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1998-99
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION 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 390606
HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 1999
The Higher Education Funding Act 1988 (HEFA) makes provision for
grants of financial assistance to higher education institutions and other bodies
for higher education purposes, establishes the Higher Education Contribution
Scheme (HECS) and the Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS) and makes
provision for the repayment of monies lent by the Commonwealth to students under
those schemes. It also provides for the funding of certain institutions of
higher education and associated bodies, and for related purposes.
The Bill amends HEFA to:
• Implement voluntary student unionism by preventing any institution receiving grants under section 15 or 16 from making it a condition of enrolment that a student be a member of any association. In addition, institutions receiving such grants may not make it a condition of enrolment that a student pay any compulsory fee not directly related to the educational courses the student is enrolled in at the institution;
• Repeal sections 25A and 25B to remove the Minister’s discretion to approve direct funding of student organisations under the Student Organisation Support (SOS) Program;
• Build on the streamlining arrangements for applications for remission of debt under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) and the Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS), introduced by the Higher Education Funding Amendment Act (No 1) 1997;
• Add the University of the Sunshine Coast to Table A to enable the university to receive Commonwealth funding as an independent institution and not one operating under the sponsorship of the Queensland University of Technology;
• Reflect the name change of James Cook University of North Queensland to James Cook University; and
• Make a minor technical amendment to subsection 106Q(1).
The Bill also makes a consequential amendment to the States Grants (General Purposes) Act 1994 to repeal subsection 15(1) so that funds paid under the SOS Program can no longer be recovered by the Treasurer from States Grants.
Nil.
Clause 1 - Short Title
Clause 1 provides for this
Act to be cited as the Higher Education Legislation Amendment Act
1999.
Clause 2 - Commencement
Clause 2 provides for
this Act to commence on the day on which it receives the Royal
Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedule(s)
Clause 3 provides that
each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in
the applicable Schedule.
Item 1
Amends Table A in subsection 4(1) of the
Higher Education Funding Act 1988 to reflect the name change of James
Cook University of North Queensland to James Cook University.
Item
2
Amends subsection 4(1) of the Higher Education Funding Act
1988 by inserting the University of the Sunshine Coast in Table A, thereby
making the university an institution eligible for funding under the Act.
SCHEDULE 2-NOTICE OF DECISION ON APPLICATION FOR DEBT REMISSION
Section 106L of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 gives the
Secretary the power to remit the whole or part of a Higher Education
Contribution (HEC) semester debt (subsection 106L(1)) (“HEC semester
debt”) or an Open Learning study period debt (subsection 106L(2))
(“OL debt”). Subsection 106L(4) provides that on receiving the
application for remission of a debt the Secretary must as soon as practicable
consider the application and then notify the applicant of the decision.
Subsection 106L(5) sets out the requirements for the notice of decision.
2. Explanation of the changes
Item 1
Inserts a new section 106LA in the Higher Education
Funding Act 1988 to specify how a notice of decision by the Secretary in
relation to an application to remit either a HEC semester debt (subsection
106LA(1)) or an OL debt (subsection 106LA(2)) is to be given. The section would
provide that notices may be given by personal delivery to a person authorised by
the applicant, by post at an address notified to the Secretary and where the
Secretary has not been notified - by post at the last known residential address
of the applicant. The new section also makes provision for notices posted
overseas and would deem when a notice sent by post shall be taken to have been
received.
New subsection 106LA(1) would specify that the notice of
decision by the Secretary concerning an application under subsections 106LA(1)
or 106LA(2) is to be in writing.
New subsection 106LA(2) would provide
that the notice may be delivered personally to the applicant.
New
subsection 106LA(3) would provide that the notice may be delivered personally to
a person authorised by the applicant to receive the notice.
Where the
applicant has notified the Secretary in writing of an address where the notice
can be sent, new subsection 106LA(4) would provide that the notice may be
delivered by post to that address or by leaving it at the address.
Where the applicant has not notified the Secretary in writing of an
address where the notice can be sent, new subsection 106LA(5) would provide that
the notice may be delivered by post to the last-known residential address of the
applicant or by leaving it with a person who appears to live at that address and
who appears to be over 16 years old.
New subsection 106LA(6) would
provide that a notice is only sent by post where it is posted as a letter and
the correct postage has been pre-paid.
New subsection 106LA(7) would
define the correct postage for notices posted outside of Australia. It would
provide that if a notice is sent by post outside of Australia the correct
postage is the full air mail rate.
New subsection 106LA(8) would deem
when a notice that was posted is taken to have been received. In the case of a
notice sent to an address in Australia - the seventh day after the day when it
was posted. In the case of a notice sent to an address outside of Australia -
on the 21st day after the day when it was posted.
Provides that the new section 106LA of the Higher Education Funding
Act 1988 will apply to notices of decisions made after the commencement of
that section (ie. the day on which the Act receives the Royal Assent, by the
operation of clause 2 above).
SCHEDULE 3-TECHNICAL AMENDMENT
Item 1
This is a statute law revision matter which
seeks to correct a minor technical error. It replaces the “If” in
subsection 106Q(1) of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 with
“if”.
In order to assist in reading the Act, item 1 also
inserts the following new heading to section 106PA: “Repayment of debts
other than HEC assessment debts”.
SCHEDULE 4-NO GRANTS TO SUPPORT STUDENT ORGANISATIONS
Item 1
Repeals sections 25A and 25B of the Higher
Education Funding Act 1988 to remove the Minister’s discretion to
approve direct Commonwealth funding of student organisations under the Student
Organisation Support Program.
Under section 119 of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 the
Minister is required to cause a report to be laid before each House of
Parliament setting out particulars of any amounts determined by the Minister
under a number of sections including section 25A. As no payments have been made
since January 1996 under section 25A the requirement for a report will no longer
exist after the repeal of the section by item 1 and reference to section 25A can
be omitted from section 119.
Item 3
Repeals section 15
of the States Grants (General Purposes) Act 1994. That section provides
that funds made available under the Student Organisation Support Program can be
recovered from States Grants payments at the discretion of the
Treasurer.
SCHEDULE 5-GRANT CONDITIONS FOR VOLUNTARY STUDENT
UNIONISM
Sections 15 and 16 of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988
provide for grants of financial assistance to institutions for expenditure for
operating purposes and limited operating purposes respectively (operating
grants). Section 18 specifies the conditions under which operating grants are
made to institutions. Where an institution fails to fulfil a section 18
condition, financial assistance may be recovered from the institution by the
Commonwealth (in whole or in part) under section 108.
2. Explanation of the changes
The amendments made by this Schedule are intended to ensure the adoption of
voluntary student unionism (including the elimination of compulsory student fees
not directly related to educational courses) by all institutions and the new
paragraphs 18(1)(da) and 18(1)(db) of the Higher Education Funding Act
1988 should be construed accordingly.
Clarify that it is the intention that institutions must comply with all
the grant conditions specified in subsection 18(1).
Item 4
Inserts new paragraphs 18(1)(da) and 18(1)(db) which have the effect of
making voluntary student unionism and voluntary student fees additional
conditions which institutions must comply with to receive grants of financial
assistance under sections 15 and 16.
Paragraph 18(1)(da) has the effect
of making it a grant condition that institutions do not require enrolling
students to be or to become a member of an association, while paragraph
18(1)(db) has the effect of making it a grant condition that an institution does
not collect from an enrolling student any compulsorily payable amount not
directly related to the educational courses the student is enrolling in at the
institution.
Item 6
Provides that the amendments made
by this Schedule apply in relation to a grant made under section 15 or 16 for
the year 2000 or a later year.