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Monday, 12 September 2011
Page: 9836

Building the Education Revolution Program

(Question No. 422)

Mr Pyne asked the Minister representing the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, in writing, on 15 June 2011:

In respect of the Building the Education Revolution projects at Eidsvold State School in Queensland, which according to his department has been allocated $850 000 for the development of a multi-purpose hall under the Primary Schools for the 21st Century element of the program, and $75 000 for a learning resource centre under the National School Pride element of the program, (a) what is the value of the building contract entered into by the Queensland State Department of Education and the selected contractors for each project, (b) have the specified works for these projects been completed, (c) has the scope of works for these projects been varied at any time; if so, what were the variations and reasons given for them, and on what dates were the variations approved by his department, and (d) has his department paid the Queensland State Department of Education all funding allocated to this school; if not, what sum remains to be spent; if so, have the projects been acquitted, and final inspections of the works been undertaken.

Mr Crean: The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

(a) The Queensland Department of Education and Training (QDET) has advised that:

There is no single contract for the National School Pride (NSP) project. Total funding for the NSP project at this school is $75,000 and it is recorded as financially acquitted.

The value of the building contract associated with the Primary Schools for the 21st Century (P21) project is $561,000 (ex GST). This price does not include costs such as design fees, contract management fees, fire and rescue inspections, OH&S auditor and Geotechnical investigations, site services including upgrades, furniture, fittings, network hardware and wireless equipment. The approved P21 amount for this project is $850,000 and the last reported spend is $832,915.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (the Department) does not hold details of the contracts as the Commonwealth was not party to them.

(b) The NSP project was completed on 29 January 2010

The P21 project achieved practical completion on 24 November 2010.

(c) There have been no scope variations from QDET to the Department for these projects.

(d) Payments to state education authorities under the BER are made according to payment schedules within the bilateral funding agreements . Payments are not made to education authorities based on progress at an individual project level. It is the responsibility of each state education authority to manage payments at an individual project level. The amount of funds spent against each project is reported on a monthly basis to the Commonwealth.

Total spend against the NSP project is currently reported as $75,000. The final acquittal is yet to occur.

The P21 project achieved practical completion on 24 November 2010 and has not yet been acquitted. As at 31 May 2011, the total spend against this project is reported as $832,915. To achieve practical completion, the building must have a Certificate of Classification which is a requirement of the Queensland Building Act - this certificate can only be issued by a Building Certifier.