The Minister approves approved authorities, block grant authorities and non-government representative bodies under this Part.

An approved authority is the body to which recurrent funding under this Act is ultimately paid. For government schools, the approved authority is the relevant State or Territory. For a non-government school, the approved authority is the body corporate approved by the Minister for the school.

A block grant authority is one of the bodies to which capital funding may ultimately be paid under subsection 67(1), and is the body to which capital funding is ultimately paid under subsection 67(2). A body can be a block grant authority only for non-government schools.

A non-government representative body for a non-government school represents the interests of the approved authority for the school. A non-government representative body is the body to which funding under section 70 is ultimately paid.

An approved authority, block grant authority or non-government representative body must satisfy basic requirements (such as being fit and proper), as well as ongoing requirements (such as requirements relating to dealing with financial assistance and providing information).