Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
1998–1999–2000
THE PARLIAMENT OF
THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
EDUCATION SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS
STUDENTS (ASSURANCE FUND CONTRIBUTIONS) BILL
2000
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister
for Education, Training and Youth Affairs
the Hon Dr David Kemp
MP)
ISBN: 0642 451664
OUTLINE
The purpose of this Bill is to impose the requirement to pay annual
contributions and special levies to the ESOS Assurance Fund.
The
provision of education and training services to overseas students is regulated
by Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and
Financial Regulation) Act 1991 (old ESOS Act). That Act aims to provide
financial and tuition assurance for overseas students. The old ESOS Act will be
repealed by the Education Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and
Transitional) Act 2000 and replaced by the Education Services for
Overseas Students Act 2000 (the new ESOS Act). This Bill requires providers
registered under the new ESOS Act to pay an annual contribution to the ESOS
Assurance Fund, which will be established under that Act.
Following the
review of the old ESOS Act, the new ESOS Act will strengthen the regulatory
framework for the industry, bringing about enhanced quality assurance and
probity measures, including the following:
· Overseas students will be provided with stronger protection for pre-paid fees and continuing tuition if their provider goes out of business;
· A national code will be established providing nationally consistent standards for the registration and conduct of providers as a legally enforceable code;
· The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) will have powers to initiate investigation of possible breaches of the provisions of the new ESOS Act or the national code;
· DETYA will have power to impose suspension and cancellation action and other conditions on providers that breach the provisions of the new ESOS Act or the national code; and
· The new Act will establish offences designed to ensure that providers
adhere to the provisions of the Act and national code and that non bona-fide
operators are removed from the industry.
The ESOS Assurance Fund will
provide greater security for overseas students’ pre-paid course fees. It
will replace the old ESOS Act requirement on providers to deposit pre-paid fees
into a Notified Trust Account (NTA), withdrawals from which are subject to
Regulations under that Act. The review of the old ESOS Act found that NTAs were
open to abuse by unscrupulous providers and had failed to achieve the objective
of the Act to protect student fees.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This Bill will have no identifiable financial impact.
EDUCATION SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS (ASSURANCE FUND
CONTRIBUTIONS) BILL 2000
NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL
CLAUSES
Clause 1 Short Title
This clause identifies the legislation as
the Education Services for Overseas Students (Assurance Fund Contributions)
Act 2000.
Clause 2 Commencement
This clause provides
for the Act to commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
Subclause (2) specifies that if the Act does not commence within a 6
month period from the date of Royal Assent, it shall commence on the first day
after the end of that period.
Clause 3 Interpretation
This
clause provides that expressions used in both this Act and the Education
Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 have the meaning used in that
Act.
Clause 4 Imposition of requirement to pay annual Fund
contributions
This clause imposes on providers a requirement to pay
annual contributions to the Fund as required under the Education Services for
Overseas Students Act 2000.
Clause 5 Imposition of requirement to
pay special levies
This clause imposes on providers a requirement to
pay special levies as required under the Education Services for Overseas
Students Act 2000.
Clause 6 Amount of contributions and
levy
This clause provides for the Fund Manager to set the level of
annual Fund contribution payable by a provider and the level of any special levy
payable by that provider.
Subclause (1) specifies that the amount of
annual Fund contribution payable by a registered provider is determined by the
Fund Manager under Division 4 of Part 5 of the new ESOS Act.
Subclause
(2) specifies that the amount of special levy payable by a provider is
determined by the Fund Manager under section 73 of the new ESOS
Act.
Clause 7 Section 114 of the Constitution
This clause
addresses the operation of section 114 of the Constitution.
Subclause
(1) specifies that, in the event that any provision would purport to operate in
a way that would be invalid, by virtue of section 114 of the Constitution, the
Act will not have that operation.
Subclause (2) includes the Australian
Capital Territory and the Northern Territory in the definition of State
in section 114 of the Constitution for the purposes of this clause.
The
effect of this is to extend to the Territories the protection given to the
States under section 114 of the Constitution.