What is the casual use agreement
The Secretary for Education has set criteria under Section 163 of the Education and Training Act 2020 for the kinds of occupancies that school boards can arrange without getting specific approval from us.
Boards can use the casual use agreement for occupancies that meet all of the criteria. This is a standard agreement designed to be very low risk to boards. It gives boards a high level of control over the occupancy so they can react quickly if things change.
Section 163: Other agreements to occupy school land or buildings – New Zealand Legislation
Notice of Other Agreements to Occupy School Land or Buildings - 2024-go2910 – New Zealand Gazette
Criteria for casual use agreements
The proposal for use must meet all 5 of the criteria to be eligible for the casual use agreement. If it falls outside these criteria another agreement type may be an option.
- The proposal must be for an eligible purpose
The criteria for any third-party use of school property are set out under section 162 (2) of the Education Act 2020.
To meet the criteria the proposed use must:
- bring an educational benefit or serve a community purpose
- have no educational disadvantage for the school.
Section 162 (2) of the Education Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation
- The occupant must be an eligible occupant
These types of occupancy are eligible for a casual use agreement:
- The occupant is a licenced Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) provider under Social Security (Childcare Assistance) Regulations 2004, providing before and/or after school care, and/or holiday programmes.
- The term is 6 weeks or less, and the hours of use will be less than 36 hours per week.
- The term is 7 weeks or more, and the hours of use will be less than 15 hours per week.
- The agreement is for the purpose of storing equipment
- The occupant will have non-exclusive use of the property
Non-exclusive use means that the space will be shared with the school or other users.
For example, a karate club that uses the school hall on Tuesday evenings, and the school uses it the rest of the time.
- The occupant will not be responsible for any property maintenance or upgrades
The school will still be the primary user of the space. This means that anything that the occupant installs will become the property of the school.
The board may charge a rent which will cover any costs to the property and will not expect the occupant to contribute to building operation or maintenance costs otherwise.
- The occupant is satisfied using the casual use agreement without any variations
The casual use agreement is a locked document which only has editable fields for party names, rent amounts, hours of use and term.
If there are any other changes, you cannot use the casual use agreement. You must apply through our usual third-party occupancy process and have a lease/licence prepared under s162 of the Education Act.
Casual use agreement