About Us

The Western Australian Secondary School Executives Association (WASSEA) is the professional association reflecting the voice of Western Australian public secondary school leaders at a local, state and national level. Through its role as a peak advisory body to the Western Australian Minister for Education and the Department of Education, WASSEA promotes the profession, advocates for public schools, shares knowledge and empowers its current and future school leaders.

The Objectives of the Association are to:

• Enhance the professional status and expertise of secondary school executives and the quality of secondary education in Western Australia;
• Promote the professional interests and welfare of its members;
• Organise and conduct regular meetings, conferences, forums and seminars for the advancement of education and professional development of members;
• Be recognised as an important consultative group by the Minister for Education, the Department of Education, other key agencies and be represented on policy-making bodies which impact on education;
• Initiate, promote and encourage education research and investigation;
• Disseminate information on educational issues to members
• Promote and maintain standards of professional ethics and conduct of its members;
• Enable members to cooperate as a body with other organisations in the pursuit of the aims of the Association;
• Represent the members through input to relevant parties concerning terms and conditions of employment and the ongoing employment of members.

WASSEA is a highly respected professional association with close links to the other professional associations. Though their membership of WASSEA, all members are automatically affiliated with the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association and are members of the Western Australian branch of the Principals Australia Institute.
The President is regularly asked to make comment, privately and publicly, on a variety of secondary school educational matters.
The Association’s activities broadly fit into two main categories that provide:

Personal and Professional Services to Members

Advice to Government and to the Department

Communications from the President on a regular basis. Assistance in raising individual or group issues / grievances with DoE. An avenue for obtaining professional advice. Opportunity to attend the WASSEA Conference each year with subsidised travel for country members and reduced rates for all members. Professional and learning opportunities. Journey insurance to and from work. Air travel insurance on authorised WASSEA activities. Discount buying service. Legal Assistance plan.

Access to the Minister. Access to the Director General. An Agreement with DoE that includes: Executive Release for the President. A subsidy for travel to conferences. President representation on the Principals Consultative Group that meets regularly with the Director General. Representation by the President, members of the Management Committee and other members on DoE Reference Gr

Members who are not on the Board of Management can contribute to the work of the association through the website and by involvement in Reference Group sub-committees.

How WASSEA works

WASSEA is managed by a Board of Management which has overall responsibility for running the Association in accordance with the Constitution and By-laws. The Board includes an executive, consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Senior and Junior Vice Presidents, and ten other members. Board members are elected on a ratio of principal and deputy principals to ensure a balance of representation. All Board members are elected for a three-year term. Elections are timed to coincide with the Annual General Meeting. Some members may also be co-opted at the discretion of the Board.

The President is full-time with WASSEA, on Executive Release by agreement with the Minister and the Department of Education. Apart from specific executive tasks, such as work done by the Treasurer, the Board carries out its various functions by working in teams. These teams are led by a Board member and might include other WASSEA members. The team leader represents WASSEA at any meetings with other parties. On some occasions, a group deputation is involved. If members have a particular interest and want to help, they can do so by joining a team, for example, to assist by reading and commenting on documents under development. They might like to make themselves available more extensively for meetings or teleconferences. Members can express an interest by telephone, mail or emailing us.

The following information details the WASSEA management structure.

• The Executive consists of: President, Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer.
• Standing Committees are: Conference, Aspirants and Governance.
• Other committees are formed as required, for example, to provide feedback on specific draft DoE policies.

Member Specific Functions and Services
The WASSEA office is located at the campus of Tuart College at 105 Banksia Street in Tuart Hill. The Office Services Team members are the President, the Finance Officer, the Reception and Membership Officer, the Events Administration Officer, and the General Administration Officer.
Liaison with other associations (including non-government school associations) is a responsibility of the President.

Communications:
Newsletters are written and distributed by the President on a regular basis, usually twice per term. Other communication with members is via email, including the weekly news update “WASSEA on Wednesday”, the President attending principal and network meetings, and through school visits.