Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC)

Membership (view list of members)
Terms of Reference
Chairing
Hosting
Consultation
Decision-making

Membership

Membership will consist of the Chief Executive Officers for education and training from MCEETYA jurisdictions, that is the Australian Commonwealth, Australian States and Territories, and New Zealand (view members).

Where jurisdictional arrangements create separate departments of education and of training, both CEOs will be full AESOC members.

The Secretary of MCEETYA will be Executive Officer to AESOC.

When AESOC meets as Standing Committee immediately prior to the Ministerial Council, where relevant, attendance may include CEOs with responsibility for Employment or for Youth Affairs. Such attendance is at the discretion of individual jurisdictions.

Terms of Reference

AESOC was formally established by MCEETYA in July 2001 as an amalgamation of the former Conference of Education System Chief Executive Officers (CESCEO) and the MCEETYA Standing Committee of Officials (Schools). AESOC is the forum of Australian and New Zealand Chief Executive Officers with responsibility for education and training, and is directly responsible to the Ministerial Council for the execution of Ministerial Council decisions. AESOC is a collaborative forum providing leadership in national education and training to:

1. ensure ministerial priorities are implemented;
2. support MCEETYA by advising on a focused agenda in which ministers can invest their time for maximum value;
3. identify the major strategic drivers impacting on the education and training system and determine appropriate national responses and where AESOC can intervene to create noticeable change;
4. resolve at a policy and strategy level any issues that need to be dealt with nationally that impact upon the funding, ownership and regulatory dimension of AESOC members' responsibilities.

Specifically, AESOC will:

• provide policy advice to MCEETYA on all matters referred to it by the Ministerial Council.

• supervise and co-ordinate the work of the seven schools-related MCEETYA taskforces established at the July 2001 MCEETYA meeting.

• provide the chair of each of the above taskforces. Secretariat support for each taskforce is to be provided by the chair's jurisdiction, or as otherwise agreed.

• monitor the reporting of all taskforces, including non-school taskforces, to each MCEETYA meeting.

• meet in advance of and following the Ministerial Council meeting in order to:

  1. preview some or all of the agenda items;

  2. provide, where possible, agreed wording for the recommendations on each agenda item, for Ministers to consider;

  3. carry out follow-up action on matters arising from the Council meeting; and

  4. monitor specified collaborative activities across systems and sectors.

• provide a forum for MCEETYA CEOs to share information and, where appropriate, make decisions on administrative matters that do not need to go to the Ministerial Council.

• manage and co-ordinate jurisdictions' funding contributions for nationally agreed projects and initiatives, through the MCEETYA Secretariat.

• oversight on behalf of the MCEETYA Chair, the work of the MCEETYA Secretariat and approve its budget. This includes oversight of the work of the MCEETYA Secretary and negotiating, on an annual basis, the Secretary's performance plan. Such negotiation is to be undertaken by the AESOC Chair, the CEO of the Victorian Department of Education & Training, and the Chief Executive of the Curriculum Corporation.

Any proposed changes to the terms of reference will require the endorsement of Ministers.

Chairing/Hosting

Chairing arrangements are to follow the MCEETYA chairing cycle: viz ACT 2005, Queensland 2006, Northern Territory 2007, Tasmania 2008, South Australia 2009, Commonwealth 2010, Victoria 2011, New Zealand 2012, Western Australia 2013, New South Wales 2014. As with the Ministerial Meeting Protocols, special arrangements may be required when it is New Zealand's turn to chair/host. AESOC is to agree on such arrangements.

Consultation

Consultation on major issues will normally occur through the appropriate taskforce. On some key issues, AESOC may consult with stakeholders as necessary, usually through the MCEETYA Secretariat.

Decision making

AESOC is not a voting body and reaching agreement should be attempted through consensus. Where unresolvable differences remain, the matter would normally be referred to the Ministerial Council for resolution.