Student Background Data Collection Form

All Catholic, Independent and Government schools in Australia are asked, on behalf of their system/sector, to provide student/parent background information to enable nationally comparable reporting of student outcomes. The collected background information will also assist the Australian government in developing policies to:

• make available an education system which is fair for all Australian students
• provide targeted funding to those areas most in need.

The background information collected relates to:

• the gender of the student
• the country of birth of the student
• the indigenous status of the student
• parents occupation and educational qualifications
• the languages other than English spoken home by each parent/guardian and the student.

The collection of background data is tied to federal funding and is collected across Australia in a uniform way against nationally consistent definitions. The student’s background data is collected when the student enrols at the school, typically before or at the start of Year 7.

If your school enrolment form provides information about the language/s spoken at home by:

• the student
• parent/guardian 1
• parent/guardian 2

then your school administration officer can upload the school enrolment form twice i.e. the same document for both the school enrolment form, and the Student Background Data Collection form.

There is no requirement to add a different file name for this document.

Please note, however, that the Student Background Data Collection form will not be accepted in lieu of the student’s school enrolment form.

In Western Australia, there are differentiated senior secondary language courses that meet the specific language learning needs of a particular group of students. Within each of these groups, there are differences in proficiency in using the language and its cultural systems.

Target audience for language courses

The descriptions below of the target audience for each language course are intended to provide you with general guidance to ensure you are enrolled in the appropriate course.

Second language courses

These courses are aimed at students for whom the language for which they are applying is a second (or subsequent) language. These students: have typically learnt everything they know about the language and its culture through classroom teaching in an Australian school or similar environment, where English is the language of school instruction have typically studied the language for 200–400 hours at the commencement of Year 11 may have experienced some short stays or exchanges (less than two years in total) in a country where the language is a medium of communication do not use the language for communication outside the language classroom are not exposed to the language outside the language classroom; that is, are not spoken to in the language by members of their immediate or extended family, or community members and friends.

Background language courses

These courses are aimed at students who have prior exposure to the language for which they are applying that provides a linguistic and cultural advantageThese courses are aimed at students who have a linguistic and cultural background in the language for which they are applying.. Typically, these students have experienced one or more of the following: had formal education (one to five years in total) in a school where the language is the medium of instruction, and/or spent time (two to five years in total) for holidays, family visits or exchange purposes, and/or have resided in a country where the language is a medium of communication, and/or use the language for communication outside the language classroom, and/or are exposed to the language outside the language classroom and may have a connection to that culture.

First language courses

These courses are aimed at students who have a linguistic and cultural background in the language for which they are applying. In addition, students have experienced one or more of the following: had formal education in the language for an extended period (more than five years at any time from Pre primary, or the equivalent, onwards) in a school where the language is the medium of communication and/or school instruction, and/or have resided and/or spent time in a country (for more than five years) where the language is the medium of communication, and/or use the language for communication outside the language classroom, and/or are exposed to the language outside the language classroom and have a connection to that culture.

For the purpose of this application, speakers of dialects and variants of a language are considered to be speakers of the standard language:

• China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Christmas Island are considered Chinese‑speaking countries/places.
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are considered Indonesian‑speaking countries/places.
• speakers of Indonesian and speakers of Malay are considered to be speakers of both languages.
• all Francophone countries are considered French‑speaking.
• Germany, Austria and Switzerland are considered German‑speaking countries.
• Italy and Switzerland are considered Italian‑speaking countries.

The criteria for enrolment have been designed to assess the degree to which a student has had previous experience in, and exposure to, the language they wish to study. Research into language acquisition has shown that people who learn a language during their ‘critical period,’ that is, between birth and around 10 years of age, have an advantage over those who learn the language outside of this period. It has also shown that children who are immersed in a language, for example, through growing up with the language at home, or spending time in a country where the language is a medium of communication and/or through attending a school where the language is the medium of instruction, have an advantage over other learners.

Criteria for permission to enrol in a WACE language course

There are three criteria against which your application for enrolment will be assessed:

• Education
• Residency and/or time spent in-country
• Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom.

PATHWAY	CRITERIA FOR PERMISSION TO ENROL IN A WACE LANGUAGE COURSE
	Education	Residency and/or time spent in-country	Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom
Second language courses	Less than one (1) year in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction	Less than two (2) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication	Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is not permitted
Background language courses	One (1) to five (5) years in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction	Two (2) to five (5) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication	Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is permitted
First language courses	More than five (5) years in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction	More than five (5) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication	Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is permitted

Note:

1. The Language Pathway for each student is determined as follows:

   Second language – a student will be considered for the second language pathway if the information provided in the Language Application satisfies all three criteria for the Second language pathway

   Background language – a student will be considered for the background language pathway if the information in the Language Application satisfies at least one criterion for the Background language pathway

   First language – a student will be considered for the first language pathway if the information in the Language Application satisfies, in addition to the Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom criterion, at least one other criterion of the First language pathway.

2. In the Education criterion, the reference to a ‘year’ is an academic or school year.
3. In the Residency criterion, the reference to a ‘year’ is to a period of twelve months.

Passports and overseas school reports

If you were born, have resided in, and/or travelled to and/or attended school in a country or place where the language in which you wish to enrol is used for communication and/or school instruction and/or is studied as a second language, your application must include a copy of each of the following:

• the passport page showing your name, place of birth and nationality
• the passport page authenticating the date of entry into Australia as a resident if you were not born in Australia
• recent reports from the school/s that you have attended outside Australia (where applicable).

International Movement Records (IMR)

If you have lived in or frequently travelled to countries or places where the language which you are applying for is used for communication, you may be asked, after your Language Application has been submitted, to provide an International Movement Records (IMR) document to clarify aspects of your residency and travel.

The IMR document confirms dates of departure out of, and arrival into, Australia and lists all overseas travel in chronological order.

If you are asked to provide an IMR document, you and your parents/guardians will need to complete an IMR request form.

Online and paper IMR request forms are available from the Department of Home Affairs website at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/request-movement-records/apply.

To avoid any delays, you and your parents/guardians should ensure that:

• the IMR request form has been fully completed
• supporting documentation such as a certified birth certificate and proof of identity are provided with the request
• records are requested from birth to the present and not for a specified period.

Incomplete records will not be accepted. Your parents/guardians will be required to contact the Department of Home Affairs again to request any missing records.

If using the paper IMR request form, it should be returned to the Department of Home Affairs at request.movement@homeaffairs.gov.au. Do not send it to the Authority. Once you receive the IMR document, you should submit it to the Authority as soon as possible, so that your Application for permission to enrol in a WACE language course can be finalised.

Parent/Guardian acknowledgement form

In the Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement form, parents/guardians confirm that the Application for permission to enrol in a WACE Language course has been completed truthfully and accurately.

The Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement form can be downloaded from the link within the Language Application in the Student Portal.

Students and parents/guardians must:

• print out the Language Application
• print out the Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement form
• sight the Language Application
• complete the Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement form
• scan or take a photo of the Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement form
• upload it to the Language Application
• submit the Language Application from home.

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