Bilateral Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Victoria

for
national partnership agreements on
literacy and numeracy
low socio-economic status school communities
improving teacher quality

Contents

Purpose
Context
Key reform areas and indicative actions
Respective roles and responsibilities
Budget
Facilitation payments
Facilitation Payment Timelines
Reward payments
Reward Payment Milestones
Non-government sector participation
Facilitation payments
Co-investment
Co-investment Summary – Literacy and Numeracy NP
Co-investment Summary – Low SES NP
Co-investment Summary – Improving Teacher Quality NP
Performance Indicators
Monitoring and reporting arrangements
COAG Reform Council
Disseminating best practice
Evaluation
Publications and communications
Audit arrangements
Governance arrangements
Appendix A – Agreed Reform Areas
Literacy and Numeracy
Low SES
Teacher Quality

Purpose
This Bilateral Agreement builds on the multilateral National Partnership (NP) Agreements on Literacy and Numeracy, Low Socio-economic Status (SES) School Communities and Improving Teacher Quality agreed by all governments at the meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 29 November 2008. It details the specific agreements made between Victoria and the Commonwealth in relation to the pursuit of reforms in Victoria and at the national level under these National Partnerships (NPs).
Consistent with Victoria’s approach to learning and development from within a birth-to-adulthood framework, this Agreement is aligned with other relevant work agreed via COAG, including the Early Childhood Education National Partnership, and the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions. 
Victoria is committed to achieving the agreed COAG education outcomes and targets and the goals set out in the December 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. This Bilateral Agreement and the Victorian Implementation Plan (VIP) for the Smarter Schools NPs provide an opportunity to develop and implement focused reform based initiatives which will deliver on these outcomes.
Context
The Victorian Government’s strategic directions for school education are outlined in the Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development 2008. The Blueprint is an integrated reform agenda designed to improve performance and promote excellence across Victorian schools and early childhood services.  The Blueprint is characterised by a system reform focus in a devolved context and is supported by a successful history of education reform within Victoria.
The Bilateral Agreement and VIP are aligned with the Blueprint priorities, in particular:
•	Strengthening public confidence in a world-class school education system; 
•	Improving outcomes for disadvantaged young Victorians; and
•	Integrating services for children and families.
Both the Bilateral Agreement and VIP will build on Blueprint initiatives and in particular the strategies for reform, which are:
Partnerships with parents and communities
The partnerships strategy includes working with families, communities and business to provide parenting support, community hubs and to develop business partnerships. It also means taking action to enhance opportunities for all Victorians through place-based approaches and meeting diverse needs.
System improvement
System improvement aims to deliver excellent school education through school improvement, quality teaching and learning, and cross-sectoral strategies. It also includes a focus on co-location and integration of early childhood and education services, and support for improved transitions to and from school. 
Workforce reform
Workforce reform emphasises modern careers and workplaces, and a culture of strong leadership and professional learning. This strategy aims to attract the best people to teaching, and to develop and support high-performing school workforces.

Government
A key action of the Blueprint is an enhanced role for regional networks as a means to better target government school improvement efforts. To support this, the role and nature of networks in the government sector has been redefined, and a workforce of 70 Regional Network Leaders has been introduced to lead school improvement. This regional network structure provides a focus for NP activity through the development and implementation of strategic plans for schools in each network. The VIP will complement and partner with Network Strategic Plans and school-based plans. Regional Network Leaders will support all schools in the network to improve and achieve better outcomes for students.
The Blueprint also promotes partnerships between government and non-government schools, including consistent accountability frameworks and greater transparency about performance and provision from all schools regardless of sector. The non-government school sector is a key partner in achieving the educational outcomes outlined in the NPs.

Catholic Sector
In the Catholic education sector, education priorities and policies are very closely aligned to those of the Victorian and Australian governments, with an emphasis on teacher quality, transparency and school accountability, early childhood development and targeting of resources based on need. The Catholic education sector embraces these priorities, and supports a number of policies and initiatives in pursuit of them, including: 
•	Distribution of school funding which favours high ‘need’ schools and students;
•	A robust School Improvement Framework;
•	Literacy and numeracy strategies; and
•	Professional learning and school leadership initiatives.

Independent Sector
Victoria’s independent schools have been working in partnership with the other Victorian school sectors and the Australian Government in the area of education reform. Through Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) and individual member schools, there has been a strong emphasis on school improvement strategies, including: 
•	Building the capacity of the teaching workforce;
•	Supporting the development of strong school leadership at both the senior executive level and the school governance level;
•	Designing research-based performance indicators; and 
•	Improving the skills of schools to collect and analyse data. 
There is a natural synergy between these improvement strategies and the reform initiatives of the Australian and Victorian Governments and other school sectors. 
Key reform areas and indicative actions
This Bilateral Agreement will address the key reform areas agreed in the NP Agreements on Literacy and Numeracy, Low SES School Communities and Improving Teacher Quality, which are reproduced in Appendix A.
The specific indicative actions (hereafter referred to as ‘initiatives’) within these reform areas and the schools targeted are identified in the VIP (Attachment A). Victoria used a set of guiding principles for the selection of initiatives within the reform areas, to ensure that these remain aligned with the core intent of the NPs. The principles are that initiatives:
•	Are high-quality and based on sound evidence; 
•	Are high intensity, including provision of support and funds allocation to schools;
•	Deliver in-school support based on needs analysis at the school level;
•	Balance efforts to build long-term capacity while at the same time providing direct support where it is most needed; and
•	Incorporate promising innovation (i.e. emerging, successful practice from activities within Australia and overseas that can be adopted) and explore area and network-based approaches and opportunities to integrate services.

These initiatives will be supported by strategies that will strengthen chances of success, including:
•	Appropriate, targeted engagement with parents and the community;
•	Development of strategic partnerships with business and non-government organisations;
•	Appropriate linkages with other government agencies and departments; and
•	Extended schooling and links with early childhood services.

Major reform vs. continuous improvement
Within each of the NPs, there are reform areas where Victoria is well advanced and expects to continuously improve rather than introducing major initiatives. However, there are other reform areas where Victoria will benefit from a more intensive reform focus. For example, Victoria has already implemented school-based decision making about recruitment, staffing mix and budget, which is identified as one of the reforms in the NP Agreement on Improving Teacher Quality. Victoria will, therefore, seek recognition for building on an early and successful reform focus in this area and for initiatives to enhance the existing model, and will focus more intensely on other reform areas, such as new and better pathways into teaching and improved pay dispersion to reward quality teaching. 

National reform initiatives
For each of the NPs, there may also be opportunities to work across jurisdictions on national reforms. This may include sharing best practice and learning in such areas as strategies for parental engagement, strategies to support small and remote schools, and strengthening school leadership. 
In the Teacher Quality NP in particular, there are a number of initiatives identified for national reform effort, including:
•	Nationally agreed process for accrediting/certifying Accomplished and Leading Teachers;
•	National Teacher Professional Standards Framework for teachers and school leader standards;
•	National consistency in pre-service teacher education course accreditation; and
•	National consistency in the initial registration of graduate teachers.

Victoria is leading the National Standards Sub-group which is responsible for providing advice to AEEYSOC and Ministers on these priority areas, as well as strategies to facilitate quality professional experience (practicum) placement systems and the establishment of school centres for teacher excellence. Victoria is also part of the small working group developing a proposal for Ministers on the role, functions, governance arrangements and budget for the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.
In addition, Victoria will also be involved in the national reform work on:
•	School performance improvement;
•	Strategies to engage parents in schooling in low SES school communities;
•	Extended service school model; and
•	Diagnostic assessment of literacy/numeracy.
In making this commitment to national reform efforts, Victoria acknowledges that each of the initiatives listed above is at a different stage of development, with some more advanced and well-developed, and others requiring further scoping and consultation to set the parameters for reform effort. The impetus for these initiatives is therefore contingent upon appropriate scoping and consultation where required, and further opportunities for all jurisdictions to shape these initiatives and to determine approaches to implementation appropriate to their own contexts.
Respective roles and responsibilities 
In order to facilitate the achievement of the stated reforms the Commonwealth will have responsibility for:
•	Agreeing complementary initiatives that might be required to support this Agreement and the VIP;  
•	Ensuring efficient payment of agreed Commonwealth facilitation and reward payments, under the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement; and
•	Agreeing to the reform initiatives in the VIP, and Victorian co-investments, as a basis for determining the Commonwealth’s facilitation payment schedule.

In order to facilitate the achievement of the stated reforms Victoria will have responsibility for:
•	Ensuring full and timely implementation of agreed strategies as set out in the bilateral agreement and the VIP, including supporting the participating sectors, schools and school communities;  
•	Ensuring the full and timely payment of agreed Victorian co-investment as set out in this bilateral agreement;
•	Providing regular reports to the Commonwealth on progress in implementing the agreed reform agenda outlined in the bilateral agreement and the VIP;
•	Provision of information in line with performance and reporting requirements detailed in the multilateral NP Agreements; and
•	Cooperating with any auditor the Commonwealth appoints to ensure compliance with the terms of the bilateral agreement. 

The Commonwealth and Victoria will share responsibility for:
•	Contributing to the development and delivery of the joint national elements of any reforms;
•	Monitoring achievements against the VIP and providing information to the COAG Reform Council where appropriate; and
•	Facilitating the sharing of best-practice case studies, materials and resources.
Budget
Facilitation payments
This section sets out the Commonwealth facilitation payments and Victorian co-investments to be made in support of these reforms.  
	08/09
($m)	09/10
($m)	10/11
($m)	11/12
($m)	12/13
($m)	13/14
($m)	14/15
($m)	Total
($m)	
Literacy and Numeracy 	
Commonwealth	12.52	14.31	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	26.83	
Victoria	112.83	103.6	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	216.43	
Total facilitation	125.35	117.91	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	243.26	
Low SES	
Commonwealth	2.06	27.87	37.62	68.81	66.75	40.94	31.20	275.25	
Victoria	110.95	109.73	109.73	109.73	93.78	TBD	TBD	533.92	
Total facilitation	113.01	137.60	147.35	178.54	160.53	40.94	31.20	809.17	
Teacher Quality	
Commonwealth	1.53	3.31	8.65	10.43	0.00	0.00	0.00	23.92	
Victoria	26.84	26.62	26.62	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	80.08	
Total facilitation	28.37	30.00	35.27	10.42	0.00	0.00	0.00	104.00	
All three NPs	
Total facilitation	266.73	285.51	182.64	188.96	160.53	40.94	31.20	2724.89	
Facilitation Payment Timelines

Due date	Facilitation Payment point	Facilitation Payment	
Literacy and Numeracy	
June 2009	Signing of Bilateral Agreement and Preliminary VIP.	$12.52m 	
October 2009	Signing of final Bilateral Agreement and VIP	$3.58m 	
June 2010	Facilitation milestones met – interim report provided.	$10.73m	
Low SES	
June 2009	Signing of Bilateral Agreement and Preliminary VIP	$2.06m (FY08/09 facilitation payment)	
October 2009	Signing of final Bilateral Agreement and VIP	$13.95 (FY09/10 facilitation payment)	
April 2010	Activity Report	$13.95 (FY09/10 facilitation payment)	
October 2010	Annual review of VIP (see Monitoring and Reporting Arrangement for details)	$18.81m (FY10/11 facilitation payment)	
April 2011	Activity Report	$18.81m (FY10/11 facilitation payment)	
October 2011	Annual review of VIP 	$34.41m (FY11/12 facilitation payment)	
April 2012	Activity Report	$34.41m (FY11/12 facilitation payment)	
October 2012	Annual review of VIP	$33.38m (FY12/13 facilitation payment)	
April 2013	Activity Report	$33.38m (FY12/13 facilitation payment)	
October 2013	Annual review of VIP	$20.47 (FY13/14 facilitation payment)	
April 2014	Activity Report	$20.47 (FY13/14 facilitation payment)	
October 2014	Annual review of VIP	$15.60m (FY14/15 facilitation payment)	
April 2015	Activity Report	$15.60m (FY14/15 facilitation payment)	
Teacher Quality	
June 2009	Signing of Bilateral Agreement and Preliminary VIP	$1.53m (FY08/09 facilitation payment)	
October 2009	Signing of final Bilateral Agreement and VIP	$1.66m (FY09/10 facilitation payment)	
April 2010	Activity Report	$1.66m (FY09/10 facilitation payment)	
October 2010	Annual review of VIP	$4.33m (FY10/11 facilitation payment)	
April 2011	Activity Report	$4.33m (FY10/11 facilitation payment)	
October 2011	Annual review of VIP 	$5.22m (FY11/12 facilitation payment)	
April 2012	Activity Report	$5.22m (FY11/12 facilitation payment)	

Reward payments
This section sets out the maximum allocation available to Victoria subject to the achievement of agreed reward milestones. 
	08/09
($m)	09/10
($m)	10/11
($m)	11/12
($m)	12/13
($m)	13/14
($m)	14/15
($m)	Total
($m)	
Literacy and Numeracy 	
Commonwealth	0.0	0.0	31.3	31.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	62.6	
Low SES	
Commonwealth	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	
Teacher quality	
Commonwealth	0.0	0.0	0.0	44.5	44.5	0.0	0.0	89.0	
Total reward (3 NPs)	0.0	0.0	31.3	75.5	44.5	0.0	0.0	151.6	
Reward Payment Milestones
Details of reward payment milestones will be detailed in the relevant sections of the VIP. Victoria proposes that the process for assessment of rewards be aligned with the process for annual review of the VIP. However, Victoria acknowledges that there may be a requirement to provide a limited amount of additional information depending on the methodology for calculation of rewards developed by the COAG Reform Council.
Due date	Milestone	Reward Payment	
Literacy and Numeracy	
October 2010	Annual review of VIP	$31.3m (FY10/11 reward)	
October 2011 	Annual review of VIP	$31.3m (FY11/12 reward)	
Teacher Quality	
October 2011	Annual review of VIP	$44.5m (FY11/12 reward)	
October 2012	Annual review of VIP	$44.5m (FY12/13 reward)	

Non-government sector participation
Victoria is committed to adopting a cross-sectoral approach to enhancing educational outcomes for all Victorian students as articulated in Victoria’s Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development. This is expected to include new partnerships between government and non-government schools to enhance local school collaboration especially in school communities in low SES areas.
Victoria’s non-government sector has been fully involved in the development of this Agreement and the VIP. The two relevant peak bodies, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) and Independent Schools Victoria (ISV), are integrated into Victoria’s governance arrangements for the NPs.
As part of this process Victoria’s independent, Catholic and government sectors have: 
•	Made a commitment to work together collaboratively in the development and implementation of this agreement and the VIP;
•	Identified specific initiatives within each of the three national partnerships that will benefit from a cross-sectoral approach; and
•	Agreed that where it is more appropriate for reforms to be pursued by sectors individually, sectors will undertake to share relevant information, including evidence, planning and proposed approaches.
Facilitation payments
Victoria has consulted ISV and CECV on the proposed distribution of Commonwealth facilitation payments. The funding share for each sector for each NP is detailed in the table below. Where possible, Victoria has used the applicable methodology used by the Commonwealth in calculating the funding shares between States and Territories for the NP multilateral agreements. 
Where funds are required to pursue cross-sectoral reforms, which are either specific to individual NPs or apply across the Smarter Schools NPs, it is proposed that this amount will be deducted proportionally from the notional sector funding shares. For example, under the Literacy and Numeracy NP, all sectors have expressed interest in working together to build the capacity of literacy and numeracy coaches/in-school support for teachers and leaders. If this was agreed and the budget for this work was estimated at $250,000, then each sector would contribute to the costs in proportion with their notional share of the Literacy and Numeracy NP facilitation funding. Ie: The government sector would contribute 76.11% of the total budget ($190,275); the Catholic sector would contribute 17.71% ($44,275); and the independent sector would contribute 6.17% ($15,450).

Partnership
 	Government Sector	Non-Government Sector	
	 	 	Catholic	Independent	
Literacy & Numeracy
	76.11%	$20.42m	17.71%	$4.75m	6.17%	$1.65m	
Low SES
	78.00%	$214.70m	18.72%	$51.53m	3.28%	$9.02m	
Teacher Quality
	62.01%	$14.82m	20.63%	$4.94m	17.36%	$4.16m	
Total	$249.94m	$61.22m	$14.83m	

Co-investment
Victoria’s co-investment is included in the facilitation payment budget in this Agreement. 
Victoria’s approach to co-investment is organised around:
•	New funding for relevant initiatives (e.g. Blueprint);
•	Reprioritisation of school-based allocations; and
•	Identification of relevant system-wide initiatives and support.

A summary of co-investment in each NP is provided below.
Co-investment Summary – Literacy and Numeracy NP
	08/09	09/10	
Total funding	$112.83m	$103.6m	

Victoria can adequately match the required co-investment. Victoria has invested significant resources into improving literacy and numeracy outcomes which has been reflected in our NAPLAN results. Schools will be held accountable for their co-investment funding through the inclusion of an appendix to their School Annual Implementation Plans.
Co-investment Summary – Low SES NP
	08/09	09/10	10/11	11/12	12/13	
Total reprioritised funding	$93.78m	$93.78m	$93.78m	$93.78m	$93.78m	
Total new funding	$17.17m	$15.95m	$15.95m	$15.95m	n/a	
Total	$110.95m	$109.73m	$109.73m	$109.73m	$93.78m	
* Spending on programs has been averaged for the five-year period. 

Victoria can more than meet its investment for the low SES school communities NP through existing and new initiatives. Recurrent funding in participating school budgets and identified targeted initiatives will support the outcomes agreed for the Low SES School Communities NP.

Co-investment Summary – Improving Teacher Quality NP
	08/09	09/10	10/11	
Recurrent funding	$14.89m	$14.89m	$14.89m	
New funding	$11.95m	$11.73m	$11.73m	
Total	$26.84m	$26.62m	$26.62m	
*Spending on programs has been averaged over the three years.

Victoria can adequately match the co-investment required for the Teacher Quality NP. Victoria has a strong workforce reform focus, particularly through the 2008 Blueprint, and is in a good position to lead new and innovative approaches to teacher quality. 
Performance Indicators
This Agreement and the VIP will contribute to the relevant outcomes identified in the NP agreements and the National Education Agreement (NEA). For the purposes of this agreement Victoria will, therefore, adopt the outcome-related performance indicators specified in relevant sections of the NP multilateral agreements.

Principles for development of performance measures
Victoria has identified a set of guiding principles for the Victorian performance measures. Performance measures for the VIP:
•	Are consistent with COAG and MCEECDYA frameworks;
•	Use existing data sets as far as possible;
•	Use a mix of process, output and outcome indicators ;
•	Support cross-sectoral collaboration and State reporting as far as possible;
•	Use performance data that incorporates the characteristics outlined in the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Federal Financial Relations (Schedule C, C8) and reproduced below:
o	Meaningful
o	Understandable
o	Timely
o	Comparable
o	Administratively simple and cost-effective
o	Accurate
o	Hierarchical
•	Acknowledge the time involved in the life of the NPs by moving progressively from process, to output, to outcome indicators;
•	Acknowledge that additional burdens on schools in relation to data collection, collation and reporting should be minimised and that any reporting should be part of the regular reporting cycle already in place at the school level wherever possible;
•	Avoid 1:1 matching of indicators to specific reform areas by using aggregation wherever possible; and
•	Ensure sufficiently robust indicators to assist in determining eligibility for rewards (in partnership with DEEWR).

Victoria has developed a Performance Measures Matrix for the NPs which provides the overall monitoring and evaluation framework for the three schools NPs. This is included in the VIP.
Monitoring and reporting arrangements
Victoria will provide reports to the Commonwealth and the COAG Reform Council on an agreed basis that detail progress against the agreed reform milestones and timelines as set out in the VIP.  Summaries of the Victorian reports will be published. 
Monitoring and reporting arrangements will reflect the requirements of Schedule C to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations. 
VIP Progress Reports
As agreed, Victoria will report to each MCEECDYA and AEEYSOC meeting on progress in relation to the key, high-leverage initiatives within each of the three schooling NPs, using the traffic light reporting template. If either AEEYSOC or MCEECDYA meets more than four times in a calendar year, Victoria will report to alternate meetings, subject to agreement with other jurisdictions on reporting arrangements.

VIP Annual Review Report
Victoria will provide a VIP annual review report in October of each year throughout the life of the VIP, commencing in October 2010. This report will include information in relation to: 
•	Progress in implementing the agreed reforms in the VIP, in line with clause C11 in Schedule C to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations;
•	Progress against facilitation and reward milestones, according to the timelines set out in the VIP; 
•	Co-investment; 
•	Progress against Victoria’s Performance Measures Matrix; and
•	Information on any lessons learned, promising innovation and best practice emerging from VIP implementation.

VIP Activity Report
Victoria will provide a VIP Activity report in April of each year throughout the life of the VIP, commencing in April 2010. This report will include information in relation to: 
•	information on any proposed changes or adjustments to the VIP for the current year, such as those identified through continuous improvement mechanisms, and derived from sharing and learning from best practice across sectors and jurisdictions; and
•	proposed achievements for the current year.

Victoria will also support and contribute to any annual review of national initiatives within the Smarter Schools NPs.
Schools participating in NPs under this Bilateral Agreement will report on progress in annual reports consistent with existing sectoral accountability arrangements. As part of the engagement of schools, specific performance information to monitor progress in reform areas will be identified for inclusion in their annual reports.
Victoria will meet the requirements of the MCEECDYA Measurement Framework for National Key Performance Measures, which sets out the basis for reporting progress towards the achievement of the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century and the new Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians agreed in December 2008.
COAG Reform Council
Victoria will provide agreed information to enable the COAG Reform Council to assess performance indicators under this Agreement that contribute to the objectives and outcomes of the NEA, in the context of its analysis and report on the NEA and its subsidiary NP agreements.
Where individual school data is provided, and the NP agreements do not provide for that level of analysis to be published, standard privacy issues will prevail.
Disseminating best practice
In the spirit of collaborative federalism, Victoria is committed to sharing and disseminating best practice to the Commonwealth and other States and Territories. 
Victoria will use the following mechanisms for the sharing of information on all successful initiatives within reform areas implemented under this agreement: 
National teleconferences and meetings on NPs
•	Victoria will contribute to regular teleconferences with senior officials from all jurisdictions on the development and implementation of the NPs and multilateral/bilateral agreements 
(Victoria proposes that these be continued on a quarterly basis to enable sharing and learning.)
NPs email distribution list/ NPs portal
•	Victoria proposes establishing an NP email distribution list to enable jurisdictions to share implementation plans at State, sector and school levels. Alternatively, DEEWR could host a portal where jurisdictions can post relevant information.
Sharing of VIP Annual Review Report
•	Victoria proposes sharing its VIP Annual Review Reports with other jurisdictions and publishing key extracts where appropriate. 
AEEYSOC/ MCEECDYA
•	Victoria proposes that ‘NP best practice’ be a standing item on the agenda of AEEYSOC/MCEECDYA meetings from June 2010 onwards, with jurisdictions invited to share relevant information on a rotating basis.
Australian Education Ministers’ Biennial Forum
•	All Australian Governments jointly convene this national forum to showcase best practice across jurisdictions and sectors. The next forum, due in 2010, will provide an ideal opportunity to share information on successful reforms.

As noted previously in the section on Non-government Sector Participation, Victoria’s independent, Catholic and government sectors have made a commitment to work together collaboratively in the development and implementation of this Agreement and the VIP. In some instances sectors will take a cross-sectoral approach in relation to key initiatives and wherever possible will share relevant information, including disseminating best practice.
Evaluation
Victoria will undertake specific evaluations of high-leverage initiatives relating to the key reform areas under this Agreement. This will be an input into best practice dissemination as discussed above. Selection of initiatives for targeted evaluation will be determined over the life of the VIP.
Victoria will also support and contribute to the national evaluation of the Smarter Schools NPs, including development of the overarching evaluation framework, as proposed by the Commonwealth. This will include:
•	Yearly formative evaluation across the three NPs and at the individual NP level, supporting ongoing refinement and continuous improvement of the VIP and national reform initiatives within the NPs; and
•	Final evaluation at the conclusion of the NPs.
Publications and communications
Victoria will acknowledge the Bilateral Agreement as a joint Commonwealth–Victorian initiative in all publications, promotional and advertising materials, public announcements and activities or any products, processes or inventions developed as a result of the implementation of the Bilateral Agreement.
Audit arrangements
Appropriate auditing arrangements will be put in place as required to ensure compliance with the terms of the Bilateral Agreement. This will take account of any relevant instructions from State and Federal Treasury.
Governance arrangements
Victoria’s has established appropriate cross-sectoral governance arrangements for development and implementation of the VIP. These arrangements will be monitored and any necessary adjustments made as implementation of the VIP proceeds. 
In particular, a National Partnerships Cross-Sectoral Group has been established, chaired by the Secretary and involving the Chief Executive Officers of ISV and CECV; the Deputy Secretary, Office of Government School Education (OGSE); and the Deputy Secretary, Office for Policy, Research and Innovation (OPRI). This group provided the final recommendations and sectoral endorsement of the Bilateral Agreement and the VIP. 
In addition to the National Partnerships Cross-Sectoral Group there are a range of other cross-sectoral and sector-based working groups and governance arrangements in place supporting the implementation of the VIP. 

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The Parties have executed this agreement as follows:

Signed for and on behalf of the
Commonwealth of Australia by

……………………………………….
	
Title

Date

Signed for and on behalf of the
State of Victoria by

……………………………………………	

Title: Minister for Education, Bronwyn Pike MP

Date	

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Appendix A – Agreed Reform Areas 
This Bilateral Agreement will address the agreed reform areas identified according to the relevant National Partnerships below and as articulated in the multilateral agreements for the schooling National Partnerships. 
As noted in the Victorian Implementation Plan, Victoria’s approach to the three schooling National Partnerships is part of a broad, whole-of-system strategy designed to implement significant reforms across a range of Victorian schools identified as requiring improvement. This whole-of-system strategy involves the integration of Commonwealth and State funding to construct a Statewide Improvement Strategy and will be realised through a seamless, integrated approach at the school level.

Literacy and Numeracy
•	Effective and evidence-based teaching of literacy and numeracy
•	Strong school leadership and whole school engagement with literacy and numeracy
•	Monitoring student and school literacy and numeracy performance to identify where support is needed.  

Low SES
•	Incentives to attract high-performing principals and teachers
•	Adoption of best practice performance management and staffing arrangements that articulate a clear role for principals 
•	School operational arrangements which encourage innovation and flexibility
•	Providing innovative and tailored learning opportunities
•	Strengthened school accountability 
•	External partnerships with parents, other schools, businesses and communities and the provision of access to extended services (including through brokering arrangements).

Teacher Quality

Facilitation reforms 
•	World leading professional development and support which will empower principals to better manage their schools to achieve improved student results and higher quality to lead performance improvement at the local level
•	New pathways into teaching
•	Better pathways into teaching
•	Indigenous education pathways
•	New professional standards to underpin national reforms
•	Nationally agreed process for accrediting/certifying Accomplished and Leading Teachers
•	Joint engagement with higher education providers to improve teacher quality
•	Establish quality placements for teacher education courses
•	Establish School Centres of Excellence
•	Improved mobility of the Australian teaching workforce
•	Improved quality and availability of teacher workforce data
•	Improved performance management and continuous improvement in schools (linked to the professional learning and national standards).

Reward reforms
•	Improved pay dispersion to reward quality teaching
•	Improved reward structures for teachers and leaders who work in disadvantaged Indigenous, rural/remote and hard-to-staff schools
•	Improved in-school support for teachers and leaders, particularly in disadvantaged Indigenous, rural/remote and hard-to-staff schools
•	Increased school-based decision-making about recruitment, staffing mix and budget
•	Continual improvement program for all teachers
•	Indigenous teachers’ and school leaders’ engagement with community members.