Senate

Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research)

Outline

The Higher Education Support Amendment (Streamlining and Other Measures) Bill 2012 as introduced amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to:

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act on the recommendations arising from the Post Implementation Review of the VET FEE-HELP Scheme Final Report September 2011 and its commitments under the April 2012 COAG National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform , particularly the redesign of VET FEE-HELP

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strengthen the integrity and quality framework underpinning the HELP schemes

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improve information sharing and transparency with the national education regulators

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improve arrangements for the early identification of low quality providers

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position the Government to better manage risk to students and public monies.

The Government amendments to the Bill will amend the Social Security Act 1991 to allow a freeze of indexation on the Student Start-up Scholarship for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2016. Consequently, the maximum amount payable under the Student Start-up Scholarship will remain at the 2012 rate of $2,050 until 1 January 2017.

Financial impact

There are no financial impacts associated with the Bill as introduced.

The Government amendments to the Bill are estimated to achieve savings of $82.1 million over four years.