In Short
- Starting an educational training business requires identifying your niche, understanding market demand, and complying with accreditation standards.
- Important steps include developing a robust curriculum and securing qualified instructors.
- Marketing strategies and maintaining a high-quality training experience are crucial for attracting and retaining clients.
Tips for Businesses
When launching an educational training business, focus on defining your niche and ensuring your offering meets market demand. Obtain necessary accreditations and hire qualified instructors. Develop a strong curriculum and implement effective marketing strategies to attract clients. Maintain high training standards to foster a positive reputation and encourage repeat business.
If you are starting an educational or training business, navigating the numerous legal certifications and regulations governing how you operate your business can be complicated. This article will take you through the basics of setting up your educational or training business, including the certifications and licences that your employees will need, the child safety regulations that you should be aware of, the process for registering your business and some factors to consider when choosing the premises from which to operate your educational or training business. It will also help you understand how to structure your business plan and select the appropriate business structure for long-term success.
Employee Certifications
Depending on what kind of educational or training business you plan on running, you and your employees may require certifications that enable you to run an academic company and your employees to teach.
If you plan on starting a school for primary-aged students, your teachers must have a Bachelor of Education degree. If you plan on offering secondary education, your teachers may need to have obtained Master of Teaching degrees. For preschools or kindergartens, your teachers will need to hold diploma-level qualifications in teaching, and you should look for teachers with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education or similar degrees.
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Your instructors may require industry-specific qualifications if you plan to run a business offering occupational training. For example, a company that provides culinary training may require its instructors to have degrees in the culinary field, such as a Bachelor of Culinary Arts. Even if your industry does not require instructors to have a certification by law, it can be helpful to look for qualified instructors.
If your business will offer training via an online course, ensuring your instructors meet relevant certification standards is still essential, especially if your training is nationally recognised.
Child Safety Regulations
You can start an educational or training business that provides educational or training services to children. Opening a business that caters to children can be highly lucrative, as parents are often keen to expand their children’s education and future opportunities by enrolling them in education and training programs outside of school. However, operating a business that provides these services to children will require you to obtain extra certifications under child safety law.
Teachers and other employees at your business who work near or with children in an unsupervised environment will require a Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) certification. WWVP certification requires your employees to have applied for a WWVP registration with your local State government. It will involve employees being subject to police and background checks to ensure that they are suitable for employment that affects children. Allowing employees who do not have a WWVP certification to work with children is a legal offence.
Continue reading this article below the formRegistration
To register as a business, your educational or training business will need to apply to the Australian Business Register to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN). An ABN registers your business with the Australian government and entitles your business to tax incentives and other schemes that the government reserves for businesses.
If you are operating a non-government school or training organisation, you must register as a Registered Training Organisation with your local State or Territory government. Doing so will ensure that the government is aware of your business’ existence and will mean your business is subject to any regulations or laws that the government puts in place to govern the operation of non-government educational or training organisations.
Choosing the Right Premises
To ensure the success of your educational or training business, you will need to pick the right location. A perfect location is accessible to your students and offers the right space and facilities for your classes. To secure the perfect premises for your business, you should keep a few legal requirements in mind.
Type of Lease
There are two primary forms of lease that you may encounter when finding premises. A fixed-term lease expires on a set date or after a set period of time, while a month-to-month lease renews automatically on a monthly basis. While a fixed-term lease offers you certainty, a month-to-month lease offers flexibility in ending your lease. Depending on how certain you are about a location, you should choose a form of lease that best fits your needs.
Zoning
Depending on what type of educational or training business you are operating, different locations may exclude your business for zoning reasons. You should ensure that the location you choose is zoned appropriately for your business.
Privacy
As an educational or training business, you will be collecting and handling personal information from your students and employees. Understanding and complying with Australian privacy laws, particularly the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), is important. These laws govern collecting, using, storing, and disclosing personal information. You will need to implement appropriate data security measures, obtain consent for collecting certain types of information, and provide individuals with access to their personal data upon request.
Additionally, you should develop a clear privacy policy that outlines how your business handles personal information. This policy should be easily accessible to your students and staff. Compliance with privacy laws not only helps you avoid legal issues but also builds trust with your clients and protects your reputation in the education and training sector.
Key Takeaways
There are several key legal factors to consider when starting an educational or training business, such as:
- you must ensure your employees are appropriately certified and have the relevant educational qualifications;
- if you are teaching children, you must ensure your employees have WWVP certifications. You should also put a child safety policy in place;
- you will need to register for an ABN, and may need to register as Registered Training Organisation;
- you should pick premises that have a form of lease that complements your business, and will need to make sure that the location is zoned to accommodate for your educational or training business; and
- you will need to understand and consider how privacy laws apply to your business as you will be handling personal information including sensitive information.
If you need help managing legal considerations when starting an educational or training business, our experienced education and training lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your employees must hold relevant qualifications based on the type of education or training you offer. This includes teaching degrees, early childhood education diplomas, and industry-specific qualifications. Your staff will also need a Working with Vulnerable People certification under child safety law if they are working with children.
Yes, you must apply for an Australian Business Number through the Australian Business Register. If you run a non-government school or training organisation, you also need to register with your local government as a Registered Training Organisation and meet the required standards for operations, reporting, and student management.
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