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1997
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
STUDENT
AND YOUTH ASSISTANCE (SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT) BILL
1997
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by
authority of the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs,
Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone)
88522 Cat. No. 96 7732 1 ISBN 0644 502738
STUDENT AND YOUTH ASSISTANCE (SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT) BILL 1997
OUTLINE
The Bill would provide a permanent exemption for the AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY
schemes from the operation of the marital status discrimination provisions of
the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The enactment of Student And Youth Assistance (Sex Discrimination Amendment)
Bill 1997 will have no financial impact. The schemes for which it provides a
statutory exemption presently operate under an administrative exemption which is
equivalent in effect to the proposed statutory exemption.
Should this
Bill not be enacted it would be necessary to amend the AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY
schemes to remove aspects of these programmes which discriminate on the basis of
marital status. This would have significant financial implications.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short Title
Clause 1 would set out the short
title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 -
Commencement
Clause 2 would provide for the commencement of
the proposed Act on the day it receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3
- Schedule
Clause 3 would provide that each Act specified in a
Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items
in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has
effect according to its terms.
SCHEDULE 1
AMENDMENT OF THE SEX
DISCRIMINATION ACT 1984
Item 1 - Amendment of Subsection 40(4)
This item would
repeal subsection 4 of section 40 which is a spent provision that related to the
exemption of a scheme established under the Student and Youth Assistance Act
1973 or a current special educational assistance scheme within the meaning
of that Act from the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984
relating to discrimination on the ground of marital status for a period of
three years.
This item would then insert a new subsection 4 that would
provide a permanent exemption for the administration of the AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY
schemes from the operation of certain provisions of Sex Discrimination Act
1984. This would mean that the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act
1984 that proscribe discrimination on the ground of marital status would not
apply to anything done by a person for the purposes of the administration of the
AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY schemes.
The AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY schemes presently
operate under an administrative exemption which is equivalent in effect to the
proposed statutory exemption.