Education policy and procedures register > Equipment and stores management > ESM-PR-002: Equipment Management for Schools >

Disposal of Equipment

This document should be read in conjunction with Definitions.

Schools dispose equipment through:

Transfer
Disposal
Write-off

Disposal or write-off occurs due to:

obsolescence of equipment
equipment has fully depreciated
equipment beyond economic repair (damaged, worn out); or
equipment is unaccounted for (e.g. missing at stocktake).

Key principles for the disposal of any equipment are:

return is maximised
cost of disposal is minimised
disposal process is fair, equitable and open; and
employees of Department of Education and Training are not advantaged.

Remove all data from hard drives on computer equipment being disposed or transferred. For equipment transferred to another school or department location the operating system is retained as all computers are purchased by Department of Education and Training with a licence under the current Microsoft Agreement.

Disposal of assets occurs once approval has been obtained using the EQ13 form or SMS Asset Disposal form.

Write-off of assets require an approval for each individual asset, except where an item has been the subject of a claim submitted to the Resource Replacement Scheme.

Refer to SMS Asset Replacement User Guide for information on asset replacement.

Transfers

School to School Transfer

The transfer of an item of equipment from one school to another is recorded in SMS. The transfer is achieved by disposing the asset in SMS with the disposal comment containing 'the location the asset is being transferred to (school name)'. The school retains a signed hard copy of SMS Asset Disposal form and EQ13 for audit purposes.

A copy of the Asset ID form is forwarded to new location with the item of equipment. In the case of capital assets (acquisition value of asset is $5000 or greater), a copy of the signed EQ13 form is forwarded to Fixed Assets Team, Finance Branch for updating department's central register.

School to Business Unit Transfer

Record transfer of school based item to a business unit by disposing asset in SMS with disposal comment containing business unit location to which asset is being transferred.

A copy of the Asset ID form and SMS Asset Disposal form or EQ13 is sent to the business unit receiving the equipment for portable and attractive items (acquisition value less than $5000).

A copy of EQ13 is sent to Fixed Assets Team, Finance Branch for capital assets (acquisition value of the item is $5000 or greater).

Other Transfers

Complete SMS Asset Disposal form or EQ13 for permanent transfers to any external agency including other government departments. Record transaction in SMS Asset Register and forward a copy of EQ13 form to Fixed Assets Team, Finance Branch for capital assets.

Disposals

Principals refer to the Financial Delegation Manual for the Write-Off of Public Property for items to be disposed with a written down value greater than $1,000.

Ethics of Disposing Equipment

Employees of the Department of Education and Training have no prior right to the acquisition of surplus equipment, materials or furniture over the public. Any employee wishing to acquire such material may bid at a public auction if applicable, or submit an offer after notification of sale.

Any notice of sale/tender is advertised in the wider community. The disposal process for any asset is not to give an unfair advantage to employees of Department of Education and Training or any Queensland Government department or agency.

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

purchasing assets for private use prior to public notice being given
receiving commissions or other amounts as a result of arranging the sale of Department of Education and Training assets
purchase of assets for an associate, a relative or friend of any departmental employee prior to public notice
arranging a sale of particular assets where results for the department may be less than what would normally be expected
any other action which is deemed unfair and inappropriate for a departmental employee to be involved in or associated with, as stated in the Code of Conduct; or
inappropriately declaring surplus items, which may be of future workplace use or benefit to the school?

Schools do not sell items to other state schools or business units. Such items are transferred at no charge. Freight and installation charges for equipment are borne by the receiving entity.

Sale by Auction

Obtain approval for disposal by completing the Equipment Disposal/Write-off form (EQ13); one form for each item on SMS Asset Register.

Queensland Purchasing - Disposals organises auctions in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, Rockhampton and Cairns. The seller is responsible for the cost of transporting goods to the auction site.

Sale by 'Garage Sale'

Otain approval for disposal by completing Equipment Disposal/Write-off form (EQ13); one form for each item on SMS Asset Register.

Note the following:

items being offered for sale are low/no value items
sale date and time is advertised to wider community through school newsletter or community newspaper
prices are marked on items
offer items on an 'as is' basis with no warranties implied or given, no after sale service or assistance implied or given. This notice is included in the advertisement and on the receipt.

Sale by Inviting Offers

Obtain approval for disposal by completing Equipment Disposal/Write-off Form (EQ13); one form for each item on SMS Asset Register.

Advertise the item and invite offers in local press and/or school newsletter including details such as:

brief description of item and its condition
offers to be in writing
closing date and time for offers
location address for offers and inspection of items
delivery charges to be borne by buyer
items offered on an 'as is' basis
Department of Education and Training reserves the right not to accept the tender
set a reserve price
require tenderer submissions to disclose any interests or links with departmental employees
no warranties implied or given; and
envelope with tender to be marked 'CONFIDENTIAL - OFFER FOR ADVERTISED ITEM'.

After the closing date and time:

two officers (where possible) open all offers
decide which offer to accept with explanatory notes kept for audit purposes if the highest offer is not accepted
write to the successful offeror advising method and address for payment and requesting that the item be collected
write to unsuccessful offerors thanking them for their time and effort and advising that their offer was not accepted.

Final steps:

file all offers and information for future reference by auditors and other personnel
complete Equipment Disposal / Write-off form (EQ13) by filling in disposal date and proceeds of sale. Forward a copy of this form to Fixed Assets Team, Finance Branch for capital assets ($5000.00 or more in value).

Proceeds of Sale

Proceeds from sale of equipment funded through P&C, school general account or other school funds, are deposited into school general account or P&C account or another appropriate school account.

Proceeds from sale of equipment provided directly by Department of Education and Training, are returned to the department and deposited into relevant SAP cost centre and account for sale of equipment.

Trade-In of Equipment

Obtain (where possible) at least two written quotes and attach to EQ13 form prior to obtaining approval to ensure that best net price is obtained. Note: record gross net of GST price as acquisition cost of new item and record trade-in valuation in proceeds of sale field on the disposal form (EQ13).

Disposal by Dumping

Before disposing, determine whether equipment has any potential services value or if it has fully depreciated. If there is no residual value, then equipment may be destroyed and dumped, or given to a scrap metal merchant. Ensure that the equipment number is obliterated prior to dumping/scrapping etc. Obtain approval for the disposal by completing the Equipment Disposal/Write-off form (EQ13) or SMS Asset Disposal form; one form for each item.

Fully Depreciated Assets

Fully depreciated assets are reviewed and assessed as to whether the assets are still in use or are considered for disposal.

Write-off

Principals refer to Delegations for Write-Off of Public Property for items to be written-off with a written down value greater than $1,000 and are not replaced through Resource Replacement Scheme.

Replacement of Equipment Under Warranty

When an item of equipment is replaced by the supplier, the original item should be written-off and the replacement item recorded under a new number within the equipment register. This is necessary to keep a true record of the equipment (for example serial numbers) and allows the appropriate calculation of depreciation.

Equipment Beyond Economic Repair

Equipment beyond economic repair is written-off and sold for scrap or dumped. Equipment may be beyond economic repair if:

too much money has been expended on repairs
a replacement item can be purchased at a significantly lower cost
item is obsolete
item's estimated life has expired
current value of item is less than repair quote
new technology is available which improves efficiency; or
repairer advises that the item is not worth repairing for the above reasons.

Stolen Equipment

Follow procedures under ESM-PR-001: Resource Replacement Scheme for stolen or damaged equipment as a result of a break and enter, fire or natural disaster. It is not necessary to complete an Equipment disposal/write-off form (EQ13) if the Claim/Illegal Entry Advice Form (EQ38) has been submitted to the Resource Replacement Scheme.

The Resource Replacement Scheme will perform the write-off from the department's central register on behalf of the school for capital assets. Schools must still dispose of the item from SMS with a disposal comment of stolen/damaged beyond repair along with the date of loss.

Missing Equipment

Missing equipment:

will not be replaced through the Resource Replacement Scheme
is investigated prior to completing an Equipment disposal/write-off form (EQ13) or SMS Asset Disposal form
report to police in writing providing full details of the missing equipment.

Permanent or Temporary Closure of Schools

Following actions are taken before a school is officially closed and or permanently vacated or vacated for any extended period of time:

dispose items that are no longer serviceable
transfer remaining items to another school or operational unit or tender them for sale;
complete appropriate documentation to support the write-off, sale, disposal or transfer of equipment and forward a copy to Fixed Assets Team for capital assets.
report the results of this closure to the District Senior Internal Auditor and the Fixed Assets Team.

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