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2014
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Australian Education Amendment (School Funding Guarantee) Bill 2014
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
and
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Circulated by authority of
Bill Shorten MP
Australian Education Amendment (School Funding Guarantee Bill) 2014
OUTLINE
The intent of the bill is to end state and territory education cuts by requiring the Minister to
be satisfied that a state or territory will not reduce or has not reduced its education budget
before school funding is provided to states and territories.
This bill is necessary in the light of cuts to school budgets in Western Australia and the
Northern Territory, and the Governments announcement that it will seek to remove state
and territory co-contribution and indexation conditions from existing school funding
agreements.
This bill is necessary because of the Governments failure to honour its election
commitments that ,,"no school will be worse off" (Tony Abbott, 2 August 2013) and in
relation to school funding, that "We will honour the agreements that Labor has entered
into. We will match the offers that Labor has made" (Tony Abbott, 2 August 2013).
The bill will protect schools in every state and territory from funding cuts by state and
territory governments.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The bill will have no financial impact.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: sets out the short title of the Act.
Clause 2: states that the Act commences on the day following Royal Assent.
Clause 3: sets out that this Act will amend the Australian Education Act 2013.
Schedule 1 (1A): introduces, for participating schools, a requirement that the Minister must
be satisfied that the total amount of a State or Territorys funding for schools will not be or
has not been reduced before the Minister makes a determination of Commonwealth school
funding.
Schedule 1 (1B): introduces, for non-participating schools, a requirement that the Minister
must be satisfied that the total amount of a State or Territorys funding for schools will not
be or has not been reduced before the Minister makes a determination of Commonwealth
school funding.
Schedule 1 (2): sets out that the requirement in Schedule 1 (1) will apply to a
determination made on or after the day this Act commences.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Australian Education Amendment (School Funding Guarantee) Bill 2014
This bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
Overview of the bill
The intent of the bill is to end state and territory education cuts by requiring the Minister to
be satisfied that a state or territory will not reduce or has not reduced its education budget
before school funding is provided to states and territories.
This bill is necessary in the light of cuts to school budgets in Western Australia and the
Northern Territory, and the Governments announcement that it will seek to remove state
and territory co-contribution and indexation conditions from existing school funding
agreements.
Human rights implications
The right to education
o the bill seeks to achieve a consistent and high national standard of school
education.
o every student in every school would benefit from an end to cuts in education
services and certainty about future funding.
Conclusion
This bill is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of human
rights.
Bill Shorten MP