<p>School–community connection has emerged as a critical focus in contemporary school design, with "Schools as Community Hubs" gaining prominence in discussions around the role of schools in the community. While discourse continues around policy's impact on school–community connection, existing design policies have not undergone critical analysis to determine whether they facilitate meaningful connections between schools and their communities. This gap is particularly urgent given the NSW Government's record $9 billion investment in new school infrastructure over the next 4&#xa0;years. Without embedding community-connected design principles into policy frameworks, this unprecedented expenditure risks perpetuating design barriers that will constrain community engagement for decades. School design policy fundamentally shapes how buildings are conceived and used, yet unlike educational policy—which receives frequent critical examination—design policy rarely undergoes similar scrutiny. This paper addresses this gap by analysing NSW school design policy through Carol Bacchi's "What's the problem represented to be"? (WPR) approach. This post-structural framework reveals underlying assumptions within policy problems and solutions, providing fresh perspective on conflicting design requirements and tensions between departmental priorities that must be addressed to realise school–community connection's full potential. These findings offer important implications for policy development to better align design guidelines with community integration goals, with the methodological approach applicable to school design policy analysis in other jurisdictions.</p>