget rephasing into 2022–23.
  Key:	✓ Target achieved or exceeded			⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance					■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• School education—primary

  The school education output group comprises 2 outputs of:

  • school education—primary output provides services to develop essential skills and learning experiences to engage young minds in the primary sector
  • school education—secondary output consolidates literacy and numeracy competencies, including creative and critical thinking as well as physical, social, emotional and intellectual development in adolescence. It also provides education services as well as varied pathways and support for transition across sectors to further study.

  These outputs contribute to providing and improving services that support all the department’s objectives of achievement, engagement, wellbeing and productivity.

  The government sets high aspirations for all students. These are reflected in BP3 NAPLAN measures. The BP3 targets for Koorie students measure—at Years 3, 5, 7 and 9—the percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 NAPLAN bands in reading and numeracy. NAPLAN results for Victorian Koorie students are above the national Aboriginal cohort across all domains and year levels.

  School education—primary

  The school education—primary output provides services to develop essential skills and learning experiences to engage young minds and improve the quality of learning of students from Prep to Year 6 in government and non-government schools.

  School education—primary performance measures

  Performance measures		Unit of measure	2021–22 actual		2021–22 target	Performance variation (%)		Result
  Quantity
  Investment in non-government schools (primary)		$ million	562.1		524.6	7.2		✓
  The higher 2021–22 actual primarily reflects funding approved after the release of the 2021–22 Budget . These are offset by a re-phase of capital grants for non-government schools into 2022–23.
  Percentage of government primary school students receiving equity funding		%	25		25	0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Number of teachers who completed professional development as Mathematics and Science Specialists		number	209		200	4.5		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Number of assistant principals participating in leadership development programs, including the Aspiring Principals Program		number	1,348		700	92.6		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target because (a) it is likely that an increased number of participants enrolled in 2021 programs as a result of postponed enrolments in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, and (b) the former Bastow leadership development programs offered in 2021 supported additional assistant principals to participate.
  Number of principals participating in leadership development programs		number	1,255		1,100	14.1		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target because (a) it is likely that an increased number of participants enrolled in 2021 programs as a result of postponed enrolments in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, and (b) the former Bastow leadership development programs offered in 2021 supported additional principals to participate.
  Number of school staff who are not principals or assistant principals participating in leadership development programs		number	3,226		3,000	7.5		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. This performance measure includes all school staff (teaching and education support). The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target because (a) it is likely that an increased number of participants enrolled in 2021 programs as a result of postponed enrolments in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, and (b) the former Bastow leadership development programs offered in 2021 supported additional other school-based staff (such as teachers) to participate.
  Number of teachers completing mentoring training		number	1,033		900	14.8		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and includes early childhood teachers. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to greater accessibility to the Effective Mentoring Program seminars, which were predominantly delivered online, and scheduling of 3 additional seminars to meet Career Start pilot demands.
  Number of Victorian schools participating as a ‘lead school’ for the Respectful Relationships initiative		number	402		382	5.2		✓
  The above performance measure relates to primary and secondary schools. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to a higher-than-expected number of schools that expressed interest and were assessed as suitable to participate as a ‘lead school’.
  Number of school-based staff who have participated in whole-school Respectful Relationships professional learning initiative		number	35,000		35,000	0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to primary and secondary schools.
  Number of schools able to access the Digital Assessment Library		number	2,413		2,413	0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of Digital Assessment Library items developed		number	2,034		1,590	27.9		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to a greater than expected amount of content becoming available within the library for construction of tests.
  Number of schools supported with strategic business and financial support		number	745		700	6.4		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to greater uptake of support services by schools.
  Number of school staff attending strategic business and financial support training		number	2,520		2,500	0.8		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Proportion of eligible schools in receipt of funding for the Swimming in Schools program		%	100		100	0.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Units of service provided by data and evidence coaches		number	1,078		1,140	–5.4		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target with COVID-19 affecting onsite service delivery to schools.
  Number of schools utilising the Local Administrative Bureau		number	58		88	–34.1		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacts resulting in longer than anticipated project initiation and recruitment activities.
  Number of schools working with School-wide Positive Behaviour Support		number	428		400	7.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to additional area coaches supporting a higher number of schools than initially forecast.
  Utilisation of annual hours allocated to schools for onsite IT technical support		%	100		99	1.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Quality
  Average days lost due to absence at Year 5		number	14.9		14.1	5.7		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice.
  Average days lost due to absence at Year 6		number	15.7		14.5	8.3		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice.
  Average days lost due to absence for Aboriginal students in Years Prep to 6		number	28.4		24.0	18.3		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for Koorie families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice. This cohort is small and data is subject to volatility.
  Proportion of positive responses to school satisfaction by parents of government primary school students		%	83.8		85	-1.4		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Percentage of government schools compliant with the Child Safety Standards 3 months after review		%	99		100	-1.0		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	39.1		46.7	-16.3		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 2.88 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	33.6		35.2	-4.5		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 3.25 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	55.6		58.2	-4.5		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 3.09 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	45.9		44.6	2.9		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 2.90 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	68.2		73.8	-7.6		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.02 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	64.3		66.0	-2.6		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.01 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	81.3		82.0	-0.9		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 0.73 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	73.8		72.5	1.8		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 0.90 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for numeracy in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	40.0		46.7	-14.3		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.07 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for numeracy in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	33.0		35.3	-6.5		⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.12 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for reading in Year 3 (NAPLAN testing)		%	61.9		60.7	2.0		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 0.99 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for reading in Year 5 (NAPLAN testing)		%	44.8		45.1	-0.7		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.08 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Years 5–6 students’ opinion of their connectedness with the school		number (1–5)	4.1		4.4	-6.8		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target likely due to the impact of changes to survey timing, structure and delivery to account for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the comparability of results for 2021.
  Proportion of identified schools that subsequently improved their performance		%	62.0		67.0	-7.5		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the schools identified to receive additional school improvement practices during 2020 and 2021 experiencing a lower level of support compared to schools in previous years. This was due to the school improvement workforce being redeployed to support agile COVID-19 regional operating models.
  Proportion of participants rating the impact of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership's professional learning on their own development and practice as 'significant' or above (all programs)		%	82.0		78.0	5.1		✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to continuous improvement in the VATL’s professional learning design and delivery.
  Proportion of participants who are satisfied with the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership's professional learning and development training (all programs)		%	77.0		82.0	-6.1		■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target as a result of some programs being delivered online and in hybrid settings for the first time. The VATL responded to this feedback by implementing continuous improvement plans.
  Cost
  Total output cost		$ million	5,750.6		5,765.9	-0.3		✓
  No footnote required.
  Key:	✓ Target achieved or exceeded			⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance			■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• School education—secondary

  The school education—secondary output involves provision of education and support services designed to improve student learning, development and wellbeing in Years 7 to 12 in government and non-government schools. These services seek to consolidate literacy and numeracy competencies including creative and critical thinking, as well as physical, social, emotional and intellectual development in adolescence. It also covers the provision of services to improve pathways to further education, training and employment.

  School education—secondary performance measures

  Performance measures	Unit of measure	2021–22 actual	2021–22 target		Performance variation (%)	Result
  Quantity
  Investment in non-government schools (secondary)	$ million	602.4	541.2		11.3	✓
  The higher 2021–22 actual primarily reflects funding approved after the release of the 2021–22 Budget. These are offset by a re-phase of capital grants for non-government schools into 2022–23.
  Number of school students enrolled in VCAL	number	27,624	21,650		27.6	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to an increasing proportion of students undertaking VCAL as it becomes more established as an alternative qualification to the VCE.
  Number of school students participating in accredited vocational programs	number	49,560	48,500		2.2	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of school-based apprentices/trainees	number	3,172	3,700		-14.3	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the reduction in school-based apprentices/traineeships enrolments in light of disruption to industry and schools as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
  Proportion of all secondary schools offering vocational options to students as part of their secondary school certificate	%	96.3	96.0		0.3	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of students for which government secondary schools are funded to ‘catch up’	number	10,700	10,700		0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Percentage of government secondary school students receiving equity funding	%	30.5	30.5		0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Number of students participating in the Victorian Young Leaders program	number	570	325		75.4	✓
  The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the popularity of the program, and the virtual delivery mode enabling greater access to students.
  Number of partner secondary schools accessing a Tech School	number	157	160		-1.9	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government and non-government schools who are partnered to a Tech School.
  Proportion of employment-based pathways-qualified teachers retained in Victorian government school workforce (within 2 years) after completing the pathway	%	70	65		7.7	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to a higher than forecast number of 2018 Teach for Australia teacher graduate cohort remaining employed in Victorian government schools as at 2021.
  Quality
  Average days lost due to absence in Years 11 and 12	number	16.8	16.1		4.3	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice.
  Average days lost due to absence in Years 7–10	number	22.7	19.0		19.5	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice.
  Average days lost due to absence for Aboriginal students in Years 7 to 12	number	41.3	35.0		18.0	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes parent choice on student attendance (reflecting the characteristics of and risks for Koorie families), and the resumption of onsite learning resulting in increased absences due to illness. The rate covers all absences, including those due to illness and parent choice. This cohort is small and data is subject to volatility.
  Median VCE study score	number	29	29		0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Proportion of positive responses to school satisfaction by parents of government secondary school students	%	78.2	80		-2.3	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	28.4	29.7		-4.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 3.13 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	21.9	27.9		-21.5	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 2.58 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	29.9	29.2		2.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 3.05 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of Aboriginal students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	20.7	26.3		-21.3	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 2.65 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of school leavers completing a VCE VET program in a school progressing to further education, training or work	%	95.2	95.0		0.2	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Percentage of school leavers completing an intermediate or senior VCAL in a school progressing to further education, training or work	%	87.0	85.0		2.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	62.3	64.7		-3.7	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.65 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for numeracy in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	51.9	57.9		-10.4	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.91 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	61.7	61.1		1.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.61 percentage points which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students above the bottom 3 bands for reading in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	49.7	53.3		-6.8	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.69 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for numeracy in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	34.3	36.7		-6.5	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.67 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for numeracy in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	21.4	27.6		-22.5	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.74 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for reading in Year 7 (NAPLAN testing)	%	30.7	31.2		-1.6	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.53 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students in the top 2 bands for reading in Year 9 (NAPLAN testing)	%	21.8	23.0		-5.2	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is within the margin of error associated with NAPLAN testing for this cohort. NAPLAN results, as with any assessment measure, are subject to a small margin of error. This is reflected in a confidence interval of ± 1.45 percentage points, which is specific to the measure in 2021.
  Percentage of students who remain at school from Year 7 to Year 12	%	91.5	93.0		-1.6	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Percentage of VCAL certificates satisfactorily completed by school students	%	69.2	77.0		-10.1	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to a higher than usual proportion of students enrolled in the VCAL Foundation and Intermediate levels finding studies challenging in light of COVID-19 restrictions.
  Years 7–9 students’ opinion of their connectedness with the school	Number (1–5)	3.4	3.7		-8.1	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the impact of changes to survey timing, structure and delivery to account for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the comparability of results for 2021.
  Percentage of students in out of home care receiving targeted supports in school (LOOKOUT Education Support Centres)	%	83.0	85.0		-2.4	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Proportion of Navigator program participants re-engaged in schooling	%	60.0	70.0		-14.3	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than target due to COVID-19 restrictions and long periods of remote and disrupted learning in 2020 and 2021, which made returning disengaged young people to education significantly more challenging.
  Percentage of Year 9 students in government schools that complete an online assessment using a career diagnostic tool	%	82.0	86.0		-4.7	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Proportion of Year 10–12 students with a Career Action Plan	%	83.1	86.0		-3.4	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Cost
  Total output cost	$ million	4,883.7	4,713.1		3.6	⚬
  No footnote required.

  Key:

  ✓ Target achieved or exceeded

  ⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance

  ■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• Training, higher education and workforce development

  The training, higher education and workforce development output supports Victorians to gain the skills and capabilities essential for success in employment and further training or study. The department works with the TAFE and training sector to deliver quality training that strongly supports industry to meet the evolving needs of the economy, promotes equity and addresses disadvantage. This output includes the functions of training system design, industry engagement, and contracting and monitoring of training service quality. Training services include accredited VET and pre-accredited adult community and further education services.

  Training, higher education and workforce development performance measures

  Performance measures	Unit of measure	2021–22 actual	2021–22 target	Performance variation (%)	Result
  Quantity
  Number of government-subsidised course enrolments	number	328,811	317,500	3.6	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of government-subsidised course enrolments in the TAFE network	number	157,626	145,000	8.7	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to the higher continuing enrolments from 2020 students who were not able to complete their studies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Number of government-subsidised pre-accredited module enrolments funded through the ACFE Board	number	42,645	48,400	-11.9	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training activity in 2021.
  Number of government-subsidised apprenticeship course enrolments	number	52,841	49,900	5.9	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to higher continuing enrolments from 2020 students who were not able to complete their studies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Proportion of government-subsidised enrolments related to qualifications that will lead to jobs and economic growth	%	86.3	83.0	4.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of government-subsidised course enrolments by students living in regional Victoria	number	84,811	81,300	4.3	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of students without Year 12, or Certificate II or above, enrolled in a government-subsidised course at Certificate III or above	number	58,296	58,000	0.5	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Number of government-subsidised foundation module enrolments	number	108,505	150,000	-27.7	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and the substitution from accredited foundation training to other types of training.
  Number of government-subsidised course enrolments by students eligible for fee concession	number	63,299	67,500	-6.2	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, as well as the increasing proportion of training delivered through Free TAFE and JobTrainer programs, where students are not required to report fee concession eligibility.
  Number of enrolments in the Free TAFE for priority courses initiative	number	54,965	50,000	9.9	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to higher continuing enrolments from 2020 students who were not able to complete their studies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Quality
  Proportion of employers of apprentices and trainees who are satisfied with training	%	75.3	78.1	-3.6	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Data for 2021–22 actual relate to the 2021 Victorian Employer Satisfaction Survey of 2020 training experiences.
  Proportion of VET completers who are satisfied with their training	%	86.5	85.7	0.9	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Data for 2021–22 actual relate to the 2021 Victorian Student Satisfaction Survey of 2020 training experiences.
  Proportion of VET completers with an improved employment status after training	%	55.7	54.4	2.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Data for 2021–22 actual relate to the 2021 Victorian Student Satisfaction Survey of 2020 training experiences.
  Proportion of VET completers who achieved their main reason for training	%	85.3	84.1	1.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Data for 2021–22 actual relate to the 2021 Victorian Student Satisfaction Survey of 2020 training experiences.
  2-year completion rate for non-apprentice commencements in government subsidised Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications	%	46.0	46.3	-0.6	⚬
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. Data for the 2021–22 actual is the proportion of enrolments which commenced in 2020 that completed at the end of 2021.
  6-year completion rate for apprentice commencements in government subsidised AQF qualifications	%	62.8	58.0	8.3	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to higher completions by apprentices who were not able to complete their studies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Cost
  Total output cost	$ million	2,304.1	2,599.8	-11.4	✓
  The lower 2021–22 actual primarily reflects lower-than-expected expenses from third party revenue and budget rephasing into 2022–23. These are offset by new funding decisions during 2021–22.

  Key:

  ✓ Target achieved or exceeded

  ⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance

  ■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• Support services delivery

  The support services delivery output primarily provides student welfare and support, student transport (excluding transport for special needs students) and health services.

  Support services delivery performance measures

  Performance measures	Unit of measure	2021–22 actual	2021–22 target	Performance variation (%)	Result
  Quantity
  Eligible primary school students in receipt of camps, sports and excursions fund	number	128,086	135,400	-5.4	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to a decrease in the number of eligible students in the primary cohort and lower- than- expected applications from parents, in light of COVID-19 restrictions and extended periods of learning from home.
  Eligible secondary school students in receipt of camps, sports and excursions fund	number	99,741	91,800	8.7	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to an increase in the number of eligible students in the secondary cohort and more parents submitting applications for their children than expected.
  Investment in student welfare and support	$ million	398.7	343.2	16.1	✓
  The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target, primarily reflecting funding approved after the release of the 2021–22 Budget, such as the Positive Start initiative.
  Investment in travelling allowances and transport support (not including special needs students)	$ million	45.5	45.9	-0.9	⚬
  No footnote required.
  Health assessments of prep-aged students by school nurses	number	60,256	70,500	-14.5	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to the impact of COVID‑19 restricting school nursing operations.
  School students (government) supported by conveyance allowance	number	9,849	9,255	6.4	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to a greater than anticipated number of applications, particularly from students at newly established government schools.
  School students (non-government) supported by conveyance allowance	number	29,471	28,922	1.9	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Schools allocated a nurse through the secondary school nursing program	number	198	198	0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Schools funded for primary welfare officers	number	803	803	0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Quality
  School satisfaction with student support services	%	67.9	80.0	-15.1	■
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is lower than the target due to schools’ competing priorities regarding flexible and remote teaching and learning, and constrained resource support.
  Cost
  Total output cost	$ million	444.6	389.1	14.2	■
  The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target, primarily reflecting funding approved after the release of the 2021–22 Budget, such as the Positive Start initiative . These funding decisions are offset by budget rephasing into 2022–23.

  Key:

  ✓ Target achieved or exceeded

  ⚬ Target not achieved—less than 5% variance

  ■ Target not achieved—more than 5% variance

• Support for students with disabilities

  The support for students with disabilities output covers programs and funding to support students with disability, as well as transport, welfare and support services for students with special needs.

  Support for students with disabilities performance measures

  Performance measures	Unit of measure	2021–22 actual	2021–22 target	Performance variation (%)	Result
  Quantity
  Eligible special school students provided with appropriate travel	number	8,925	8,925	0.0	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year.
  Proportion of government school students who receive adjustments to support their access and participation in learning because of disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)	%	24.6	17.0	44.7	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year. This performance measure refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to stronger than forecast program demand for targeted engagement with schools.
  Proportion of total government schools resourced through the Disability Inclusion funding and support model	%	38.0	30.0	26.7	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only. The 2021–22 actual is higher than the target due to faster than anticipated implementation.
  Proportion of positive responses to school satisfaction by parents of government special school students	%	85.1	85.0	0.1	✓
  The above performance measure relates to the calendar year and refers to government schools only.
  Cost
  Total output cost	$ million	1,285.4	1,363.6	-5.7	✓
  The lower 2021–22 actual primarily reflects budget rephasing into 2022–23.

  Key:

  ✓ Target achieved or exceeded

  ⚬ Target not achieved — less than 5% variance

  ■ Target not achieved — more than 5% variance

• Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework

  The department implemented its Social Procurement Strategy in February 2019. The strategy prioritises 5 social procurement objectives, which are:

  • opportunities for Victorian Aboriginal people
  • women’s equality and safety
  • opportunities for disadvantaged Victorians
  • supporting safe and fair workplaces
  • environmentally sustainable outputs.

  In 2021–22, the department spent a total of $17.6 million through direct engagement of 119 verified social benefit suppliers. This represents an increase of around $6.2 million on 2010–21. The total spend includes a direct engagement worth $1.8 million with 33 verified Victorian Aboriginal businesses.

  The increase in 2021–22 expenditure is driven by engagements of social enterprises and Victorian Aboriginal businesses for major construction projects and related services, as well as the engagement of a social enterprise, as part of the distribution of air purifier units to schools.

  All procurement procedures for goods and services as well as construction works are aligned with the Social Procurement Framework.

  All suppliers to the department must attest to their commitment to the Victorian Government’s Supplier Code of Conduct when responding to the department’s approaches to market. This includes engagement with the Social Procurement Assurance team at the DTF on procurements estimated to be above $20.0 million.

  Social procurement in school construction

  The department requires all construction related projects to incorporate Social Procurement Framework objectives and outcomes. Evaluations of tender submissions are conducted to identify and recognise businesses whose practices support social and sustainable procurement objectives.

  Assessments are undertaken to review suppliers’ tender responses for the application of social and sustainable procurement objectives. Tender submissions are required to include responses to the following criteria:

  • employment for Victorian Aboriginal people
  • opportunities for disadvantaged Victorians
  • environmentally sustainable outputs.

  The department’s Capital Programs Assurance Service provides independent assurance on projects. It reviews the requirements in tender responses against social procurement objectives. Based on these reviews, VSBA projects have demonstrated a high level of compliance.

  In 2022, a revised Project Management Framework was developed to mandate the application of the Building Equality Policy. The department has updated its construction procurement plan templates and construction procurement guides to reflect the requirements of the policy to create employment opportunities for women through school construction activities.

• Local Jobs First

  Introduced in August 2018, the Local Jobs First Act 2003 brings together the Victorian Industry Participation Policy (VIPP) and Major Project Skills Guarantee (MPSG) policy, which were previously administered separately.

  Departments and public sector bodies are required to apply the Local Jobs First policy to all metropolitan Melbourne and statewide projects valued at $3 million or more, or $1 million or more in regional Victoria.

  MPSG applies to all construction projects valued at $20 million or more. The MPSG guidelines and VIPP guidelines continue to apply to MPSG applicable and VIPP applicable projects respectively, where contracts have been entered into prior to 15 August 2018.

  During 2021–22, the department commenced or completed a total of 152 Local Jobs First projects, totalling $1.8 billion. This includes 145 standard projects and 7 strategic projects. Metropolitan Victoria projects averaged 68% local content, and those based in regional Victoria averaged 70% local content. The statewide projects averaged 45% local content.

  Projects commenced – Local Jobs First Standard

  During 2021–22, the department commenced 96 Local Jobs First Standard Projects, valued at $775 million. The projects based in metropolitan Victoria averaged 74% local content, projects based in regional Victoria expect to use 62% local content and statewide projects expect to use 50% local content.

  The expected outcomes based on the reported and extrapolated information are:

  • an average of 70% local content overall
  • a total of 897,162 work hours created and 2,685,828 work retained [1]
  • an estimated 292,448 new apprenticeships and traineeships work hours created
  • an estimated 448,275 work hours for apprenticeships and traineeships retained.

  MPSG projects provided an estimated 91,219 annual work hours to 88 apprentices, trainees, and cadets.

  Projects completed – Local Jobs First Standard

  During 2021–22, the department completed 49 Local Jobs First Standard Projects, with a total value of $322 million. The projects based in metropolitan Victoria averaged 76% local content, and those based in regional Victoria averaged 70% local content and statewide projects averaged 45% local content.

  The expected outcomes based on reported and extrapolated information are:

  • an average of 73% local content
  • a total of 58,917 work hours created and 145,756 work retained
  • an estimated 15,638 new apprenticeships and traineeships work hours created an estimated 32,935 work hours for apprenticeships and traineeships retained.

  MPSG projects provided an estimated total of 17,479 annual work hours to 300 apprentices, trainees and cadets.

  Projects commenced – Local Jobs First Strategic

  During 2021–22, the department commenced 3 Local Jobs First Strategic Projects, valued at $359 million. The projects based in metropolitan Victoria expect to use 86% local content and statewide projects expect to use 84% local content.

  The expected outcomes based on the reported and extrapolated information are:

  • an average of 85% local content
  • a total of 93,771 work hours created and 1,008,150 work retained
  • an estimated 32,504 new apprenticeships and traineeships work hours created an estimated 81,306 work hours for apprenticeships and traineeships retained.

  MPSG projects provided an estimated total of 113,810 annual hours to 32 apprentices, trainees, and cadets.

  Projects completed – Local Jobs First Strategic

  During 2021–22, the department completed 4 Local Jobs First Strategic Projects, with a total value of $346 million. All projects were based in metropolitan Victoria and averaged 29% local content.

  The outcomes based on the reported information are:

  • an average of 29% local content
  • a total of 37,882 work hours created and 33,548 work retained
  • an estimated 37,881 new apprenticeships and traineeships work hours created an estimated 33,548 work hours for apprenticeships and traineeships retained.

  MPSG projects provided an estimated total of 71,430 annual work hours to 300 apprentices, trainees and cadets.

  Reporting requirements – grants

  For grants provided during 2021–22, a total of zero Interaction Reference Numbers were required, which entailed an engagement with the Industry Capability Network (Victoria) Ltd.

• Government advertising expenditure

  Campaigns with a media spend of $100,000 or greater (excluding GST) during 2021–22

  Campaigns with a media spend of $100,000 or greater (excluding GST) during 2021–22

  docx 18.96 KB

• Consultancy expenditure

  Details of consultancies valued at $10,000 or greater

  In 2021–22, the department and the VSA recorded 42 consultancies whose total fees were $10,000 or greater. The total expenditure incurred in 2021–22 in relation to these consultancies is $9.9 million (excluding GST). Details of the individual consultancies are outlined in Department of Education and Training Annual Report 2021–22 Additional Information < www.vic.gov.au/department-education-and-training-annual-reports&gt;.

  Details of consultancies valued at less than $10,000

  In 2021–22, there were 2 consultancies whose total fees were less than $10,000.

• Information and communication technology expenditure

  In accordance with the VPS’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) reporting standard, the department’s ICT expenditure is reported below. This includes ICT expenditure incurred by the VSA.

  ICT expenditure

  Measure	$ million
  Business as usual ICT expenditure	383.2
  Non-business as usual ICT expenditure
  Operating expenditure	5.8
  Capital expenditure	29.3
  Total ICT non-business as usual expenditure	35.1
  Total ICT expenditure	418.3

• Disclosure of major contracts

  The department disclosed, in accordance with the requirements of government policy and accompanying guidelines, all contracts with a value greater than $10 million entered into during the year ended 30 June 2022. Details of contracts are disclosed in the Victorian Government contracts’ publishing system at www.buyingfor.vic.gov.au.

  Contractual details have not been disclosed for contracts that are exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) or government guidelines.

  Procurement complaints

  Under the Governance Policy of the Victorian Government Purchasing Board, the department must disclose any formal complaints received through its procurement complaints management system.

  The department received one formal complaint through its procurement complaints management system in 2021–22 relating to an open market procurement in which the supplier queried the award process. It was found that all procurement policies and processes had been adhered to. An independent probity advisor had also been appointed to oversee the procurement.

  Procurement during critical incidents

  Under the Market Approach Policy of the Victorian Government Purchasing Board, the department is required to disclose summary information regarding procurement activity during a critical incident.

  Critical incident procurement protocols were implemented by the department on 7 September 2021 for specified procurement projects relating to the safety of students and staff at education settings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These protocols were still in place as at 30 June 2022.

  Total value of procurements made under critical incident protocols

  Goods and services purchased under critical incident protocols	$ (ex GST)
  Goods purchased under protocols in 2021–22	138,518,357
  Services purchased under protocols in 2021–22	13,546,872
  Total	152,065,229

• Freedom of Information

  The FOI Act allows the public a right to access documents held by the department. The purpose of the FOI Act is to extend as far as possible the community’s right to access information held by government departments, local councils, ministers and other bodies.

  People can apply to access documents created by, or supplied to, the department. They may also obtain access to maps, films, microfiche, photographs, computer printouts, computer discs, tape recordings and videotapes. Information about the type of material produced by the department is available at www.vic.gov.au/freedom-information-requests-department-education-and-training .

  Under the FOI Act, the department can refuse public access to certain documents or information, either fully or partially. Examples of documents that the department may refuse access to include:

  • cabinet documents
  • some internal working documents
  • law‑enforcement documents
  • documents covered by legal professional privilege, such as legal advice
  • personal information about other people
  • information provided to the department in confidence.

  Under section 49A of the FOI Act, applicants who are not satisfied by a decision made by the department can seek a review by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner within 28 days of receiving a decision on access.

  Freedom of Information statistics

  During 2021–22, the department received 761 FOI requests. Of these:

  • 690 were from individuals seeking access to their own records
  • 14 were requests from members of parliament
  • 35 were from media organisations
  • 22 were from members of the public seeking policy-related and other miscellaneous documents.

  The Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner was asked to review 22 requests, and 3 went on appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

  This Annual Report contains the information required to be published pursuant to section 7 of the FOI Act. Further information is available at: www.vic.gov.au/freedom-information-requests-department-education-and-training .

  Making a request

  A request for access to documents can be made by writing to the department’s FOI Unit. A request must:

  • be in writing
  • identify as clearly as possible the document(s) being requested
  • be accompanied by the appropriate application fee (the fee may be waived in certain circumstances).

  Access charges may be required in certain circumstances. Examples of access charges include charges for search, retrieval, and extraction of certain documents from databases.

  Freedom of Information contacts

  Agency	Postal address	Email	Telephone
  Department of Education and Training	Manager, Freedom of Information Department of Education and Training GPO Box 4367 Melbourne 3001	foi@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 7022 0856
  VCAA	Level 7 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000	vcaa.foi@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 9032 1700
  VRQA	Level 4 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000	vrqa@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 9032 1554
  Merit Protection Boards	Level 4 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000	meritboards@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 7022 0040
  Victorian Institute of Teaching	Level 9 628 Bourke Street Melbourne 3000	vit@vit.vic.edu.au	(03) 8601 6100
  Disciplinary Appeals Boards	Level 4 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000	dab@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 7022 0040
  Independent office of School Dispute Resolutions	Level 4 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000	school.resolution@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 7022 1199
  VATL	41 St Andrews Place Melbourne 3000	academy@education.vic.gov.au	(03) 8199 2900
  VSA	GPO Box 4367 Melbourne 3001	www.skillsauthority.vic.gov.au	(03) 9059 5107

  Further information regarding FOI can be found at www.vic.gov.au/freedom-information-requests-department-education-and-training .

• Compliance with the DataVic Access Policy

  Consistent with the DataVic Access Policy issued by the Victorian Government in 2012, the department made 8 data sets available on the DataVic website in 2021–22. The information listed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report is available in electronic readable format at www.data.vic.gov.au .

  The information includes:

  • progress towards achieving departmental objectives
  • performance against output performance measures
  • performance management of OHS and workers’ compensation management measures
  • comparative workforce data
  • SES workforce data
  • government advertising expenditure financial statements (key financial information)
  • Appendix 2 budget portfolio outcomes.

• Compliance with the Building Act

  Mechanisms to ensure buildings conform to the building standards

  The department complies with the Building Act 1993, the National Construction Code and other statutory obligations related to constructing and modernising educational facilities. The school modernisation and building compliance programs progressively ensure that existing buildings comply with relevant legislative requirements.

  Major works projects (with a value greater than $50,000)

  For details of all major works projects, see the 2021–22 Budget Paper No. 4: State Capital Program.

  A list of all sites that had capital works projects in a construction status during 2021–22 is provided below.

  Major works sites

  Schools [1]	School	School	School
  Ainslie Parklands PS	Aintree PS	Aireys Inlet PS	Aitken Hill PS
  Alamanda K-9 C	Albanvale PS	Alexandra PS	Alexandra SC
  Alfredton PS	Alkira SC	Alphington PS	Altona C
  Altona Green PS	Altona Meadows PS	Altona PS	Anakie PS
  Antonio Park PS	Apollo Bay P-12 C	Ardeer PS	Armadale PS
  Armstrong Creek School	Arnolds Creek PS	Ascot Vale Heights School	Ascot Vale PS
  Ascot Vale West PS	Ashburton PS	Aspendale PS	Athol Rd PS
  Auburn PS	Auburn South PS	Avenel PS	Avoca PS
  Bacchus Marsh C	Bacchus Marsh PS	Bairnsdale SC	Ballarat PS
  Ballarat SS	Bandiana PS	Banyule PS	Baringa SS
  Barton PS	Barwon Valley School	Bass Valley PS	Bayside P-12 C
  Bayside SDS	Bayswater South PS	Bayswater West PS	Beaconsfield Upper PS
  Bealiba PS	Beaufort ECC	Beaumaris PS	Beeac PS
  Beechworth PS	Belgrave South PS	Bell Park North PS	Bell PS
  Bellbrae PS	Belmont HS	Belmore S	Berendale S
  Beulah PS	Beverford District PS	Beverley Hills PS	Big Hill PS
  Black Hill PS	Black Rock PS	Blackburn HS	Blackburn Lake PS
  Bonbeach PS	Boneo PS	Boronia West PS	Box Hill HS
  Briar Hill PS	Brighton Beach PS	Broadford PS	Broadford SC
  Broadmeadows SDS	Brunswick East PS	Buangor PS	Bundarra PS
  Bundoora PS	California Gully PS	Camberwell PS	Cambridge PS
  Camms Road PS	Campbells Creek PS	Camperdown C	Carlisle River PS
  Carlton PS	Carrington PS	Carwatha P-12 C	Casey Fields PS
  Castlemaine North PS	Castlemaine SC	Chalcot Lodge PS	Charles La Trobe P-12 C
  Chatham PS	Clifton Springs PS	Clunes PS	Cobram and District SS
  Coburg HS	Coburg West PS	Cockatoo PS	Coimadai PS
  Colac PS	Collingwood ELS	Copperfield C	Craigieburn PS
  Craigieburn SC	Cranbourne East PS	Cranbourne East SC	Cranbourne Park PS
  Cranbourne PS	Cranbourne West PS	Croxton SS	Croydon Hills PS
  Croydon SDS	Dallas K	Dandenong North PS	Dandenong Valley SDS
  Darnum PS	Darraweit Guim PS	Davis Creek PS	Deanside K
  Dederang PS	Delacombe PS	Diamond Creek East PS	Diamond Valley SDS
  Diggers Rest PS	Dimboola Memorial SC	Dingley PS	Dohertys Creek P-9 C
  Don Valley PS	Doncaster SC	Dromana PS	Dromana SC
  Drouin PS	Drouin SC	Drouin West PS K	Dunolly PS
  Eagle Point PS	Eaglehawk PS	Eaglehawk SC	East Loddon P-12 C
  Eastwood PS and Deaf Facility	Edenhope C	Edgars Creek PS	Edgars Creek SC
  Elevation SC	Elisabeth Murdoch C	Elphinstone PS	Eltham North PS
  Eltham PS	Emerald SC	Emerson S	Eppalock PS
  Epping PS	Epsom PS	Eskdale PS	Essendon East Keilor District C
  Essendon North PS	Essex Heights PS	Eucalyptus Parade K	Euroa PS
  Featherbrook C	Footscray City PS	Footscray HS	Footscray North PS
  Footscray PS	Foster SC	Fountain Gate PS	Fountain Gate SC
  Frankston SDS	Fyans Park PS	Gaayip-Yagila PS	Gardenvale PS
  Garrang Wilam PS	Gilgai Plains PS	Gisborne SC	Glen Huntly PS
  Gleneagles SC	Glenroy Central PS	Glenroy West PS	Greenhills PS
  Grey Street PS	Halls Gap PS	Hampden SS & Terang C	Hampton Park PS
  Harkaway PS	Harrietville PS	Hayes Hill PS	Healesville HS
  Healesville PS	Heatherwood S	Heathmont C	Heathmont East PS
  Hesket PS	Hoddles Creek PS	Holy Child K	Holyoake Parade PS
  Hopetoun P-12 C	Horsham C	Huntly PS	Hurstbridge PS
  Horsham C	Irymple PS	Irymple South PS	Jennings Street S
  Jindivick PS	John Henry PS	Kambrya C	Kangaroo Flat PS
  Kangaroo Ground PS	Kensington PS	Kerrimuir PS	Kew PS
  Keysborough Gardens PS	Keysborough PS K	Kiewa Valley PS	Kilberry Valley PS
  Kinglake PS	Kinglake West PS	Kingsbury PS	Kingsley Park PS
  Kismet Park PS	Knox Central PS	Knox Park PS	Koo Wee Rup PS
  Koroit and District PS	Korumburra SC	Kunyung PS	Kurnai C
  Kyabram P-12 C	Kyneton HS	Kyneton PS	Lalor Gardens PS
  Lalor PS	Lalor PS K	Lalor SC	Lancefield PS
  Landsborough PS	Lara PS	Launching Place PS	Laurimar PS
  Le Page PS	Lilydale Heights C	Lilydale HS	Little Bendigo PS
  Lockwood PS	Lockwood South PS	Lollypop Creek PS	Longwood PS
  Lorne P-12 C	Lyndale Greens PS	Lyndale SC	Lyndhurst PS
  Lyndhurst SC	Macarthur PS	Macclesfield PS	Macedon PS
  Mackellar PS	MacRobertson Girls HS	Maffra SC	Maiden Gully PS
  Mallacoota K	Manor Lakes P-12 C	Maribyrnong SC	Marnebek S
  Maryborough Education Centre	McClelland SC	Meadows PS	Melba SC
  Melrose PS	Melton SC	Melton SS	Melton West PS
  Mentone Park PS	Merbein P-10 C	Merino CS	Mernda Central P-12 C
  Merriang SDS	Merrifield West Secondary S	Merrijig PS	Metung PS
  Mickleham PS	Middle Park PS	Middleton Drive K	Mill Park Heights PS
  Mitta Mitta PS	Monash SDS	Monbulk PS	Moolap PS
  Moomba Park PS	Mooroolbark East PS	Mooroopna North PS	Mordialloc C
  Moreland PS	Morwell Park PS K	Mossfiel PS	Mount Alexander 7-12 C
  Mount Beauty PS	Mount Beauty SC	Mount Eliza North PS	Mount Erin SC
  Mount Ridley P-12 C	Mount Ridley Special S	Mount Rowan SC	Mount View PS
  Mount Waverley Heights PS	Mount Waverley North PS	Mount Waverley SC	Movelle PS K
  Narre Warren South P-12 C	Newborough PS	Newbury PS	Newhaven PS
  Newlands PS	Nichols Point PS	Niddrie PS	Noble Park ELS
  Noble Park SC	Northcote HS	Northern Bay P-12 C	Northern S For Autism
  Northcote HS	Northern Bay P-12 C	Norwood SC	Nowa Nowa PS
  Nullawarre and District PS	Nullawil PS	Numurkah PS	Nungurner PS
  Oakleigh PS K	Oberon HS	Ocean Grove PS	Officer Rix Road PS
  Officer SC	Officer SS	Old Orchard PS	Orchard Grove PS
  Orrvale PS	Osbornes Flat PS	Outdoor S	Oxley PS
  Parkdale PS	Parkdale SC	Parktone PS	Pascoe Vale Girls SC
  Pascoe Vale North PS	Pascoe Vale PS	Pender’s Grove PS	Peninsula Specialist C
  Pentland PS	Peter Lalor SC	Pinewood PS	Plenty Parklands PS
  Point Cook P-9 C	Portland South PS	Preston HS	Preston PS
  Preston South PS	Puckapunyal PS	Pyalong PS	Ramlegh Park PS
  Rangebank PS	Rangeview PS	Raywood PS	Red Cliffs East PS
  Red Cliffs PS	Red Hill CS	Reservoir East PS K	Reservoir PS
  Reservoir West PS	Riddells Creek PS	Ringwood Heights PS	Ringwood North PS
  Ringwood SC	Riverdale East PS	Riverwalk PS	Rockbank Murray Road PS
  Rockbank PS	Rosamond SS	Rosebud SC	Rosedale PS
  Rosehill SC	Rosewood Downs PS	Rowville PS	Rubicon Outdoor S
  Rushworth P-12 C	Ruskin Park PS	Sale C	Saltwater P-9 C
  Sandringham C	Sassafras PS	Scoresby SC	Seabrook PS
  Seaford PS	Selby PS	Seville PS	Shepparton East PS
  Sherbourne PS	Silvan PS	Somers PS	Somerville PS
  South Oakleigh SC	Southern Autistic S	Specimen Hill PS	Springhurst PS
  Springside West SC	Springvale Park SDS	St Andrews PS	St Leonards PS
  Stanhope PS	Strathewen PS	Strathmore North PS	Strathtulloh PS
  Streeton PS	Sunbury C	Sunbury Downs C	Sunbury Heights PS
  Sunbury PS	Sunshine C	Sunshine Heights PS	Surf Coast SC
  Surfside PS	Surrey Hills PS	Swan Hill PS	Sydenham - Hillside PS
  Sydney Road Community S	Talbot PS	Talgarno PS	Tallarook PS
  Taradale PS	Tarneit Missen House PS	Tarneit Rise PS	Tarneit Senior C
  Taylors Lakes SC	Tecoma PS	Teesdale PS	Templestowe Heights PS
  The Basin PS	Thomastown SC	Thornbury HS	Tinternvale PS
  Toolern Vale and District PS	Tooradin PS	Torquay Coast PS	Torquay P-6 C
  Traralgon C	Traralgon South PS	Tulliallan PS	Tylden PS
  Ultima PS	Undera PS	University HS	University Park PS
  Upper Ferntree Gully PS	Upper Yarra SC	Upwey PS	Vermont South Special S
  Verney Road S	Waaia-Yalca South PS	Wahgunyah PS	Wallan PS
  Wallington PS	Wandong PS	Wangaratta District SS and Appin Park PS	Wangaratta West PS
  Wantirna PS	Warracknabeal Education Precinct	Warragul Regional C	Warrandyte PS
  Warringa Park S	Warrnambool C	Watsonia PS	Wedge Park PS
  Wellington SC	Welshpool and District PS	Wesburn PS	Westall PS
  Western Autistic S	Westmeadows PS	Wheelers Hill SC	Williamstown HS
  Williamstown PS	Winters Flat PS	Woady Yaloak PS	Wodonga Middle Years C
  Wodonga PS	Wollert East SC	Wollert West PS	Wonthaggi SC
  Woodford PS	Woodmans Hill SC	Woori Yallock PS	Wycheproof P-12 C
  Wyndham Central SC	Wyndham Park PS	Wyndham Vale PS	Yackandandah PS
  Yarra Hills SC	Yarra Ranges SDS	Yarram SC	Yarraman Oaks PS
  Yarrambat PS	Yarrawonga P-12 C	Yinnar PS	York Street K
  Yuille Park P-8 Community C

  Number of building permits, occupancy permits, or certificates of final inspection issued in relation to buildings owned by the department

  During 2021–22, the department had 303 building permits, 132 occupancy permits, and 158 certificates of final inspection issued.

  Mechanisms for inspection, reporting, scheduling and carrying out of maintenance works on existing buildings

  The department engages compliance program managers to carry out inspections, reporting, scheduling, and rectification works to ensure that existing buildings comply with current building regulations. Compliance programs cover areas such as asbestos removal, fire service upgrades, integration (disability access), environmental works (such as the removal of underground petroleum storage systems) and works aimed at preventing falls.

  The department also operates the Make Safe and Emergency Maintenance programs. The Make Safe program involves works to eliminate the risk of immediate hazards resulting from an incident (fire) or event (storm). The Emergency Maintenance program addresses unforeseen, urgent infrastructure maintenance issues that pose a risk to safety, where schools do not have the financial capacity to rectify the issue.

  Number of emergency orders and building orders issued in relation to buildings

  One emergency order was issued in 2021–22, due to a classroom fire. This building was removed.

  Number of buildings that have been brought into conformity with building standards during the reporting period

  During 2021–22, no buildings were required to be brought into conformity with building standards.

  ---

  [1] C: College, CS: Consolidated School, ECC: Early Childhood Centre, ELS: English Language School, HS: High School, K: Kindergarten, PS: Primary School, S: School, SC: Secondary College, SDS: Special Development School, SS: Specialist School

• Compliance with the Public Interest Disclosures Act

  The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (PID Act) encourages and assists people to make disclosures of improper conduct by public officers and public bodies. It protects people who make disclosures and establishes a system for investigation and rectification.

  Improper employee conduct is not tolerated, nor are reprisals against those who disclose such conduct. The department ensures transparency and accountability in administrative and management practices and supports disclosures that reveal improper conduct, including corrupt conduct, conduct involving a substantial mismanagement of public resources, or conduct involving a substantial risk to the health and safety of individuals or the environment.

  The department takes all reasonable steps to protect people who make disclosures from reprisals. It also affords natural justice to the person who is the subject of the disclosure to the extent that is legally possible.

  Reporting procedures

  Disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action by the department or any of its employees, may be made to the department’s:

  • Secretary
  • Public Interest Disclosure Coordinator or public interest disclosure officers
  • manager or supervisor of the discloser
  • manager or supervisor of the person who is the subject of the disclosure.

  Alternatively, disclosures can also be made directly to the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC):

  Level 1, North Tower, 459 Collins Street
  Melbourne Vic 3000

  Phone : 1300 735 135
  Website : www.ibac.vic.gov.au
  Email : See the website above for the secure email disclosure process, which also provides for anonymous disclosures.

  Further information

  The department has published guidelines regarding the procedures it has instituted to comply with the PID Act at www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/report-fraud-or-corruption/overview

  Disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act

  	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20	2018–19
  The number of disclosures made by an individual to the department and notified to IBAC: assessable disclosures.	7	10	8	18

• Competitive Neutrality Policy

  Competitive neutrality requires government businesses to ensure, where services compete or potentially compete with the private sector, that any advantage arising solely from being government owned is removed if that advantage is not in the public interest. Government businesses must cost and price these services as if they were privately owned.

  The Competitive Neutrality Policy supports fair competition between public and private businesses and helps government businesses make better resource allocation decisions. This policy is focused on efficient service provision and does not override other government policy objectives.

  The department continues to comply with the National Competition Policy. All new legislation and regulations enacted in the portfolio during 2021–22 were subject to a regulatory burden assessment, which included consideration of the National Competition Policy principles as well as competitive neutrality.

• Compliance with the Disability Act

  The Disability Act 2006 reaffirms and strengthens the rights of people with disability and recognises that this requires support across government and community.

  The Disability Act requires that public sector bodies (including all government departments) prepare a disability action plan, and report on its implementation in their Annual Report.

  A disability action plan is a strategy to remove barriers that prevent people with a disability from using the department’s goods, services and facilities, and from gaining and keeping employment. Disability action planning also strives to promote the inclusion and participation of people with disability in the community and achieve changes in attitudes and practices to eliminate discrimination.

  The department’s Disability Action Plan 2018–2021 highlights how the department supports the Victorian Government’s vision of an inclusive Victoria. It outlines the actions taken by the department to support people with a disability to use departmental services and to engage with, or work for, the department. It is aligned to the State Disability Plan: Absolutely Everyone.

  Reducing barriers to accessing goods, services and facilities

  Every year, the department delivers and regulates statewide learning and development services for at least one-third of all Victorians. The department is building an inclusive education system that allows all students to learn and thrive on the same basis as their peers.

  In 2021–22, the department continued its implementation of the almost $1.6 billion Disability Inclusion reform across Victorian government schools. Disability Inclusion is delivering a new strengths-based Disability Inclusion Profile, a new tiered funding model providing more resources to schools to support students with disability, and investment in building skills and knowledge in inclusive education across the school system.

  Reducing barriers to persons with a disability obtaining and maintaining employment

  The department, in conjunction with staff, developed a Disability Employment Plan 2019–22 . This plan describes the department’s commitment to boosting employment opportunities and career experiences for people with disability. The plan continues to improve employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disability in the department.

  Promoting inclusion and participation in the community

  The department’s Disability Action Plan 2018–21 identifies priorities and actions to build inclusive education for people with disability across Victoria—in early childhood centres, schools and higher education settings.

  The department also manages a suite of policies and programs to strengthen inclusive education in Victorian government schools, including the Disability Inclusion reforms which will replace the existing Program for Students with Disabilities over a 5-year implementation period between 2021 and 2025. Other programs include the Inclusive Kindergarten Facilities Program, and additional transport, welfare and support services for students and children with disability.

  Achieving tangible changes in attitudes and practices that discriminate against people with a disability

  The department’s disability champion, the Deputy Secretary, PES, continues to champion disability inclusion across the department. A key focus of the role is to raise awareness across the department to ensure accessibility and inclusion. In addition, the Deputy Secretary, FPIS, is the executive sponsor for the department’s Enablers Network. The network is a conduit for staff with lived experience of disability policy and program development.

• Compliance with the Carers Recognition Act

  The department ensures that the rights and interests articulated in the Carers Recognition Act 2012 are considered when delivering its services to clients who are in a care relationship. The department has taken all practical measures to comply with its obligations under this Act.

• Office-based environmental impacts

  The department’s Environment Management System was established to meet government requirements under Financial Reporting Direction (FRD) 24 and to reduce environmental impacts. It allows the department to monitor environmental performance and further reduce environmental impacts of office-based activities.

  In line with government directives, the department reports against a range of indicators for energy and water consumption, transportation, waste generation, paper purchasing, green procurement and greenhouse gas emissions. Consumption and usage are captured through the Energy and Sustainability Platform (ESP) provided by the Shared Services Provider’s (SSP) contractor, Jones Lang LaSalle. This online tool allows reporting across the department’s Victorian offices and the VSA’s offices.

  The environment management system objectives include:

  • reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • reducing the amount of waste and maximising the amount of reused and recycled resources
  • ensuring that new capital works incorporate environmentally sustainable principles
  • making environmentally sound purchasing decisions for capital items and consumables
  • encouraging staff to reduce environmental impacts
  • regularly reporting on environmental performance
  • adopting an environmental management system based on ISO14001 to drive continual environmental improvement across the department.

  Key updates from last year’s annual reporting

  • New data from one site has been added to the reportable site list through the ESP this year, thus improving efficiency and accountability.
  • To allow precise reporting, 4 sites have been removed from the reportable site list because data has not been available through the ESP.
  • Almost three quarters of the department-owned operational fleet are hybrid vehicles, and the department no longer owns diesel-fuelled vehicles.

  All consumption data is for the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, to allow for a full reporting year and to improve accuracy for annual reporting. Variance in consumption for most indicators in 2021–22 can largely be attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and should be considered when reviewing these figures.

  Organisational boundary for the purpose of environmental reporting

  The reportable site list excludes schools, early childhood facilities, and TAFEs. It also excludes office-based locations not in the ESP database and with fewer than 10 FTE. Office staff numbers (FTE) and office tenancy net lettable area details used for reporting calculations are shown in the table below.

  Full-time equivalent staff and net lettable area

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  Office FTE	5,071.2	4,667.7	4,500.8
  Office net lettable area	73,216.3	74,775	74,775
  Number of offices	32	35	35

  In 2021–22 the department’s FTE increased by 8.6% from the previous year.

  Energy usage

  The data below was collected through the ESP. It represents 97% of the department’s office-based locations for electricity and 69% of the department’s office-based locations for gas. The department continues to work with the SSP’s contractor, Jones Lang LaSalle to improve these figures.

  Energy consumption

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  E1. Total energy usage segmented by primary source (MJ)	27,397,516	28,866,316	33,277,172
  Electricity (MJ)—excluding green power	23,748,592	22,764,191	26,434,947
  Natural gas (MJ)	3,648,924	6,102,125	6,842,225
  Green power (MJ)	–	–	–
  LPG (MJ)	–	–	–
  E.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption (tonnes CO2-e)	6,521	6,511	8,601
  Electricity (tonnes CO2-e)—excluding green power	6,333	6,197	8,221
  Natural gas (tonnes CO2-e)	188	314	379
  LPG (tonnes CO2-e)	–	–	–
  E.3 Percentage of electricity purchased as green power (%)	–	–	–
  E.4 Units of office energy used per FTE (MJ/FTE)	5,715	6,971	7,394
  E.5 Units of office energy used per office area (MJ/m2)	403	439	473
  Voluntary/optional indicators
  2 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (base building and tenancy)	5.5 stars	5.0 stars	4.5 stars
  80 Collins Street, Melbourne (base building)	4.0 stars	5.0 stars	4.5 stars
  35 Collins Street, Melbourne (base building)	4.5 stars	4.0 stars	–
  7-15 McLaren Street, Bendigo (whole building)	6.0 stars	6.0 stars	–

  Actions undertaken

  • Certification was achieved for 6 Star Green Star rating and Gold WELL of Level 3, 35 Collins Street, Melbourne.
  • A new site (Ringwood) has been added to the reporting list that reports electricity consumption.

  Target

  The department will contribute to the state’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 28–33% by 31 March 2025. Department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  Total energy consumption reduced by 5% from 2020–21. Electricity consumption increased by 4% but natural gas consumption decreased by 40%. The variation in electricity and gas for 2021–22 can be attributed to the intermittency of staff’s presence in offices across Victoria due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department is continuously looking for opportunities to improve reporting and further reduce energy consumption.

  The data collected through the ESP represents 97% of office accommodation for electricity and 69% of office accommodation for gas. Jones Lang LaSalle (SSP’s contractor) has informed the department that some sites do not have access to gas data. The limitation of not having access to gas data has been considered when calculating the percentage of sites that report natural gas.

  Invoiced and accrued data have been used for this section. Invoiced data accounts for 61% and accrued data accounts for 39% for electricity. For gas, invoiced data accounts for 89% and accrued data accounts for 11%. Generally, sites with accrued data are sites where Jones Lang LaSalle needs to request data directly from the landlord rather than receiving regular invoices from the utility provider.

  Waste and recycling

  The data below was collected through the ESP and represents 59% of its sites across Victoria. The department continues to address waste generation through a variety of re‑use and recycling methods and initiatives.

  Waste and recycling

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  Ws1: Total units of waste disposed of by destination (kg)	42,050	94,844	107,531
  Landfill	14,175	21,452	41,161
  Comingled recycling	3,667	5,633	12,685
  Paper and card	3,655	6,277	15,486
  Secure documents	16,946	54,105	31,987
  Organics	3,607	7,378	6,212
  Ws2: Total units of waste disposed of per FTE by destination (kg/FTE)	19	45	46
  Landfill	8	13	18
  Comingled recycling	2	4	5
  Paper and card	2	5	7
  Secure documents	5	17	14
  Organics	2	6	3
  Ws3: Recycling rate (%)	58	77	62
  Ws4: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste disposal (tonnes CO2-e)	23	34	58
  Voluntary/optional indicators
  Recycling services (kg)	508	1,318	–
  Soft plastics recycled (kg)	1	–	–

  Actions undertaken

  • By February 2022, the department phased-out problematic single-use plastics, including straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, expanded polystyrene food and drink containers, and cotton bud sticks within its department offices, in preparation of the statewide ban from February 2023.
  • The department continues to establish 3‑stream (landfill, recycling and organic) waste management practices in all office accommodations (new included).
  • A soft plastics recycling scheme is being trialled on our sites in Level 3 at 35 Collins Street and 2 Treasury Place.
  • The department continues to divert disused recycled office supplies from landfill using recycling services, although it has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Target

  The department will contribute to the state’s target to halve the volume of organic material going to landfill from 2020 levels by 2030. Department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  The department continues to share its waste collection points at the Treasury Precinct with other tenants. Each bin collection point serves several organisations making it difficult to accurately measure waste contributed solely by the department. A calculation provided by SSP’s contractor, Jones Lang LaSalle, has been used to calculate waste disposed of at 2 Treasury Place.

  Compared to last year, all streams have had a considerable decrease. Waste directed to landfill decreased by 34%, comingled recycling decreased by 35%, organics decreased by 51%, paper and card decreased by 42% and secure documents decreased by 69%, despite the increase in FTE. The reduction in waste generation for 2021–22 can be attributed to the intermittent presence of staff on sites due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Waste generation would normally be supplemented by the results of a waste audit to a cohort of sites occupied by the department that represent about 30% of FTE. However, the waste audit was not undertaken. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, most office-based staff were working from home and waste audits would not have been representative of normal operating conditions, therefore not providing significant value to the report. The department is looking for further opportunities to improve waste reporting and continue waste reduction.

  Paper

  The data below was collected through the current Victorian Government mandated State Purchase Contract stationery supplier and represents 100% of the department’s (non-school) office sites and 100% of FTE staff.

  Paper purchasing and usage

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  P1: Total units of A4 equivalent copy paper used (reams)	4,201	3,799	27,543
  P2: Units of A4 equivalent copy paper used per FTE (reams/FTE)	0.8	0.8	7
  P3: Percentage of 75–100% recycled content copy paper purchased	51	64	59
  P3: Percentage of 50–74% recycled content copy paper purchased	–	–	–
  P3: Percentage of 0–49% recycled content copy paper purchased	49	36	41
  Voluntary/optional indicators
  Percentage of certified paper used	100	–	–
  Percentage of publications available electronically	–	–	–

  Actions undertaken

  As part of the State Purchase Contract arrangement during 2021–22, there has been a continued focus on redirecting product selection for white A4 copy paper purchases to a 100% recycled product.

  A new departmental corporate printing policy was released in late 2021, giving staff clear requirements on expectations around acceptable printing. FollowMe Print has been rolled out across the department so staff can use their building access pass to securely print documents at any printer. In addition to reducing paper waste, FollowMe Print contributes to improved security, sustainability and workforce mobility.

  Groups and regions were provided with their first paper usage report in February 2022, outlining how printing and mail digitisation practices have changed, compared to pre-pandemic and how groups and regions compare to each other.

  Target

  Updated department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  Total copy paper usage in 2021–22 saw a slight increase from the 2020–21 period, likely due to staff returning to work in office locations. The target of maintaining less than one ream per FTE has been met, with less than one (0.83) reams of paper being used per FTE.

  Maintaining the target is dependent on department staff maintaining the current reduced levels of copy/printer paper usage when returning to the office. Staff commitment to a ‘paperless office’ strategy and only printing when necessary is key to meeting this target.

  The department is working towards automated printing reporting so that teams can easily track printing and target support to areas that require printing as part of an existing manual process. Printer fleet reduction is underway with redundant printers decommissioned and additional requirements for printers met by reallocation from the existing fleet.

  The proportion of copy paper purchased with the highest recycled content has decreased to 51% in 2021–22, compared to 64% in 2020–21.

  The department will continue to drive higher levels of recycled content purchases in 2022–23 through internal promotion of the revised product selection available under the State Purchase Contract.

  Water

  The data below is based on water meter readings that have been uploaded to the ESP database by Jones Lang LaSalle. Data shows that 72% of the department’s office sites cover about 84% of FTEs.

  Water consumption

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  W1: Total units of metered water consumed by water source (kilolitres)	11,756	12,305	18,723
  W2: Units of metered water consumed in offices per FTE by usage type (kilolitres/FTE)	2.8	3.3	5.7
  W3: Units of metered water consumed in offices per unit of office space (kilolitres per metre squared)	0.20	0.20	0.42
  Voluntary/optional indicators:
  Details of National Australian Built Environment Rating System water rating/s achieved (star rating)
  2 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (base building and tenancy)	5.0 stars	–	–
  80 Collins Street, Melbourne (base building)	5.0 stars	–	–
  35 Collins Street, Melbourne (base building)	4.5 stars	–	–
  35 Collins Street, Melbourne (Level 3 tenancy)	6.0 stars	–	–
  7–15 McLaren Street, Bendigo (whole building)	6.0 stars	–	–

  Actions undertaken

  The department undertook a refurbishment of the tenancy on Level 3, 35 Collins Street. It is the first department in Victoria to achieve both Gold WELL V2.0 and Green Star 6 ratings for a new fitout.

  Target

  Updated department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  Total water consumption decreased by 5% compared to last year. Low water consumption for 2021–22 might be attributed to the intermittence of staff’s presence from offices across Victoria, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

  Some departmental sites share water meters with other non-departmental buildings or with other parts of the organisation that are not corporate. Data for these sites has been calculated based on the percentage of the net lettable area held by the department’s buildings.

  Transportation

  Of the department-owned operational fleet of 371 [1] vehicles:

  • 74.1% are hybrid electric vehicles
  • 25.9% are petrol-fuelled
  • none are diesel-fuelled.

  The data below measures the kilometres, energy consumption and associated emissions for work-related travel by corporate employees, segmented by transport type, excluding public transport. This data includes department-owned fleet and hired vehicles but excludes executive vehicles.

  The data reported below for 2019–20 relates to transport that occurred in the financial year. Data from 2020–21 and going forward relates to the period from 1 April to 31 March, to align transport data with other emissions data in this report.

  Energy consumption of operational vehicles

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  T1: Total energy usage consumption by fleet vehicles (MJ)	3,734,815	2,595,797	10,706,341
  Diesel	85,975 [2]	134,889	308,542
  LPG	–	–	–
  Unleaded	1,729,991	1,562,315	7,718,546
  Hybrid	1,918,849	898,593	2,679,253
  T2: Total distance travelled by fleet vehicles (km)	1,612,022	1,249,238	5,887,186
  Diesel	17,752	51,274	99,970
  LPG	–	–	–
  Unleaded	613,670	667,184	3,890,864
  Hybrid	980,600	530,780	1,896,352
  T3: Total greenhouse gas emissions from fleet vehicles (tonnes CO2-e)	266	185	763
  Diesel	6	10	23
  LPG	–	–	–
  Unleaded	123	111	550
  Hybrid	137	64	191
  T4: Greenhouse gas emissions from fleet vehicles per 1,000km (tonnes CO2-e)
  Diesel	0.36	0.19	0.23
  LPG	–	–	–
  Unleaded	0.20	0.13	0.14
  Hybrid	0.14	0.10	0.10
  Total distance travelled by air (km)	84,259	55,910	2,395,060
  T5: Percentage of staff using sustainable transport to get to and from work by locality
  CBD	92	– [3]	–
  Regional	7	–	–
  Voluntary indicators
  Number of petrol hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles	274	168	178

  Actions undertaken

  The department leases environmentally friendly operational vehicles, including 4‑cylinder or hybrids, through the Approved Vehicle List from VicFleet, when they are available and suitable for use. The department also uses externally managed pool vehicles where suitable, to minimise fleet expansion.

  Target

  The department will contribute to the state’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 28–33% by 31 March 2025. Department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  In 2021–22 the department’s vehicle usage continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions.

  The extended import timelines experienced by the new car industry due to the COVID‑19 pandemic delayed the department’s transition to a majority hybrid fleet. The department has 161 new vehicles on order, of which 18 are electric (Zero Emission Vehicles), 3 are diesel vehicles and 140 are hybrid, to replace vehicles that have reached the end of their lease terms.

  The data used to calculate the percentage of staff using sustainable transport to get to and from work by locality was collected from the department’s Hybrid Working Survey 2021. In this case, sustainable transport refers to taking public transport only. The department is working to improve the collection of data to accommodate for this section of the Annual Report.

  Greenhouse gas emissions

  The emissions disclosed below are taken from the previous sections and combined to show the department’s greenhouse gas footprint.

  Department emissions

  Indicator	2021–22	2020–21	2019–20
  G1: Total greenhouse gas emissions from energy use (tonnes CO2-e)	6,521	6,511	8,601
  G2: Total greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle fleet (tonnes CO2-e)	266	185	618
  G3: Total greenhouse gas emissions from air travel (tonnes CO2-e)	17	10	577
  G4: Total greenhouse gas emissions from waste disposal (tonnes CO2-e)	23	34	58
  G5: Greenhouse gas emissions offset purchased (tonnes CO 2-e)	103	(10)	(577)
  Voluntary indicators
  Total greenhouse gas emissions from water consumption (tonnes CO2-e) [4]	16	14	23
  Grand total greenhouse gas emissions created by the department	6,740	6,744	9,300

  Actions undertaken

  In 2021–22, the department had a net zero carbon footprint for its corporate travel including air travel, accommodation, and car rental by purchasing 103 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions offset.

  Target

  The department will contribute to the state’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 28–33% by 31 March 2025. Department-specific targets are to be confirmed.

  Explanatory notes

  The increase of total greenhouse gas emissions from energy and water consumption compared to last year – despite having used less energy and water overall – is that the conversion factors are slightly higher this year, compared to last year’s, for both indicators.

  The department’s total greenhouse gas emissions retained a very similar figure compared to last year’s data. These figures can largely be attributed to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic with staff working from home.

  Greener procurement

  The department follows the Social Procurement Framework and is committed to achieving positive environmental outcomes through sustainable procurement practices that achieve value for money, while minimising environmental impacts.

  Infrastructure project tenders are also evaluated against the criteria of their ‘ability to satisfy environmental sustainability requirements’.

  The department continues to promote the purchase of environmentally friendly products, specifically stationery and office products. Business units are encouraged to re-use stationery through the department’s ‘Swap Shop’. The department is working to improve this initiative.

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  [1] The total fleet during 2021–22 was 373 vehicles. However, two vehicles were used by VCAA, and have been excluded from the department’s Annual Report. Last year’s figures included a wellbeing vehicle that has been disposed of and not replaced.

  [2] The department reports diesel energy usage for vehicles hired via the SSP. There are no diesel vehicles in the department’s operational fleet.

  [3] Information on staff travel is not available this year, because the department’s travel survey was not completed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the majority of staff were working from home the data collected would not be representative of normal staff travel.

  [4] Greenhouse gas emissions from water consumption is calculated using the Environmental Protection Authority methodology and emissions factor for water consumption as stated from section 3.8 Reticulated water, Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and management plan 2020–21.