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CEO Authority Limits

First created 15 November 2011
Last reviewed 6 April 2021
Review cycle Three years
Approver Board
Owner Board Policy Review Task Group
Stakeholders Board members, CEO

Overview #

The Board has developed Chief Executive Office (CEO) Authority Limits taking into account John Carver’s policy governance philosophy to place restrictions on what the CEO is authorised to do or to allow to occur.

This policy is part of a suite of Board policies that comprises of:

  • Board Objectives Policy
  • CEO Authority Limits Policy
  • Board/CEO Relationship Policy
  • Board Processes Policy
  • Life and Honorary Membership Criteria Policy


The CEO Authority Limits Policy has been developed at the first level to provide a broad summary of the circumstances and activities that the Board would find unacceptable if caused or allowed by the CEO.

Global Policy Statements #

  1. Although the Association for Christian Education (‘the Association’) is not formally recognised as a school system, the Board governs its schools along such lines. A ‘system office’ is located at the Kenwick Campus and the Board is responsible for the appointment and management of a CEO to whom it delegates day-to-day operational management and control. The CEO is not required to be a registered teacher.
  2. The CEO has the final decision in all operational matters, except for matters directly relating to educational programmes and curriculum where the CEO will take advice from the Academic Executive which consists of the school Principals.
  3. The CEO shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision, or organisational circumstance that is unlawful, imprudent, or in violation of:
    1. the Association’s Constitution
    2. legislation related to education and schools; and
    3. commonly accept business and professional ethics.
  4. Where conflict arises between item 3(1) and 3(3), 3(1) prevails.

Staff Selection #

The CEO will not employ any staff who are not committed Christians or do not demonstrate a commitment to quality Christ-centred teaching based on a Reformed view of Scripture. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Fail to advertise staff positions through College newsletters, Association mailings, and appropriate recruitment agencies, newspapers, and the internet.
  2. Fail to advertise all long-term teaching vacancies both internally and externally. An exception may be made in the promotion of an existing employee. Such a promotion may be advertised only internally at the discretion of the CEO.
  3. Fail to include the following information in every advertisement for a staff position:
    1. doctrinal perspective required, including the phrases, ‘an active member of a Protestant, Bible-believing church’ and ‘must be willing to embrace the College’s Biblical philosophy of education’; and
    2. a description of the Association and its campuses, including the phrase ‘Christ-centred education from a Reformed perspective’.
  4. Appoint any staff member without assessment against the following selection criteria:
    1. desired doctrinal position, that being Reformed;
    2. knowledge of the Association’s Biblical and educational philosophy, or demonstration of a willingness to learn that philosophy and grow in it;
    3. desired qualifications;
    4. desired experienced (length of time);
    5. desired competencies (skills);
    6. desired personal qualities;
    7. any past or present Rehoboth association, including bonded scholarships;
    8. desired motivation; and
    9. criminal history check and applicable statutory requirements.
  5. Allow short listing of applicants without giving preference to those who best demonstrate items 4(4), 4(2), and 4(7) above.
  6. Fail to ensure that a teaching staff appointment, including when there is only one applicant, be made only where there is an interview panel that consists of at least the Principal of the affected campus, the CEO (or his or her delegate) or a Board member, and an ordained minister/pastor from either the Reformed Church or Westminster Presbyterian Church.
  7. Fail to ensure that any Senior Leadership Team appointment be made only when the successful applicant has been interviewed by an panel as per point item 6 above, with the compulsory inclusion of a Board member and an external CEN Principal on the panel, and has met with, and been approved by, the Board.
  8. Fail to ensure that a panel minister/pastor understands the Association’s requirements, by conducting an induction process with a current panel minister, utilising an induction pack which shall include: selection policies, criteria and processes, mission and vision statements, the Association’s educational; philosophy, and a description of the interview questions.
  9. Fail to ensure than agenda item be created for consideration at each July Board meeting detailing the list of panel ministers/pastors in item 6 above and the criteria for inclusion on the list.
  10. Fail to compile the list of interview questions set for each panel member or present any changes in questions that have occured.
  11. Allow a final selection of applications without giving preference to those who demonstrate items 4(1), 4(2) and 4(7) above.
  12. Make any staff appointments without notifying the Board.
  13. Fail to provide the CV of the appointee to the Board, at the Board meeting immediately following the appointment.
  14. Fail to ensure all teaching staff complete the induction process within twelve months of commencement.
  15. Allow any staff member to be employed or appointed to teach a specialist class in Christian Studies, Biblical Studies, Seminars in Christian Perspectives, or similar without a second faith interview.

Budgeting #

  1. Budgeting for any financial year or remaining part thereof shall not:
    1. deviate materially from the Board Objectives Policy;
    2. risk the Association’s assets and investments;
    3. fail to use information from past budgets; or
    4. fail to take account of future budget requirements.
  2. The CEO shall not allow budgets to be presented to the Board which:
    1. contain inadequate written information to enable credible projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items and cash flow, or disclosure of planning assumptions.
    2. Will result in Board-determined measures not being achieved.
    3. Fail to provide for current and future capital requirements and general provisions.
    4. Fail to provide for Board-determined expenditure.
  3. The CEO shall allow budgets to be presented to the Board in accordance with the following timetable:
    1. Initial draft for November Board meeting
    2. Final draft for following March Board meeting.
  4. The CEO shall ensure that the budget and appropriate documentation is included in the Board pack prior to the November and March meetings.

Staff Management #

With respect to the employment and treatment of staff, the CEO shall not cause or allow conditions that are unsafe, unjust, or undignified, or retain staff that do not contribute to the overall performance of the Association. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Allow any employee not to be covered by performance management system.
  2. Allow any employee to be appraised under that system less than once every eighteen months.
  3. Deny to any employees their right to personal dignity and workplace safety.
  4. Neglect the staff needs for development in teaching from Christian worldview consistent with the Association’s doctrinal position.
  5. Fail to keep the Board fully informed about impending disputes and grievances that may lead to action agianst the Association or the resignation or termination of a staff member.
  6. Prevent staff from bringing a grievance, via the Chairperson, to the Board when the correct internal channels have been exhausted, or a Board policy has been violated to the relevant staff member’s detriment.
  7. Fail to ensure that all staff members are acquainted with thier rights under this policy.
  8. Operate without written personnel policies that make clear rules for staff.
  9. Fail to ensure that all Senior Leadership Team contracts are approved by the Board.

Financial Management #

With respect to the actual and ongoing financial condition and activities of the Association, the CEO shall not cause or allow the development of financial harm or material deviation of incomes and expenditures from the Board approved Budget and Master Plan. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Achieve a return on the Association’s cash investments that is less that the rate of interest published by the ANZ Bank thirty-day fixed deposit rate.
  2. Cause the Association to incur unbudgeted debt that cannot be funded within sixty days or exceeds 0.5% of budgeted debt.
  3. Use any Association funds, or enter into any contracts or accept other liabilities, other than for the Association’s purposes and priorities, as approved by the Board.
  4. Expend more funds than have been received in the financial year unless offset by Board-approved withdrawals from reserves.
  5. Allow undisputed invoices from suppliers of goods and services to the Association to remain unpaid beyond trade credit terms agreed with those suppliers.
  6. Use restricted or allocated contributions for any purposes other than those designated unless otherwise approved by the Board.
  7. Fail to pay staff in accordance with their employment contracts.
  8. Make a single unbudgeted purchase or commitment to purchase a capital item of greater than 10% of the total capital budget in any financial year.
  9. Make a single unbudgeted purchased of 0.75% of the budgeted operational expenses in any financial year.
  10. Achieve a positive outcome of less than 2% of the total operating income as budgeted for the year.
  11. Allow tax payments or other government ordered payments and filing to be overdue or inaccurately filed.
  12. Violate Australian Accounting Standards or commonly agreed professional accounting practices.
  13. Fail to actively pursue receivables overdue.
  14. Fail to create, maintain, and review an operational policy of fees in accordance with the Board’s approved budget that:
    1. enables some families on low incomes or in financial hardship to be offered fee relief;
    2. restricts total fee relief to no more than 10% of the Association’s total revenue generated from fees;
    3. ensures international students pay full fees (defined as the amount that would normally be paid by the State and Federal Governments in addition to the standard tuition fee); and
    4. allows the flexibility for a fee-sharing arrangement to be made in circumstances where a family has one or more children concurrently attending another CEN school.

Communication and Support to the Board #

The CEO shall not withhold material information nor allow the Board to be uninformed or unsupported in its work. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Neglect to provide monitoring information in a timely, accurate, and understandable fashion addressing the various issues to be monitored by the Board.
  2. Neglect to provide financial reports that make clear:
    1. significant trends;
    2. data relevant to agreed benchmarks and Board-agreed measures;
    3. further Board financial data as determined by the Board from time to time; and
    4. change in receivables overdue during accounting period.
  3. Fail to inform the Board of significant trends, implications of Board decisions, issues arising from policy matters, or changes in the basic assumptions upon which the Board’s policies are based.
  4. Fail to inform the Board when for any reason there is actual or anticipated non-compliance with a Board policy.
  5. Fail to inform the Board of any breach or anticipated breach of any externally imposed compliance requirement.
  6. Neglect to inform the Board of any actual or potential legal conflict or dispute that has arisen or might arise in relation to staff, student, or community matters affecting the Association.
  7. Fail to inform the Board of such occasions when it violates its governance processes, particularly when this relates to the CEO’s ability to carry out his or her responsibilities.
  8. Fail to deal with the Board as a whole, except when responding to requests from Board Task Groups or delegates (Board members should not make requests of the CEO outside of their delegated responsibilities).
  9. Fail to advise the Board of the creation of operational policies.
  10. Fail to add all audit reports to the agenda for the next Board meeting following receipt.
  11. Fail to take opportunities to correspond where appropriate with the Federal and State Parliamentary representatives (which have campuses in their electoral district) and the Ministers responsible for Education, updating such representatives on current points of praise and challenges being experienced by the Association and encouraging such representatives to visit the campuses. Such correspondence must emphasise, where appropriate, the Association’s membership with and support of broader Christian education alliances such as CEN.

Emergency CEO Succession #

In order to protect the Board from a sudden loss of CEO services, the CEO may have no less than one other member of the Senior Leadership Team familiar with Board and CEO issues and processes. This member of the Senior Leadership Team is not be other than Principal or, in the absence of a Principal, an employee deemed appropriately qualified by a majority decision of all Board members.

Strategic Proposals #

Strategic proposals submitted to the Board by the CEO shall not fail to address all relevant matters. Accordingly, the CEO shall not present proposals that do not address the following matters:

  1. Perception of the wider educational market to the initiative.
  2. Financial impacts of the initiative.
  3. The resources required to implement the proposal.
  4. The key drivers and sensitivities that will ensure the success of the project.
  5. Third-party information to review the reasonableness of any key assumptions.
  6. Any potential synergy effects.
  7. Alternative ways of deploying the strategy.
  8. Adequate monitoring and accountability measures to ensure the objectives of the strategy are achieved.
  9. Any risk management or compliance issues.

Curriculum and Academic Executive #

The CEO shall not allow any curriculum to be developed, delivered, or deleted without Board knowledge. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Fail to advise the Board by 31 October each year (or prior to first draft budget) of the curriculum learning areas/subjects planned to be delivered for the following year at each campus.
  2. Introduce or delete curriculum learning areas/subjects without Board approval.
  3. Fail to maintain an Academic Executive that consists of the Principals of schools operated by the Association, this Academic Executive being the primary decision-making body in matters relating to educational programs and curriculum. It is the role of the Academic Executive to ensure that all educational programs comply with relevant legislation and requirements.
  4. Fail to ensure that a Principal from one of the Association’s schools is appointed as chairperson of the Academic Executive, who shall also have direct access to the Board Curriculum Monitor and the Board Chairperson. The CEO may attend Academic Executive meetings in an ex-officio capacity, but shall not chair or have a voting right at those meetings.
  5. Fail to ensure that the Academic Executive meets at least once per term during the school year and makes minutes of its meetings available to the CEO and Board.
  6. Fail to communicate the decisions and actions of the Academic Executive to the Board via monthly Board reports or fail to schedule regular meetings between the Board and Academic Executive.

Association Membership #

The CEO shall not approve an application for Ordinary or Affiliate Membership in the Association which fails to comply with the College’s Enrolment Policy. Accordingly, the CEO shall not:

  1. Fail to email all applications, with a recommendation from the school Principal or other Board-approved senior staff member following an interview with the applicants, to the Board member appointed as Membership Monitor for approval.
  2. Sign the Acceptance Form prior to receiving approval from the Membership Monitor
  3. Allow students to commence at an Association school prior to the CEO signing the Acceptance Form and confirming receipt of any Enrolment Fee.
  4. Fail to conduct an induction session for new Ordinary and Affiliate Members annually based on the Foundational Principles.

Vision and Mission #

The CEO shall support the Board in promoting to the Association a clear understanding of the Scriptural basis for the Association, unity of belief, and a clearly articulated Vision and Mission. Accordingly, the CEO will not fail to provide:

  1. At an Association level, at all major public meetings, a professional development element based on the Foundational Principles. This includes annual Association meetings, Association Special Meetings, staff/parent meetings, and graduations.
  2. At a staff level, annual professional development that is based on a Reformed understanding of Scripture (not less than four hours), and annual professional development that is based on the Foundational Principles (not less than four hours).
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Updated on 22 May 2026