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1999
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
THE
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
INDIGENOUS
EDUCATION (SUPPLEMENTARY
ASSISTANCE)
AMENDMENT BILL
1999
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister
for Education, Training and Youth Affairs,
the Hon
Dr David Kemp MP)
ISBN: 0642 405352
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (SUPPLEMENTARY
ASSISTANCE)
AMENDMENT BILL
1999
OUTLINE
This Bill amends the Indigenous Education
(Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 (the Act) to give effect to initiatives
announced in the 1999-2000 Budget and the Government’s announcement on
ABSTUDY of 15 December 1998:
• $126.1
million to maintain the Commonwealth’s commitment to Indigenous education
through the extension of the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives
Programme for the period beginning 1 January 2000 and ending 30 June 2001;
and
• incorporates the mixed mode course
delivery away-from-base element of the ABSTUDY scheme into the Act by
providing funding arrangements for education providers delivering ABSTUDY
approved courses during 2000.
The Bill also
contains provisions which
will:
• allow
for cost supplementation in respect of funds appropriated under section 13B(8)
of the Act for the period 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2001;
and
• allow
for a consequential amendment to the Student Assistance Act 1973 to
transfer the appropriation of the mixed mode course delivery away-from-base
element of the ABSTUDY scheme to the Act.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Total funding levels for the 2000 programme year under
the Act are estimated to be around $140 million. This level of funding is
consistent with previous commitments by the Government to Indigenous education.
The changes to the ABSTUDY scheme are cost neutral.
NOTES ON
CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short
title
This clause identifies the
legislation as the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Amendment
Act 1999.
Clause 2 -
Commencement
This clause provides that the
Act will commence on the day on which it receives the Royal
Assent.
Clause 3 -
Schedules
Clause 3 provides that each
Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the
applicable items in the Schedule.
AMENDMENT OF THE
Item 1 –Section 3
Section 3 of the Indigenous Education
(Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 (“the Act”) contains
definitions used within the Act.
Item 1
inserts a definition of “ABSTUDY approved course” to mean a course
that is provided through a mixture of distance education and residential and/or
face-to-face education at a VET or Higher Education Institution. This
definition also requires that the course is approved as a mixed mode
away-from-base course under the ABSTUDY
scheme.
Item 2 – Section
3
Inserts a definition of “higher
education institution” by linking the definition to that provided at
section 4 of the Higher Education Funding Act
1988.
Item 3 – Section
3
Modifies the definition of
“permitted payment” by excluding any payments under Division 3
– ie: funding for “ABSTUDY approved
courses”.
Items 4 and 5 –
Subsection 9A(1)
Makes a technical
amendment to subsection 9A(1) by omitting “either, or both” and
substituting “any one or more”. At the end of the subsection 9A(1)
adds a subparagraph to provide for funding for an ABSTUDY approved course.
Item 6 – Section
9A
Adds a subsection at the end of section
9A clarifying that if an agreement provides for payment for an ABSTUDY approved
course, the amount of the payment is to be calculated under Division 3.
Item 7 – end of Part
2
Adds Division 3 -“Funding for
ABSTUDY approved courses”, to the end of Part 2 of the Act. This new
Division incorporates sections 10L and 10M.
The new section 10L outlines the amount of
payments that may be made for ABSTUDY approved courses.
• Subsection
10L(1) enables the Minister to make an agreement with an education provider
authorising a payment to the provider. It specifies the payment for an ABSTUDY
approved course in the 2000 calendar year if there are Indigenous students
enrolled for that year in the course.
• Subsection
10L(2) provides a formula for calculating the amount of payment using the unit
cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course multiplied by the number of Indigenous
students enrolled in that course.
• Subsection
10L(3) provides a formula for calculation of the unit cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY
approved course where funding was provided in the 1998 calendar year in respect
of students enrolled in 1998.
• Subsection
10L(4) provides a formula for calculation of the unit cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY
approved course where subsection (3) does not apply or the 2000 ABSTUDY approved
course was not a ABSTUDY approved course in 1998. In this case, the unit cost
for the course is the median of costs calculated under subsection(3).
The new section 10M provides for the
Indexation of amounts.
• Subsection
10M(1) gives a formula for the indexation factor for a calendar year. This is
comprised of the index number in the recent June quarter over the previous June
quarter.
• Subsection
10M(2) requires the indexation factor calculated in subsection (1) to be rounded
up or down to 3
places.
• Subsection
10M(3) provides for the calculation of the indexation factor where the Consumer
Price Index has been altered.
Item 8
– after section 11
Inserts a new
section 12 entitled “Appropriation for payments made under Division 3 of
Part 2” which provides that payments made under this Division must be made
out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Item
9 – at the end of section 13B
Adds a
new subsection 13B(8) which provides for the appropriation from Consolidated
Revenue of $126,100,000 in respect of the period 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2001.
Item 10 – subsections 13C(1) and (2)
Makes a technical amendment to subsections
13C(1) and 13C(2) by omitting “or (7)” and substituting “(7)
or (8)”. This allows for the cost supplementation of the amount
appropriated in section 13B(8).
SCHEDULE 2
AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
The Student Assistance Act 1973 is an Act to
provide certain benefits to certain students and for other
purposes.
Item 1 - At the end of paragraph
55A(1)(c)
Makes a consequential amendment
to the appropriation provision at paragraph 55A(1)(c) by removing ABSTUDY
funding for “the away-from-base element of the scheme for mixed mode
study” from this Act. This is transferred to the Indigenous Education
(Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 under Item 9.