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Definitions

Alternative education provision
Alternative education provision can occur on or off the school site and can comprise the student's entire educational program for a stated period, or part of the student's educational program for a stated period.

For example, a principal might agree to make a flexible arrangement for a student with an opportunity to work as a child actor in a movie. For an agreed period of two weeks, the student will engage in an educational program whose content is determined by the school and delivered by a tutor on the set of the film. In another case, a student might attend First Aid Training for 1 day per week for a period of ten weeks, and spend the other 4 days at school attending usual classes.

Compulsory school age (Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) (new window) s. 9)

A child is of compulsory school age if the child is at least 6 years and 6 months, and less than 16 years.
However, a child is no longer of compulsory school age if the child has completed year 10.

Compulsory participation phase
A young person's compulsory participation phase starts when s/he stops being of compulsory school age (i.e. turns 16 or completes Year 10 whichever comes first) and ends when the person:

gains a Senior Certificate, Certificate III or Certificate IV or
has participated in eligible options for 2 years after the person stopped being of compulsory school age or
turns 17.

Eligible option (Education (General Provisions) Act s. 232)
An eligible option is a recognised education or training program or course, offered by a recognised provider, which will enable a young person to gain a senior certificate and/or a Certificate III or IV. Eligible options and providers are listed in the following table:

Eligible Option	Provider
an educational program provided under the Education (General Provisions) Act (new window)	a State school
an educational program provided under the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001(Qld) (new window)	a non-State school
a higher education course under the Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2008 (Qld) (new window)	a university or non-university provider
a course of vocational education and training provided under the Vocational Education, Training and Employment Act 2000 (Qld) (new window)	a TAFE institute or registered training organisation
an apprenticeship or traineeship under the Vocational Education, Training and Employment Act 2000 (Qld) (new window)	a registered training organisation
a departmental employment skills development program under the Vocational Education, Training and Employment Act 2000 (Qld) (new window)	the VETE chief executive

Parent (Education (General Provisions) Act s. 10)

A parent of a child is the child's mother or father, or a person who exercises parental responsibility for the child.
However, a person standing in the place of a parent of a child on a temporary basis is not a parent of the child.

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