Purpose of program

The purpose of the Short Term Emergency Assistance (STEA) Program is to provide financial assistance to eligible schools in the event of an unexpected circumstance causing severe, temporary financial difficulty, where the eligible school has exhausted all other sources of assistance. Schools must be capable of resuming operations in a manner satisfactory to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations within two years of the financial assistance being provided.

Funds available

Approximately $1,000,000 per annum is available under the STEA Program. The program is application based.

How to apply

Prospective applicants must read Part 5 of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES: Commonwealth Programs for Non-government Schools, 2009 to 2012.

Complete the STEA Application Form

Provide the following supporting documentation:

• Documentary evidence supporting claims detailed in the STEA Special Need Criterion, item  c(iii) of the Application Form
  
• A Business and Recovery Plan addressing the financial emergency
  
• Two sets of projected financial statements for next two years (with and without STEA)
  
• Audited Financial Statements for preceding three years
  
• Interim management style financial statements including a balance sheet and profit and loss statement for the current year
  
• Approved school budgets for the current year and preceding three years
  

Send completed application (original plus one copy, both unbound) to the address listed in the Administrative Guidelines.

How the application will be assessed

The complete application must be received by DEEWR before the assessment of eligibility can commence. The application will be assessed against eligibility requirements and on the information provided by the applicant with regard to satisfying all four of the STEA criteria as listed in the Administrative Guidelines.

The detailed school governance and financial information will be assessed in terms of the extent to which it:

• supports and substantiates the school’s claims against the STEA criteria 
  
• enables DEEWR to develop a thorough understanding of the school’s financial situation and its underlying causes 
  
• validates and supports the Business and Recovery Plan.
  

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria and exclusions from eligibility are set out in the Administrative Guidelines. It should be noted that:

• a school which is experiencing long-term financial difficulties or is likely to close is unlikely to attract assistance 
  
• the resources available to a system would make it less likely that a systemic school will be eligible for STEA.  A statement from the system authority explaining the need for Australian Government funds must accompany any application from a systemic school 
  
• STEA will not normally be provided for expenditure of a capital nature, or where a loss results from inadequate insurance cover for capital facilities
  
• a school that is not fully compliant with all requirements of their recurrent funding agreement for the provision of funding under the Schools Assistance Act 2008 including, but not limited to, having supplied all requested documentation and reports by the notified due date, and actions required under the Financial Health Assessment Framework (FHAF) will not be eligible for assistance under the STEA program
  
• STEA will not be provided to cover unpaid Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debts, including Pay As You Go (PAYG) or Goods and Services Tax (GST) 
  
• a school will not be eligible for assistance under the STEA program where they are proposing to use the STEA funds to assist with establishment of a school which has been operating for less than five years or intend to use STEA funding solely to lower its level of indebtedness.

Funding conditions

Financial assistance can only be paid to non-government schools with an existing Recurrent Assistance Funding Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia (under the Schools Assistance Act 2008 through DEEWR) and the school’s approved authority.  An additional Schedule to the Agreement would set out the conditions on which the STEA financial assistance would be provided.  STEA funding is not required to be repaid, provided the recipient meets all the obligations and conditions set out in the Schedule and Agreement.

Guidelines

Please see the Schools Assistance Act 2008 ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES: Commonwealth Programs for Non-government Schools, 2009 to 2012.

Application Form

STEA Application Form - (  PDF 294KB | RTF 1.7MB )

Further information

Further enquiries can be made to the STEA Program Manager (DEEWR) on 1800 677 027 (option 1, then option 2) or by email.