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2002-2003-2004
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
STATES GRANTS (PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSISTANCE) LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
2004
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated
by authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the
Hon Dr
Brendan Nelson MP)
STATES GRANTS (PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSISTANCE) LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
2004
OUTLINE
The purpose of the Bill is to appropriate additional funding under the
National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and Projects Programme for the
Tutorial Credits Initiative in 2004 and to correct a technical defect in the
socioeconomic (SES) funding phasing in arrangements for non-government schools
under the General Recurrent Grants Program so that schools will receive their
correct entitlements for the 2004 program year.
The Bill also repeals the
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992 and
the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996
which are both now redundant.
The Australian Government announced on 19
May 2004 the establishment of a trial Tutorial Credit Initiative in terms 3 and
4 of 2004. This initiative is an innovative approach to providing additional
support to students and aims to assist students to progress in their schooling
and to achieve minimum reading standards, as expressed in the national reading
benchmarks. The Tutorial Credit Initiative aims to improve the reading skills
of students that did not achieve the Year 3 national reading benchmark in
2003.
The trial Tutorial Credit Initiative will provide additional
assistance to parents of those students who have not met the Year 3 reading
benchmark in 2003, in the form of a $700 Tutorial Credit, so that they can
access individual tuition assistance for their child, outside of school hours.
It will give parents choice and advice in the selection of tutors and will be
administered by brokers who will be responsible for the engagement of tutors
that are appropriately qualified, screened and vetted.
When this
initiative was announced, only four states - Victoria, Western Australia, the
Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, reported to parents
their child’s performance against the national benchmarks. Other States
that have agreed to report to parents their child’s performance against
national benchmark standards will also now be included in the trial.
In
order to expand the number of states included in this trial initiative,
additional funding is required under the National Literacy and Numeracy
Strategies and Projects programme for 2004. This additional funding will also
enable other authorities, once they have committed to reporting the 2003 Year 3
reading benchmark results to parents, to participate in the Tutorial Credits
Initiative.
This Bill also amends the Act to exclude the 2004 program
year from the operation of the method statements contained in Sections 59, 60
and 61 and instead include that year among the exceptions to the general rule
contained in subsections 59(5), 60(5) and 61(4). This amendment meets the
original intent of the Act that all schools will be funded at their full
socioeconomic status (SES) entitlement by 2004.
The Bill provides additional funding for the Tutorial Credits Initiative of
$11.019 million in program year 2004 (in final year 2000 prices). This amount
is subject to supplementation as prescribed in the Act.
STATES GRANTS (PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION ASSISTANCE) LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2004
Clause 1 - Short Title
Provides for the Act to be cited as
the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance)
Legislation Amendment Act 2004.
Provides for the Act to commence on the day on which it receives the
Royal Assent except for the repeal provisions in Schedule 2 which commence
either on the day of Royal Assent or 1 January 2005, whichever is the
later.
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.
Items 1 to 6
Insert new paragraphs 59(5)(f) and
60(5)(f), amend subsections 61(3) and (4) and paragraph 61(4)(a) and insert a
new paragraph 61(4)(c) to have the effect of correcting a technical defect in
the socioeconomic (SES) funding phasing-in arrangements for non-government
schools under the General Recurrent Grants Program so that schools will receive
their correct entitlements for the 2004 program year.
Item
7
Amends the table in Part 1 of Schedule 8 (which appropriates grants
for targeted assistance) to appropriate additional funding under the National
Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and Projects Programme for the Tutorial Credits
Initiative for the 2004 program year.
Schedule
2—Repeals
Items 1 and 2
Repeal the
redundant States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act
1992 and States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act
1996.