NSW Government digitises school forms

The NSW Government has commenced a school digitalisation program, providing all parents at primary schools with the option to enrol their child online and digitalising other frequently used school forms. Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the Digital Restart Fund has helped the Department of Education bring this essential process online, with work starting on other forms.

“We want to cut the number of physical forms down from 85 to a more manageable level. We will start with the forms used most frequently by families and schools, which include parent–teacher interview bookings, student absences and HSC subject selection,” said Dominello.

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that, after a successful pilot, the rollout of online enrolment would continue to all public primary schools by 2021. Mitchell said that online enrolment offers a modern, digital alternative to the current handwritten application form, saving families and school administration teams hours of time.

“A single paper enrolment form can take 40 minutes to process, whereas schools using online enrolment can complete up to six enrolment applications in just 30 minutes. What was formerly a 16-page form will now be a streamlined experience, which has been designed using parent feedback collected during the pilot,” said Mitchell.

Dominello noted that the current model is outdated, as parents and carers spend more than six million hours a year filling these forms out, while school staff spent 11 million hours processing them. “This is another example of the NSW Government putting families first and investing in technology to make life easier for them,” said Dominello.

Families who do not have access to digital facilities will still be able to complete paper enrolments. The online system for local enrolment applications can be accessed on school websites.

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