School hall AV upgrade checklist

The decisions that matter most for assemblies, performances and visiting speakers. Settle these before a specification is written, not after a quote is accepted.

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Students seated in a school hall during an assembly, presenter at a lectern with projection screen and wall speakers

Project nameSite or spaceDateProject or change managerCompleted by

Critical — define these first

Nothing else can be scoped, quoted or compared until these are answered.

Every use of the hall, listed — assemblies, performances, exams, sport, community hire.

Peak occupancy, and the occupancy of a typical weekday assembly.

Who will operate the system on a normal day, named by role rather than by person.

Whether relief and casual staff must be able to operate it unaided.

Whether this is a School Infrastructure NSW or school initiated project.

Whether hearing augmentation is in scope, out of scope, or not yet determined.

Budget envelope and funding source.

Everyone who must sign off — principal, business manager, ICT, facilities, diocese, procurement.

School hall from the operator position — digital mixing console and laptop in the foreground, stage lighting and speakers beyond — A hall that works for assembly on Monday and a production on Friday is two specifications, not one.

Conditional — define if these apply

Work through each trigger. If it applies to your site, the item becomes critical.

IF A STATE EDUCATION DESIGN STANDARD APPLIES — define which standard and version applies — e.g. EFSG (NSW), DSDEF (QLD) or a university AV standard.

IF THE HALL HAS A STAGE — define lighting, backdrop and performance audio requirements.

IF THE HALL IS HIRED TO THE COMMUNITY — define after-hours operation, access and who supervises.

IF THE HALL IS USED FOR EXAMS — define quiet-mode and bell isolation requirements.

IF BELLS, PAGING OR ALERTS INTEGRATE WITH THE HALL — define the integration and who owns it.

IF CCTV OR ACCESS CONTROL IS IN SCOPE — define who holds responsibility and whether licensing applies.

IF THE BUILDING IS HERITAGE LISTED — define installation and fixing constraints.

IF STREAMING OR RECORDING IS REQUIRED — define the platform, the audience and who operates it.

IF CLASSROOM SOUNDFIELD SYSTEMS EXIST — define whether the hall should match their operation.

Optional — worth defining

Not required, but each one makes the next conversation shorter.

Assistive listening provision above the compliance minimum.

Conduit or pathway provision for a later upgrade.

Integration with room booking or timetabling.

A staged pathway if full budget is not available this year.

Traps to avoid in school hall AV projects

Designing a hall system only a technician can operate, then rostering relief staff to run assembly.

Specifying hearing augmentation without checking which devices your students actually use.

Treating soundfield amplification as though it satisfies hearing augmentation obligations.

Assuming installed means compliant. Verification, signage and staff training are separate steps.

Adding paging, alerts or access control without involving ICT and facilities early.

Notes

Completed bySignedDate

What happens next

1Anything left blank in the critical section is a gap, not an oversight. It will surface later, usually during installation.

2Bring the completed sheet to a site review. It replaces about half the meeting.

3If a conditional trigger applies and you are unsure how to answer it, that is exactly what the review is for.

Answers save automatically in this browser8 critical items still undefined

Request a School Hall AV Review

Related checklists

Hearing augmentation compliance checklist School hall AV upgrade checklist Architect briefing checklist All resources

This checklist is general guidance. Requirements vary by project, jurisdiction, building classification and approval pathway.