House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education the Honourable Julia Gillard MP

Schedule 2 - Other Amendments

Higher Education Support Act 2003

Item 1 - Paragraphs 30-5(1)(d) to (g)

Amends paragraphs 30-5(1)(d), (e), (f) and (g) to vary the level of maximum grants under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (Part 2-2) for the years 2008-2011 to provide funding for 2008-09 Budget measures, technical adjustments and supplementation consistent with indexation arrangements. Item 1 also inserts a new paragraph 30-5(1)(h) to provide base funding for 2012 consistent with the forward estimates.

The 2008-09 Budget measures funded under this item are:

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for additional Commonwealth supported places in early childhood education and nursing;

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to compensate higher education providers for the reduction in the maximum annual student contribution amount for certain students undertaking mathematics, statistics and science units of study;

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for additional Commonwealth supported places and transitional assistance for the phasing out of full fee paying domestic undergraduate places at Table A providers;

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for additional Commonwealth supported places for the establishment of the James Cook University Dental School; and

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for additional Commonwealth supported places in medicine, nursing and education at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Item 2 - At the end of subsection 30-10 (3)

Section 30-10 deals with the allocation of Commonwealth supported places to higher education providers. Item 2 adds proposed new paragraph (d) at the end of subsection (3) to provide that the allocation may also specify the number of places that have a transitional loading.

Items 3 and 4 - Subsection 30-25(3) [After paragraph 30-25 (3) (ca) and after paragraph (da)]

Section 30-25 deals with the power of the Minister to enter funding agreements with higher education providers, relating to Commonwealth Grants Scheme grants in respect of each year in a period of 3 years (the grant years).

Item 3 amends subsection 30-25(3) to insert a proposed new paragraph (cb) which has the effect of providing that the agreement may specify the maximum number of Commonwealth supported places provided by the provider which can have a transitional loading in the grant years.

Item 4 amends subsection 30-25(3) to insert a proposed new paragraph (e) which has the effect of providing that the agreement may specify the maximum amount of transitional loading that will be payable to the provider, under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines, in the grant years.

Item 5 - At the end of section 33-5

Section 33-5 relates to the working out of basic Commonwealth Grant Scheme grant amounts payable to a higher education provider. The basic grant amount is the sum of a set of specified amounts listed at paragraphs (a) to (d). Item 5 adds a proposed new paragraph (e) to provide that if the allocation has specified a number of Commonwealth supported places that have a transitional loading under proposed new paragraph 30-10(3)(d) (see item 2 ), the amount of transitional loading worked out under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines for those places must also be added to the other specified amounts at paragraphs 33-5(a) to (d).

Item 6 - After paragraph 36-30(1)(a)

Section 36-30 deals with the requirement of providers to fill Commonwealth supported places before accepting other enrolments. Subsection 36-30(1) sets out that if a person is enrolled with a Table A provider in a unit of study that is covered by the person's Student Learning Entitlement, and the provider is not prohibited from advising the person that he or she is a Commonwealth supported student in relation to the unit, the provider must enrol the person in the unit as a Commonwealth supported student. Item 6 inserts the condition at paragraph (aa) that the unit to be undertaken with the provider forms part of an undergraduate course of study. A note to assist readers provides that the heading to section 36-30 is replaced with the heading "Providers to enrol persons as Commonwealth supported students".

Item 7 - subsection 36-30 (2)

Item 7 repeals the subsection and inserts proposed new subsection (2) which provides that the requirement for providers to enrol a person as a Commonwealth supported student as a result of the proposed amendment in Item 6 does not apply where subsection (1) would otherwise apply if one the following four scenarios apply:

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The person commences the undergraduate course of study with the provider before 1 January 2009; or

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The person transfers to the undergraduate course of study with the provider on or after 1 January 2009 from another undergraduate course of study in which the person was enrolled with the same provider before 1 January 2009; and the person had not completed that other undergraduate course of study; or

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The person was offered and accepted a place other than a Commonwealth supported place in the undergraduate course of study with the provider before 1 January 2009 and the undergraduate course of study was to commence before 1 January 2009 and with the provider's approval the person commences the course of study after that time; or

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At the time the person commences the undergraduate course of study with the provider the person is an overseas student.

The amendments at items 6 and 7 implement the Government's commitment to phase out domestic undergraduate full fee paying places at public universities. Table A providers will not be able to enrol any commencing fee paying domestic undergraduate students in courses of study that commence on or after 1 January 2009, with some exceptions as specified at proposed new subsection 36-30(2). Existing full fee paying students will be able to continue their courses on a fee paying basis.

Item 8 - subsection 36-30(5)

A technical provision to amend subsection 36-30(5) to remove reference to notices which are repealed as a consequence of the amendment made by item 7 .

Item 9 - Subsection 41-45 (1) (table items 4 to 7)

Repeals items 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the table in subsection 41-45(1) and inserts new table items 4, 5, 6 and 7 to vary the maximum payments for Other Grants under Part 2-3 for the years 2008-2011 to provide funding for 2008-09 Budget measures and supplementation consistent with indexation arrangements. Item 9 also inserts a new table item 8 to provide base funding for 2012 consistent with the forward estimates.

The 2008-09 Budget measures funded under this item are:

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for capital infrastructure and clinical outreach funding for the establishment of the James Cook University Dental School; and

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for capital infrastructure at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Item 10 - Section 46-40 (table items 6-8)

Repeals items 6, 7 and 8 of the table in subsection 46-40(1) and inserts new table items 6, 7 and 8 to vary the maximum payments for Commonwealth Scholarships under Part 2-4 for the years 2009-2011 to provide funding for 2008-09 Budget measures and supplementation consistent with indexation arrangements. Item 10 also inserts a new table item 9 to provide base funding for 2012 consistent with the forward estimates.

The 2008-09 Budget measures funded under this item will:

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for new National Priority Scholarships and National Accommodation Scholarships and post graduate awards.

Items 11 and 12 - subsection 93-10 (1) (table items 3 and 6)

Subsection 93-10(1) sets out the maximum contribution amounts for places in a unit of study. Item 11 repeals table item 3 and inserts new table item 3 to reflect the new maximum student contribution amounts for a place in a unit of study in:

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Mathematics and statistics

announced in the 2008-09 Budget.

Item 12 repeals table item 6 and inserts new table item 6 to reflect the new maximum student contribution amount for a place in a unit of study in:

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Science

announced in the 2008-09 Budget.

Item 13 - application

An application provision which provides that:

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the amendments made by items 2 to 5 of Schedule 2 apply in respect of the year 2009 or a later year;

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the amendments made by items 6 and 7 of Schedule 2 apply in relation to an enrolment of a person in a unit of study on or after 1 January 2009;

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the amendments made by items 11 and 12 of Schedule 2 apply in relation to a person's enrolment in a unit of study that forms a part of a course of study if the person commences that course of study on or after 1 January 2009; or that course of study is in natural or physical sciences and the person transfers to that course on or after 1 January 2009 from a course of study (other than in natural or physical sciences) that the person did not complete;

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in subitem (3 ) 'course of study' in relation to natural and physical sciences means a course of study in the field of natural and physical sciences classified as Broad Field 01 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the publication known as the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) 2001 as updated from time to time. This updating can be by publication of a new version from time to time, or material in the current version of the publication can be updated by other publications of the Australian Bureaus of Statistics from time to time.