A principal’s guide to school cohort costs, staffing, safety, curriculum, race entry and the 2026 cohort deposit.
What is the total school cost, what is included, and what must we supply?
The /for-schools page lists Foundation, Multi-cohort and Whole-school options, but gives each fee as indicative and quoted per state rather than publishing a fixed total, so request a state-specific quote. A Foundation cohort includes the flat-pack chassis and drivetrain, 48V LiFePO4 battery pack, controller, telemetry and firmware, cohort PPE, AUR32721 curriculum binder and rubrics, two days of PD for two staff, and one regional race-round place. The school supplies a roughly 40 m² workshop, lockable parts storage, metric hand tools and multimeter, a PC with USB for firmware flashing, and 230V power; consumables are typically under $50 per cohort per term, while race-day travel and teacher relief are also school costs. Check the current tier and item-by-item breakdown before budgeting.
How much time do staff and students need each week and term?
The school guide describes a two-term after-school elective and budgets 3–4 teacher hours per week during delivery, two days of pre-program PD for two staff, and about six hours of competition coaching before race day. For students, /parents estimates 3–4 contact hours per week during term, while /for-schools lists a typical semester total of about 80 hours; treat these as planning estimates and confirm the exact session timetable and term length with your coordinator.
Do teachers need prior qualifications, and what credential or curriculum outcomes are promised?
The parent information says build sessions are supervised by the school’s existing VET-trained staff, while the school pages do not name a more specific prior teacher credential; two nominated staff complete a two-day intensive before delivery. The comparison page positions Charge Academy around a full-size vehicle build rather than a scale model, battery-and-powertrain learning, an inter-school circuit, and an AUR32721-linked VET pathway. The parent page describes a Certificate II or III pathway under the AUR32721 name, while /compare and /qualification identify AUR20721 for Certificate II and AUR32721 for Certificate III; the delivering RTO determines assessment and award from student evidence. The state curriculum map shows indicative topic connections; it does not by itself confirm VCE or VCE VM credit or ATAR contribution.
What safety controls and insurance arrangements should we plan for?
The kit list includes Class 0 high-voltage gloves, an arc-rated face shield, a workshop apron and lockout-tagout tags for the cohort. Before racing, students complete the safety module, the school HSEQ lead signs the workshop risk assessment against the supplied template, and trained staff supervise the team with backup cover. The parent information says no special public-liability rider is required in the states where the programme currently operates; check your school’s own cover with its broker and confirm whether the separate race-day helmet and suit are supplied or school-provided.
What should parents expect to hear from the school during the cohort?
The school supplies and owns the student consent pack and shares the data needed for RTO assessment; the public pages do not set a recurring Charge Academy-to-parent email schedule. Recommended school practice—not a published programme commitment—is for the coordinator to share term dates, consent and safety information, and race-day logistics through the school’s usual channels; parents can also attend the published race-day briefing.
How does the inter-school race circuit work, and what does entry require?
Schools enter a regional state heat with a circuit race, endurance event and engineering presentation; season results determine which teams progress through the later finals stages. The cohort deposit includes one regional round place with no separate race-entry fee, while entry still requires kit-completion and safety sign-offs, a trained supervisor and a backup; travel and teacher relief remain school costs.
What does the cohort deposit secure, and when is it refundable?
The /enrol page lists a one-time $1,500 USD deposit for one 2026 cohort, reserving a kit crate, a two-teacher training window and a regional race-round place with finals eligibility. It is refundable in full until 14 days before the scheduled kit delivery; after that cut-off it is non-refundable except if Charge Academy cancels, and may be applied against kit materials already provisioned for the school.
A practical decision check
Still deciding? Here's what to ask the school leadership
Ask for the state-specific cohort quote and list the room, tools, storage, firmware PC, consumables, travel and teacher relief your school will supply.
Nominate the two staff attending PD, identify a backup supervisor, and confirm assessment sign-off roles with your delivering RTO.
Review the AUR32721 unit evidence and ask your curriculum lead which state-framework connections fit your students and reporting plan.
Have the HSEQ lead review the workshop risk assessment, local insurance cover, student consent process and parent update plan.
Check the term calendar, kit-completion sign-offs, regional round location and the school travel and relief budget.