Question 1

What does Charge Academy actually cost my family?

Accepted Answer

One school fee per cohort covers everything; parents are typically billed nothing extra for the program beyond standard school fees. The build, race entry and teacher time are absorbed by the school. AUR32721 is the line item that moves the program from extracurricular add-on to existing VET budget line.

Question 2

What will my child's week actually look like?

Accepted Answer

About 3-4 contact hours per week through the term, roughly one after-school session and one in-class session, delivered in a school staff member's existing elective slot. Race-day prep adds a school holiday workshop in the lead-up term; travel is only for state-round finalists.

Question 3

Is the car safe — and what about insurance?

Accepted Answer

Drivetrain runs at 48V using LiFePO4 cells, well below the legal threshold at which automotive traction systems are classed as high-voltage. The kit ships with arc-rated face shield, Class-0 HV-insulating gloves and lockout-tagout tags for every student, and we provide a school-approved risk assessment template. No special rider on the school's public-liability policy is required in any state we currently operate in.

Question 4

What qualification does my child actually walk away with?

Accepted Answer

Certificate II or III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology (AUR32721), a nationally recognised qualification on the AUR Automotive Training Package. The race car build IS the assessment task — the same evidence the teacher signs off is the same evidence an RTO recognises.

Question 5

Who supervises the build and the race day?

Accepted Answer

Every build session is supervised by the school's existing VET-trained teaching staff (two-day intensive PD is part of the school fee, so a parent can ask the school how many staff attended). Race-day observation is staffed by Charge Academy officials plus an RTO-aligned judge panel — the same panel that signs off the AUR32721 assessment.

Question 6

How does Charge Academy look on a uni or apprenticeship application?

Accepted Answer

Universities read AUR32721 hours as accredited VET credit, the same way they read any other Certificate II or III program; employers and group training organisations see it as prior articulacy into an automotive-electrical apprenticeship pathway. Your child graduates Year 12 with the credential on their transcript — not a club pin.

Question 7

What's the difference between this and a normal extracurricular?

Accepted Answer

A normal extracurricular rounds off at the end of season with a memory and a t-shirt. Charge Academy anchors every kit task, every race-day diagnostic and every team presentation to an AUR32721 unit of competency, so the hours bank onto the transcript and the portfolio hands to an employer or RTO partner.

Question 8

How does my child's data and consent work?

Accepted Answer

Year-9-12 senior students enrol on a standard school consent form that Charge Academy supplies; the school owns the consent pack and shares only the data needed for assessment with the RTO partner. No marketing list, no third-party data sale.

Question 9

What happens after Year 12 — does this actually lead somewhere?

Accepted Answer

AUR32721 hours articulate directly into an automotive electrical apprenticeship pathway and bank toward related engineering diplomas, the same pathway an RTO-delivered Year-12 student walks into — except your child earned theirs through racing rather than a separate week of campus study.

Question 10

My school's not enrolled — what can I do?

Accepted Answer

Drop your email on the parent interest list below. We use it to (a) email you when a school in your area joins so you can advocate with neighbours, and (b) keep you in the loop on home-states where the program is expanding.

Ten questions Australian parents ask before consenting to enrolment.

What parents ask before they say yes

Here's what to ask the school.

Be the parent who brings Charge Academy to your school.