Groundscare allowance

​​​​​​Purpose

To assist schools in meeting the cost of grounds maintenance.

Duration of program

Ongoing

Eligibility

State primary schools with fewer than 200 students and without a schools officer (SO).​

State primary schools with enrolments greater than or equal to 650, with a site area of 4 hectares (ha) or more and where not allocated 2 x SO​s.

Allocation of funds

Primary schools with fewer than 200 students

The level of groundscare allowance (GA) for eligible schools is determined by the student enrolment.

The methodology to derive the groundscare allowance is:

GA = base + (per student rate x enrolment).

Primary schools with enrolments greater than or equal to 650 with a site area of 4ha or more and where not allocated 2 x SOs​

GA full-time equivalent (FTE) = base + janitor (if any) + high maintenance (if any) + low maintenance (if any).

Cash grant = (GA (FTE) – current SO (FTE)) x salary rate.

Where:

• GA is the total allocation truncated to a maximum of 2 staff​
  
• base is applied to the first 2.0ha and the first 100 students
• SO​ allocations only apply to those enrolments above 100
• janitor = (enrolment – 100) x janitor rate
  
• the total area is defined as a maximum of 20ha of a site
• sites are divided into high and low maintenance areas
• the total allowable high maintenance area of a site = 2ha + enrolment x high maintenance area rate
  
• high maintenance area used is the minimum of the school's actual area or the total allowable high maintenance area
• the low maintenance area is the lesser of 20ha or the actual site area minus the high maintenance area
• high maintenance = [high maintenance area – 2] x high maintenance allocation
• low maintenance = low maintenance area x low maintenance allocation.

Note:

1. The difference between the total allocation (in FTE) and the SO staff (FTE) at the school is paid as a direct cash allocation to schools, except where the FTE is truncated to 2.0. In this case, schools are entitled to a second full-time staff position. Also, schools may take partial positions on a permanent basis in lieu of the cash allocation.
2. The GA for primary schools with fewer than 200 students may be affected by state schools gaining or losing entitlement to a SO​. In these cases, a pro-rata GA is calculated (from the date the gain or loss of a J/G occurs).

Secondary and special schools

Secondary schools and special education facilities are not eligible to receive GA as they are generally allocated full-time SO positions. On a case by case basis, these schools may be approved to receive this funding.

The following schools have been approved to receive groundscare funding:

Brisbane State High School—receives funding to assist with the maintenance of the Carina Sporting complex grounds. The school receives a fixed allocation of $5,421 plus on-costs per semester.

Bundaberg State High School—​receives the base allocation only ($8,500 per annum​) while the (A917) Givelda Alternative Program Support Unit is utilising the spaces at the Givelda State School site.

Spinifex State College—receives funding to assist with the maintenance of the attached residential unit grounds. The school receives a fixed allocation of $5,000 per semester.

Maryborough Special School—receives funding to assist with the maintenance of the Kay Hass Memorial Cycle Track. The school receives an allocation of $1,244 per semester.​

Townsville State High School—receives funding to assist with the maintenance of their offsite facility, Stanton Lodge Support Unit. This school receives a fixed allocation of $1,347 plus on-costs per semester.

Yeronga State School—receives additional funding to assist with the maintenance of their offsite facility, Yeerongpilly Early Childhood Development Centre. This school receives a fixed allocation of $1,347 plus on-costs per semester.

Other exceptions

Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre—receives funding to cover maintenance to the grounds. The school receives a fixed allocation of $10,000 per year.​

Current rates

Primary schools with fewer than 200 students

• Base: $8,500
• Per student rate: $255

Primary schools with enrolments greater than or equal to 650 with a site area of 4ha​ or more and where not allocated 2 x SOs

• Base 0.1 F​TE
• High maintenance area 0.0065ha
• SO​ ​rate 0.0007 FTE
• High maintenance allocation 0.25 per ha
• Low maintenance allocation 0.05 per ha
• Based on current OO2.1 salary rate plus on-cost
  

All rates reflect the payment and recovery process for school-funded labour.

Payment details

Data requirements

How to apply

Schools do not need to apply for this funding. Entitlements are automatically calculated by Finance Branch and paid to schools each term.

Contact

Policy Enquiry
Schools and Student Support
Phone: (07) 3513 5845
Email: ED.SIG@qed.qld.gov.au

Payment Enquiry
School Financial Resourcing​
Phone: (07) 3034 5817
Email: SFR.Finance@qed.qld.gov.au​​