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2010-2011
The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE AMENDMENT BILL 2011
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for School Education,
Early Childhood and Youth, The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP)
SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE AMENDMENT BILL 2011
OUTLINE
Section 22 of the Schools Assistance Act 2008 (`the Act') provides that a funding
agreement for a non-systemic school, or an approved school system, must implement
the national curriculum prescribed by regulations for primary or secondary education,
or both, as applicable and this requirement must be satisfied on or before 31 January
2012.
The Schools Assistance Amendment Bill 2011 (`the Bill') will amend the Act to
repeal the current implementation date of 31 January 2012 and substitute a new
provision enabling a standing regulation to prescribe the national curriculum and
associated implementation timeframes.
To allow for future additions and revisions to the national curriculum (as a result of
the phased approach to its development and the iterative nature of curriculum
development), the regulation will prescribe as the national curriculum, any new
version of the Australian Curriculum authorised by the Council of Australian
Governments' Standing Council for School Education and Early Childhood (`the
Standing Council'), formerly known as the Ministerial Council for Education, Early
Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA). The implementation
timeframes will be prescribed as those agreed by the Standing Council.
The amendment will provide a more certain legal framework for the non-government
sector in which to implement the national curriculum and provide greater
administrative efficiency for prescribing the phased introduction of the Australia
Curriculum.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for non-government schools under the Schools Assistance Act Special
Appropriations is currently provided for in the Forward Estimates for 2012-13
($8,191,853,000), 2013-14 ($8,844,805,000) and 2014-15 ($9,546,824,000).
Funds are provided via financial assistance to education authorities. If Section 22 and
other provisions of the Act are not satisfied, for example a school has failed to
implement the national curriculum by a prescribed timeframe, the Australian
Government could require the repayment of funds, reduce the amounts to be paid, or
delay making payments to an authority under section 27 of the Act.
SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE AMENDMENT BILL 2011
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short title
Provides for the Act to be cited as the Schools Assistance Amendment Act 2011.
Clause 2 - Commencement
Provides for the Act to commence on the day after it receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedule(s)
Provides that each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set
out in the applicable items in the Schedule and that any other item in a Schedule has
effect according to its terms.
For ease of description, this explanatory memorandum uses the following
abbreviation:
`ACARA' means the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
`the Act' means the Schools Assistance Act 2008;
`the LI Act' means the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
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Schedule 1--Amendments
Schools Assistance Act 2008
Item 1 - Section 22
Section 22 of the Act sets out the requirement that all relevant authorities for a non-
systemic school or an approved school system must ensure that each school
implements the national curriculum prescribed by the regulations. Item 1 would repeal
section 22 of the Act in its entirety and insert a new section 22.
Currently subsection 22(1) of the Act provides that a funding agreement for a non-
systemic school, or an approved school system, must require the relevant authority for
the school or system to ensure that the school (or each school in the system)
implements the national curriculum prescribed by the regulations for primary
education or secondary education (or both, as applicable); and subsection 22(2) of the
Act provides that the requirement to implement the national curriculum must be
satisfied on or before 31 January 2012.
At the time of the Act's drafting in 2008, an implementation deadline of 31 January
2012 was anticipated for the development and rollout of the national curriculum
across the school sector. Given the phased approach to developing the national
curriculum, the extent of consultations undertaken in its development, and the need
for flexibility in implementation, a legislative amendment is necessary to better
accommodate this phased curriculum development and implementation process.
Development of the national curriculum (known as the Australian Curriculum) is
being overseen by ACARA. ACARA is a statutory authority established under the
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Act 2008. Among its
functions, ACARA is responsible for the development and administration of a
national curriculum, including curriculum content and achievement standards.
Phase one of ACARA's work involved development of the Australian Curriculum in
the initial learning areas of English, mathematics, science and history covering
Foundation1 to Year 10 (`F-10'). Following substantial public consultation for this
first phase, the Australian Curriculum was endorsed by the Ministerial Council for
Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) at its
meeting of 8 December 2010. ACARA's development of the phase one curriculum for
the senior secondary years (Years 11-12) is continuing.
Phase two of the Australian Curriculum, covering the learning areas of languages,
geography and the arts is currently under development.
ACARA is continuing to advise ministers on the approach to the development of
phase three of the Australian Curriculum. Phase three focuses on the remaining
learning areas identified in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for
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Foundation refers to the year before Year 1, known variously as Kindergarten (NSW/ACT),
Preparatory (QLD/VIC/TAS), Pre-primary (WA), Transition (NT) and Reception (SA).
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Young Australians that were agreed by MCEECDYA in 2008. These learning areas
include health and physical education, information and communications technology
and design and technology, economics, business and civics and citizenship.
Each phase of the Australian Curriculum will have its own implementation timeframe,
agreed by the Council of Australian Governments' Standing Council for School
Education and Early Childhood (`the Standing Council'), formerly known as
MCEECDYA. For example, a three-year implementation window has been agreed for
the phase one F-10 Australian Curriculum, commencing in 2011 with substantial
implementation by the end of 2013. This recognises that flexibility in implementation
will be needed to give state and territory education authorities time to address the
particular issues that may arise in each jurisdiction.
Implementation timeframes for the phase one senior secondary Australian Curriculum
are yet to be determined by the Standing Council, as are final implementation
timeframes for phases two and three. The phased approach to curriculum development
may mean that different implementation timeframes are decided for individual subject
areas within these remaining phases.
Given the iterative nature of curriculum development, updates to the Australian
Curriculum will also be required from time to time. Updates to the Australian
Curriculum may be either minor (involving simple editing or formatting changes) or
major (the introduction of a new learning area or changes to curriculum content). The
first major update to the Australian Curriculum is expected late in 2011, following
validation of achievement standards and any associated adjustments to the phase one F-
10 Australian Curriculum in the four initial learning areas. All major changes to the
Australian Curriculum will require the authorisation of the Standing Council.
Section 22(1) of the Act as it currently stands, prescribes a single date for
implementation of the national curriculum. Given the phased approach to
development of the Australian Curriculum, this provision dealing with the
implementation timeframe of the national curriculum is no longer appropriate.
Furthermore, the Act does not efficiently accommodate the need for future additions
and revisions to the national curriculum, which are an accepted part of curriculum
development processes.
As a result, the Act as it stands does not provide a mechanism for effectively
maintaining the content of the national curriculum or managing differential
implementation timeframes as each new phase of the development of the Australian
Curriculum is completed. The amendment to be made by Item 1 is intended to
overcome these deficiencies.
New subsection 22(1) would provide that the requirement to implement the national
curriculum must be satisfied in accordance with the regulations. Under the proposed
amendment, approval or authorisation by the Standing Council becomes the
mechanism through which new phases of the national curriculum and their associated
implementation timeframes are prescribed for implementation by schools.
Specifically, this amendment would:
· remove the existing requirement for non-government schools to implement
the national curriculum on or before 31 January 2012;
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· provide greater flexibility in the implementation of each new phase of the
national curriculum by allowing the regulations to prescribe the curriculum
implementation timeframes authorised by the Standing Council ; and
· allow curriculum implementation timeframes for non-government schools to
be efficiently and effectively aligned with those for government schools.
New subsection 22(2) would allow the regulations to incorporate as the national
curriculum, any new version of the Australian Curriculum authorised by the Standing
Council. Under the LI Act, unless a contrary intention appears, subsection 14(2) of the
LI Act prohibits a legislative instrument (such as the regulation permitted to be made
under section 22 of the Act) from making provision in relation to a matter by
applying, adopting or incorporating any matter contained in any other instrument or
other writing as in force or existing from time to time. New subsection 22(2) would
allow a `contrary intention' to be shown, thereby allowing each new version of the
Australian Curriculum authorised by the Standing Council from time to time, to be the
authoritative national curriculum prescribed under the Act.
Incorporation of the content of the national curriculum by reference to the Australian
Curriculum approved by the Standing Council is considered appropriate for a number
of reasons.
Firstly, the Australian Curriculum approved by the Standing Council represents the
culmination of ACARA's extensive curriculum development process, which draws
upon the curriculum expertise of the states and territories, examples of good practice
from a range of educationally high-performing countries, as well as the knowledge of
subject matter experts and those with expertise in stages of schooling and equity and
diversity. Prior to approval by the Standing Council, the curriculum is also subject to
broad public consultation.
Secondly, approval from the Standing Council will be a necessary precondition to
prescribing any new version of the national curriculum and its associated
implementation timeframe, given the responsibility of states and territories for the
curriculum that is taught in schools.
Lastly, as each new version of the national curriculum is approved by the Standing
Council, it will be made available on a website dedicated to the publication of the
national curriculum.
This new arrangement would provide a more certain legal framework for the non-
government sector in which to implement the national curriculum and provide greater
administrative efficiency for prescribing the phased introduction of the Australia
Curriculum.
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