A season of qualifying rounds. One national championship. A school year of trade skills.
Charge Academy's annual inter-school race calendar runs from the first pre-season kit day in February all the way through to the National Finals in October — five state heats, two cross-state finals blocks, and one host-circuit decider. Every round maps to real AUR32721 assessment evidence, so the racing is the assessment, and the assessment is the racing.
- State heats
- 5QLD · NSW · VIC · SA · WA
- National finals
- 1Rotating host circuit
- Terms of evidence
- 4Feb → Oct school year
At a glance
How the circuit runs — state heats to national championship
Three tiers, one funnel. Every school enters at Tier 1; only the season's top squads reach the National Finals. Each tier is also a fresh body of assessment evidence your teacher signs off against AUR32721.
Regional rounds rotate across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Each round runs a circuit race, an endurance event and an engineering presentation — championship points snowball across the season.
Why it matters — Schools close to home — no cross-state travel before the finals.
The point leaders from every state converge on a multi-state finals block. Two rounds, one panel, points from finals wipe the state-tier slate and seed a fresh grid for the National Finals host circuit.
Why it matters — A second-tier body of evidence — scrutineering and diagnostics at scale.
Industry judges, full technical inspection and three back-to-back rounds: circuit race, endurance event and a live engineering presentation. The host circuit rotates annually across the same five states so every region gets a turn at the gate.
Why it matters — Travel-subsidised finalist schools, defence-grade portfolio evidence.
Sample calendar
Where the circuit lands in an Australian school year
An indicative term-by-term placement for a school joining in Term 1. Every term carries a body of AUR32721 evidence — so the race calendar and the qualification calendar are the same calendar.
| Term | What's happening | Curriculum tie-in | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
Term 1 Feb – early Apr | Pre-season: flat-pack kit arrival, mechanical assembly, drivetrain commissioning, first shakedown laps on the home track. | AURAEA002 — Follow environmental and sustainability best practice in an automotive workplace. AURETR115 — Inspect, test and service batteries. | Setup |
Term 2 Mid Apr – late Jun | Race-prep block: fault-diagnosis drills, engineering-presentation rehearsals, first state heats (NSW + VIC rounds). | AURETR115 — Inspect, test and service batteries. Fault-diagnosis components of AURETR236. | First heats |
Term 3 Mid Jul – mid Sep | Peak race window: QLD / SA / WA heats, multi-state finals block, points reset ahead of the National Finals. | AURETR236 — Diagnose and repair electronic systems. AURTTA021 — Diagnose and repair complex battery-controlled systems. AURETR112 — Test and repair basic electrical circuits. | Peak window |
Term 4 Early Oct – mid Dec | National Finals at the host-circuit state, then post-season debrief, evidence consolidation, industry-judged exhibition event and AUR portfolio wrap-up. | Consolidation of evidence across all AUR32721 units delivered during the season. | Championship |
Indicative placement — exact dates for each host circuit and multi-state finals block are confirmed with participating schools by the start of Term 1.
Eligibility
What it takes to enter a team
Three gates every school moves through before the first round. They are the same controls your HSEQ lead and your VET coordinator already run — nothing extra, no parallel compliance stack.
Kit completion
The same flat-pack kit your school assembles is the assessment equipment for AURAEA002 and AURETR115. Your supervising teacher signs off on a drivetrain assembly logbook, diagnostic fault-clearance and a brake self-test before the school enters the first race round — no kit completion, no race day.
Safety sign-off
Every student completes an online PPE and electrical-safety module with a short assessment before their first race day — LiFePO4 48V awareness, lockout-tagout, Class-0 glove fitting. Your school's HSEQ lead signs off the workshop risk assessment against the template Charge Academy supplies for each cohort.
Teacher supervisor
Each team needs a Charge Academy-trained supervisor on site at every race day. The PD runs two intensive days before Term 1 and covers scrutineering, fault-diagnosis rubrics and emergency response. A second responsible adult joins so the team has whole-day supervision cover if a supervisor is pulled to a judging panel.
Entry process
How a school joins the circuit
Four gates — eligibility, what each school commits to, the refundable deposit timeline and the onboarding window. The same gates your HSEQ lead and your VET coordinator already run, surfaced together so a principal can read them once.
- A current Australian secondary school (a separate entry exists for VET-only delivery partners).
- A Charge Academy-trained staff supervisor plus a backup supervisor (PD runs before Term 1).
- A suitable covered workshop bay plus flat-pack storage for the kit crate — kit →.
- A team of 6–14 students across Years 9–12 — one driver per race, several pit-side engineers and engineers-of-record.
- An appointed HSEQ lead — your school's HSEQ lead signs off the workshop risk assessment against the template Charge Academy supplies for each cohort.
- 1Appoint one supervisor and one backup supervisor. Both complete the Charge Academy PD before Term 1.
- 2Host kit day in Term 1 — flat-pack crates arrive six weeks before the first race day and the team walks the kit-complete sign-off.
- 3Attend up to two supervisor PD days pre-Season — scrutineering, fault-diagnosis rubrics and emergency response.
- 4Supervise the home-team race entries across the season — both state heats and any multi-state finals the team qualifies into.
- 5Agree to the AURAEA002 & AURETR115 kit-complete sign-off before Round 1 — the same evidence curriculum alignment → maps to Cert II/III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology.
- 6Keep the cohort record current in the school portal → — supervisor changes, VET credit updates and Term 4 evidence wrap live there.
Refundable $1,500 deposit via /enrol → — locks a kit crate and onboarding slot. Fully refundable until 14 days before your scheduled kit delivery.
School enquiry
A principal or STEM coordinator emails the Charge Academy team with the school name and intended Term 1 start.
Onboarder call
A 30-minute call with a teacher-turned-onboarder — Term 1 PD dates, per-state VET credit mapping and supervisor sign-off steps.
2026 cohort confirmation
School signs the cohort terms and pays the refundable deposit via /enrol — locks a kit crate + onboarding slot.
Kit delivery — 6 weeks pre-Term 1
Flat-pack crates arrive. School runs the AURAEA002/AURETR115 kit-complete sign-off before Round 1.
Supervisor PD window
Two intensive PD days before Term 1 — scrutineering, fault-diagnosis rubrics and emergency response.
Round 1 — first state heat
Home-team race entries begin. The same race day carries the body of AUR32721 evidence your teacher signs off.
Exact dates for each host circuit and multi-state finals block are confirmed with participating schools by the start of Term 1 — so your school's calendar can ratify the PD days at the same board meeting that approves the deposit.
Two intensive PD days run before Term 1 for every supervisor and backup supervisor. The PD covers scrutineering, fault-diagnosis rubrics and emergency response — the same language Charge Academy's panel uses on race day.
Kit delivery slots are scheduled six weeks before your scheduled kit day, so the team has runway to commission the car, sign off safety and roster the supervisor before Round 1.
Race day
What a race day looks like — students, teachers & parents
From the first unloaded crate to the last post-race diagnostic — a full-day arc every audience experiences in their own way. Every step is also a body of AUR32721 evidence your teacher signs off against.
07:30
Arrive & set up
Unload the chassis stand, set up the pit, complete technical inspection paperwork. The team walks the track on foot — first look at corners that mattered on the simulator.
09:00
Scrutineering
Weigh-in, brake test, electrical isolation audit, tyre pressure check. The scrutineer runs the same battery safety checklist the kit ships with — LiFePO4 48V, lockout-tagout tags intact.
10:30
Practice & qualifying
Familiarisation laps, driver rotation, qualifying times set the race grid. Telemetry is captured for student run-debrief after the event — the same telemetry the portfolio references.
12:30
Lunch & engineering call-out
Industry judges visit each pit. Engineering presentation scored live. A real fault-diagnosis task is run on a substitute module — every student, every term.
13:30
Race block
Circuit race and endurance event run under race control. Driver swap, energy-budget calls, pit-stop diagnostics — the practical observation every Cert II/III unit is read against.
16:00
Awards & debrief
Results presented, championship points published, post-race diagnostic write-up filed into the team portfolio. The trip home starts the work for the next round.
Student teams
- You rotate through scrutineering, qualifying laps and the live engineering presentation.
- You leave with one race block of AUR32721 evidence per body system — drivetrain, electrical, telemetry, controls.
- Bring a charged laptop for the pit-side telemetry debrief at 16:00 — your portfolio is updated before the bus home.
Supervising teachers
- You sign off scrutineering and the engineering-presentation rubric on the day.
- Charge Academy’s panel works from the same rubric, so the school assessment language is identical to the panel.
- A second responsible adult joins so the team has whole-day supervision cover if you’re pulled to a judging panel.
Visiting parents
- Morning scrutineering and lunch engineering call-out are open to the public.
- Bring enclosed shoes and stay behind the pit rope once the race block begins.
- A parent briefing runs at 09:15 in the team manager’s tent — ask anything about safety, the prize pool and the cohort timeline.
Certificate tie-back
Why the racing isn't just for show.
Every race-day task maps to an AUR32721 unit of competency. The teacher signs off the same way they would sign off an RPL candidate — so every round of racing accrues hours toward a nationally recognised Certificate II or III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology.
- Race-day diagnostics carry direct evidence for AURETR112 and AURETR236.
- Scrutineering rolls up into AURETR115 battery-service evidence.
- The pit-stop telemetry debrief maps directly to AURTTA021.
| Race-day task | Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Race-day diagnostics on a flagged drivetrain sensor | AURETR112 | Test and repair basic electrical circuits |
| Scrutineering battery inspection & torque sign-off | AURETR115 | Inspect, test and service batteries |
| Live engineering-presentation fault-diagnosis task | AURETR236 | Diagnose and repair electronic systems |
| Pit-stop energy-budget decision + telemetry debrief | AURTTA021 | Diagnose and repair complex battery-controlled systems |
Ready to enter?
Ready to enter a team in the next season?
Schools ready for the next season — refundable $1,500 deposit (2026 cohort) via our Stripe checkout, fully refundable until 14 days before your scheduled kit delivery. Or, drop your details below and Charge Academy will reach out within two business days.
What happens next
- Within two business days — Charge Academy emails a tailored proposal with indicative pricing and kit delivery timing for your state.
- A 30-minute onboarder call with a teacher-turned-onboarder — they walk through Term 1 PD dates, the per-state VET credit mapping and the supervisor sign-off steps.
- Kit day locked in — flat-pack crates arrive six weeks before your first kit day, so you have runway to commission the car, sign off safety and roster the supervisor.
Tell us your school and your role — we'll be in touch within two business days. The waitlist is the right choice if you're considering 2026 cohort but want a conversation before paying the deposit.