House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Andrew Giles MP)

OUTLINE

The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 (the Bill) ensures that approved VET Student Loans (VSL) providers were authorised to handle student's tax file numbers (TFNs) to administer the VSL program from the program's commencement but are not authorised to do so from 1 October 2025.

During a review of how VET Student Loans are administered the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (the department) identified that there is no clear role for VSL providers to handle TFNs in the VET Student Loans Act 2016 (VSL Act) and stronger alignment between relevant IT systems and legislation was required for handling TFNs.

The measure in this Bill is time limited and is applied retrospectively from the VSL program commencement date (1 January 2017) until updates to IT systems were implemented to completely mask TFNs from providers in relevant systems. This has occurred before 1 October 2025, and the Bill sets this date as the end date of the retrospective period.

The Bill would authorise, on a retrospective basis, approved VSL providers' historical activities that involved requiring or requesting, collecting, recording, storing, using and disclosing student tax file numbers (TFNs) for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering a student's application for a VET Student Loan or the student's loan itself. The measure would also authorise the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' (department) retrospective disclosure of TFNs to VSL providers for the same purposes.

The VSL Act provides the legislative framework and requirements for the VSL program, with which approved VSL providers must comply. The VSL Act also outlines the students' eligibility criteria to access a loan, and the requirements providers must meet to be approved under the program. Students are required under paragraph 17(1)(a) of the VSL Act to provide their TFN when submitting their application for a loan for a VSL course that they enrolled in with their approved VSL provider through the Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) system. If a student does not have a TFN, they can supply a Certificate of Application for a TFN received from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when applying for the loan. However, if no TFN information is provided by the student the Secretary is not required to pay a loan amount for the student under section 20 of the VSL Act.

A TFN is essential for ensuring the student's loan application details match with their ATO account, so that the loan amount accurately sits with the individual accessing a VET Student Loan. This is because loan repayments are made through Australia's tax system when the student's income reaches the repayment threshold.

VSL provider officers have access to the eCAF system and were previously able to access student TFNs in the eCAF until system changes were implemented on 28 March 2025. This previous access to TFNs enabled VSL providers to use, record and disclose TFNs for the purpose of student participation in VSL approved courses and the VSL program. This previous practice allowed VSL providers to report student TFNs to the department via the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) system, allowing loan information to progress to the ATO and student debts to be repaid.

The department has since early 2025 made updates to relevant VSL IT systems. This has included masking student TFNs from VSL providers and automating the transfer of TFNs between relevant VSL systems without provider involvement. While progressing these updates, relevant stakeholders were informed, including VSL providers, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Commissioner of Taxation, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Department of Treasury and the Attorney-General's Department.

Final system changes were implemented on 30 September 2025 to ensure there will be no further disclosure of TFNs to VSL providers, nor any need for the subsequent handling of such TFNs by VSL providers. Therefore, the measure in this Bill is only required to validate previous actions (the requiring or requesting, collecting, recording, storing, use or disclosure of a student's tax file number in eCAF and TCSI systems) by the providers and their officers that have occurred in the retrospective period for the limited purposes set out in the Bill.

The validation will also extend to other relevant persons including the department's Secretary, the Commissioner of Taxation and Commonwealth officers to the extent they permitted the past disclosure of TFNs to providers for the purposes of facilitating the administration of a student's loan application or a VET Student Loan. The Bill's measure provides certainty to providers and government officers that their past handling of students' TFNs in the VSL program from 2017 was lawful under taxation and privacy laws. However, the measure will not impact on Commonwealth officers' obligations to comply with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act).

It is appropriate to authorise relevant persons' past handling of TFNs given their actions were undertaken in good faith to enable students to access loans through the VET Student Loans program, by facilitating the administration of or administering the students' applications for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself.

There are unlikely to be any persons adversely affected by the retrospective operation of the Bill. There have also been no VSL student complaints as a result of past TFN handling practices for the purposes of the VSL program, since its commencement.

There are strict use and disclosure provisions that apply to VET information under the VSL Act, which VSL providers must comply with. Providers have been subject to these information security and integrity safeguards since the VSL program commenced. These measures include extensive approval processes informed by thorough assessment of providers and their officers with the program's fit and proper person requirements, which are aligned to similar requirements applied by the Australian Skills Quality Authority to Registered Training Organisations. Conditions of approval in accordance with the VSL Act also require providers to notify the department of any student related data breaches and outline criminal offences for any unauthorised handling of student information. In addition, the eCAF and TCSI systems incorporate security controls designed to safeguard students' personal information. These protections will continue to apply after the Bill's commencement.

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

There is no financial impact resulting from the Bill.

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025

1. The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 (the Bill) is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Bill

2. The purpose of the Bill is to provide retrospective authorisation for approved VET Student Loans (VSL) providers' historical activities that involved requiring or requesting, collecting, recording, storing, using and disclosing student tax file numbers (TFNs) for purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering a student's application for a VET Student Loan or the student's loan itself. The Bill will also authorise the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' (department) disclosure of TFNs to VSL providers for the same purposes.

3. The measure in this Bill is time limited and is applied retrospectively from the VSL program commencement date (1 January 2017) until the final technology solution was implemented to completely mask TFNs from providers in program's systems. This has occurred before 1 October 2025, and the Bill sets this date as the end date of the retrospective period.

4. Students are required under paragraph 17(1)(a) of the VSL Act to provide their TFN when submitting their application for a loan for a VSL course that they enrolled in with their approved VSL provider through the Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) system. If a student does not have a TFN, they can supply a Certificate of Application for a TFN received from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when applying for the loan. However, if no TFN information is provided by the student the Secretary is not required to pay a loan amount for a student under section 20 of the VSL Act.

5. A TFN is essential in the VSL program for ensuring the student's loan application details match with their ATO account, so that the loan amount accurately sits with the individual accessing a VET Student Loan for their studies. This is because loan repayments are made through Australia's tax system when the student's income reaches the repayment threshold.

6. VSL provider officers have access to the eCAF system and were previously able to access student TFNs in the eCAF until system changes were implemented on 28 March 2025. This previous access to TFNs enabled VSL providers to use, record and disclose TFNs for the purpose of student participation in VSL approved courses and the VSL program. This previous practice allowed VSL providers to report student TFNs to the department via the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) system, allowing loan information to progress to the ATO and student debts to be repaid.

7. The department identified during a review of how VET Student Loans are administered that there is no clear role for VSL providers to handle TFNs in the VSL Act and stronger alignment between relevant IT systems and legislation was required for handling TFNs. Subsequently, the Australian Government has since early 2025 made updates to relevant VSL IT systems. This has included masking student TFNs from VSL providers and automating the transfer of TFNs between relevant VSL systems without provider involvement. While progressing these updates, relevant stakeholders were informed, including VSL providers, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Commissioner of Taxation, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Department of Treasury and the Attorney-General's Department

8. Final system changes were implemented on 30 September 2025 to ensure there will be no further disclosure of TFNs to VSL providers, nor any need for the subsequent handling of such TFNs by VSL providers. Therefore, the measure in this Bill is required to only validate previous actions (the requiring or requesting, collecting, recording, storing, use or disclosure of a student's tax file number in eCAF and TCSI systems) by the providers and their officers that have occurred in the retrospective period for the limited purposes set out in the Bill.

9. The validation will also extend to other relevant persons including the department's Secretary, the Commissioner of Taxation and Commonwealth officers to the extent they permitted the past disclosure of TFNs to providers for the purposes of facilitating the administration of a student's loan application or a VET Student Loan. However, the measure will not impact on Commonwealth officers' obligations to comply with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act).

10. The measure only provides relevant persons with immunity from liability in narrow circumstances (as further detailed in the notes on clauses); specifically applying only during the relevant period when providers and other relevant persons were dealing with TFNs for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering a student's application for a VET Student Loan or the student's loan itself.

11. It is appropriate to authorise relevant persons' past handling of TFNs given their actions were undertaken in good faith to enable students to access loans through the VET Student Loans program, by facilitating the administration of or administering the students' applications for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself.

12. There are unlikely to be any persons adversely affected by the retrospective operation of the Bill. There are strict use and disclosure provisions that apply to VET information under the VSL Act, which VSL providers must comply with. Providers have been subject to these information security and integrity safeguards since the VSL program commenced. These measures include extensive approval processes informed by thorough assessment of providers and their officers with the program's fit and proper person requirements, which are aligned to similar requirements applied by the Australian Skills Quality Authority to Registered Training Organisations. Conditions of approval in accordance with the VSL Act also require providers to notify the department of any student related data breaches and outline criminal offences for any unauthorised handling of student information. In addition, the eCAF and TCSI systems incorporate security controls designed to safeguard students' personal information. These protections will continue to apply after the Bill's commencement.

Human rights implications

13. The definition of 'human rights' in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 relates to the core seven United Nations human rights treaties. The Bill engages the following rights:

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The right to work in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

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The right to education in Article 13 of the ICESCR.

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The right to privacy in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Right to work

14. The Bill engages the right to work contained in Article 6 of the ICESCR. Article 6(1) recognises the right to work, which includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work which a person freely chooses or accepts. Article 6(2) provides that the steps to be taken by a State Party to achieve the full realisation of this right include providing technical and vocational guidance and training programs.

15. The Bill supports the right to work because it authorises previous actions (the requiring or requesting, collecting, recording, storing, use or disclosure of a student's TFN in eCAF and TCSI systems) by the providers and their officers for the administration of the VSL program since the program commenced. A student's TFN is an eligibility criterion that is provided by the student in the VSL program's eCAF system. Without a TFN a student is unable to access a loan, subsequently the measure in the Bill ensures the administration of a student's loan application or a VSL in respect of the TFN handling was valid during the retrospective period. The measure also supports the program's overall objective to provide financial support to students that undertake higher level training in courses that address workplace and industry needs, thereby creating better opportunities for employment.

16. The Bill is compatible with the right to work.

Right to education

17. The Bill engages the right to education contained in Article 13 of the ICESCR. Article 13(2)(b) states that "secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means".

18. By providing for retrospective authority by providers in handling of students TFNs in the program from 1 January 2017 until immediately before 1 October 2025, the Bill supports the right to education because a TFN is required as part of a student's eCAF application for a VET Student Loan and more broadly in facilitating the administration of the loan. This would ensure past handling of TFNs by VSL providers is considered authorised, noting such handling was undertaken for their students' benefit to ensure they were able to receive a VET Student Loan during the retrospective period.

19. The Bill is compatible with the right to education.

Right to privacy

20. The Bill engages the right to privacy contained in Article 17 of the ICCPR. Article 17 provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on their honour and reputation. The right to privacy includes respect for informational privacy, including in relation to storing, using and sharing private information, as well as the right to control the dissemination of personal and private information.

21. To be permissible as a matter of international human rights law, interferences with privacy must be according to law and not arbitrary. In order to not be arbitrary, any interference with privacy must be in accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the ICCPR and should be reasonable in the particular circumstances. The UN Human Rights Committee has interpreted 'reasonableness' to mean that any interference with privacy must be proportional to the end sought and be necessary in the circumstances.

22. The measure in this Bill does not interfere with an individual's privacy on a prospective basis. The Bill only retrospectively authorises dealing with student TFNs for narrow purposes and does not authorise any prospective dealing with TFNs. The retrospective authorisation of dealing with students' TFNs in the Bill is for a legitimate objective; to authorise actions taken to ensure the program's integrity including:

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ensuring student's eligibility requirements are met by facilitating the administration of the student's application, and

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ensuring their loan application contains information of the student's TFN, so that the VSL loan record incurred by the student appears accurately on the individual's account at the Australian Taxation Office.

23. Any interference with privacy in this Bill is not arbitrary as it is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to its legitimate objective, because of the following factors:

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The measure only applies to a class of 'relevant person' which is narrowly defined in clause 3 of the Bill to be the Secretary; or the Commissioner; or an approved course provider; or a Commonwealth officer; or an officer of an approved course provider.

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The types of dealing of student's TFN by a relevant person which the measure in the Bill authorises is narrowly defined under clause 3 of the Bill.

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The measure in the Bill only operates to authorise the dealing with a student's TFN for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering a student's application for a VET Student Loan or the student's loan itself, and does not extend to dealings with TFNs for other purposes or authorise dealing with other types of personal information.

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The Bill will not apply to civil and criminal proceedings, nor complaints to the Information Commissioner, where the proceedings were finalised or the complaint was determined before the commencement of the Bill. This ensures VSL students retain their right to bring a privacy complaint prior to the Bill's commencement.

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The measure in the Bill will only apply for a specified retrospective period from 1 January 2017 (when the VSL program commenced) until immediately before 1 October 2025, and is not an ongoing authorisation.

24. Since the commencement of the VSL program in 2017 there have been strong information security and integrity measures put in place that apply to VSL providers and their officers in handling VSL students' personal information, which will not be removed by the Bill. These measures include:

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extensive approval processes informed by thorough assessment of providers and their officers in accordance with the fit and proper person requirements applied by the Australian Skills Quality Authority

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conditions of approval made in accordance with the VSL Act which require providers to notify the department of any student related data breaches

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civil penalties and criminal offences under Part 9 of the VSL Act which apply to providers for any misuse of personal information in the VSL program

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security controls in the eCAF and TCSI system to ensure students' personal information is protected.

25. The Bill is compatible with the right to privacy

Conclusion

26. The Bill is compatible with human rights because it supports those rights and to the extent that the Bill limits the right to privacy, it is reasonable, necessary and proportionate in pursuit of a legitimate objective.

NOTES ON CLAUSES

In these notes on clauses, the following abbreviations are used:

Clause 1: Short title

1. This clause provides that the short title of the Bill, once enacted, is the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Act 2025.

Clause 2: Commencement

2. The table in subclause 2(1) provides that the whole of the Bill commences on the day after the Bill receives the Royal Assent.

3. A note to the table in subclause 2(1) provides that the table relates only to the provisions of the Act as originally enacted, and that it will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of the Act.

4. Subclause 2(2) provides that information in column 3 of the table at subclause 2(1) is not a part of the Bill, and information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of the Bill.

Clause 3: Definitions

5. This clause contains key definitions of the terms and expressions used in the Bill. Where a word is not defined, readers should rely on its ordinary meaning, when read in the context of the provisions for which it appears as well as the Bill more broadly.

6. Key definitions from this clause are explained below in alphabetical order.

7. "Deal" with a TFN is defined to mean to require, request, collect, record, store, use or disclose the TFN.

8. "Do a thing" is defined to include make a decision (however described), exercise a power, perform a function, comply with an obligation or discharge a duty and do anything else. "Purport to do a thing" has a corresponding meaning. This definition provides some detail of what this definition includes, but it is not an exhaustive list for this definition.

9. The "relevant period" means the period beginning at the start of 1 January 2017 and ending immediately before 1 October 2025. This period starts when the VET Student Loans program began and ends after the final IT system updates needed to mask student TFNs was in place across the VET Student Loans program's relevant systems.

10. "Relevant person", when read in the context of the Bill, means a person that was the Secretary, the Commissioner, a provider, a Commonwealth officer or an officer of a provider in the relevant period.

11. Subclause 3(2) provides that any expression used in the Bill that is also used in the VSL Act has the same meaning as in that Act.

Clause 4: Authorisation

12. Subclauses 4(1) and 4(2) provide that if at any time during the relevant period, a relevant person dealt with a student's TFN for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering the student's application for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself, and the dealing was not authorised by a law of the Commonwealth, then the dealing is taken for all purposes (except for the purposes of rule 13 of the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015 (TFN Rule) to have been, and to always have been:

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authorised by the VSL Act (paragraph 4(2)(a)), and

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in connection with and reasonably necessary for the relevant person's performance of one or more of that person's functions under that Act, (paragraph 4(2)(b)).

13. The purposes set out in paragraph 4(1)(a) are intended to cover actions involved in facilitating the administration of or administering the student's application for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself during the relevant period, including but not limited to:

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providers reporting student TFNs into relevant government IT systems;

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providers storing TFNs to facilitate the amendment or cancellation of a VET Student Loan in the future;

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providers viewing TFNs to ensure their reporting is up to date and accurate and to correct any data validation errors;

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providers requesting a student quote their TFN for the purpose of including it in an application for a VET Student Loan or to correct errors in the government IT systems for their loan; and

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departmental officers allowing providers to access TFNs to enable providers to report student TFNs into relevant government IT systems.

14. The authorisation in clause 4 only applies to relevant persons dealing with a student's TFN for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering the student's application for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself. The authorisation does not apply to dealing with TFNs for other purposes and it is not intended to cover actions taken in bad faith or the misuse of TFNs. As the relevant period occurred in the past, the authorisation applies retrospectively and to past actions only.

15. Paragraph 4(2)(a) provides the relevant dealing is authorised by the VSL Act. This authorisation is intended to ensure that the relevant dealings with TFNs by a relevant person within the relevant period within the scope of subclause 4(1) would not:

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be subject to common law claims;

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result in breaches of APP 3.5 or APP 9.2; nor

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be considered potential offences under Division 2 of Part 9 of the VSL Act,

due to the relevant dealings being authorised by law, under the VSL Act.

16. Paragraph 4(2)(b) provides that the dealing is taken to have been in connection with and reasonably necessary for the relevant person's performance of one or more of that person's functions under the VSL Act. The effect of this provision, when read together with paragraph 4(2)(a), is that the dealing engages the exception to the prohibition on requiring or requesting a person's TFN under paragraph 8WA(1AA)(b) of the TAA and the exception to the prohibition on the recording, using and divulging of a person's TFN under paragraph 8WB(1A)(b) of the TAA. It also engages APP 3.1 and APP 3.2 by deeming the dealing to have been in connection with and reasonably necessary for the relevant person's performance of one or more of that person's functions. This means that provided the dealings by a relevant person within the relevant period fall within the scope of subclause 4(1), the relevant dealings would not be considered an offence under sections 8WA or 8WB of the TAA, nor would an agency be in breach of APP 3.1 or 3.2.

17. Rule 13 is excluded from subclause 4(2) so that there is no retrospective obligation on the Commissioner of Taxation to have made certain information available with respect to any historical requests for TFNs that would be authorised by this Bill.

18. The authorisation in clause 4 of the Bill will only apply retrospectively, during the relevant period, which is defined in clause 3 of the Bill to mean the period beginning at the start of 1 January 2017 and ending immediately before 1 October 2025. This period starts when the VET Student Loans program began and ends after the final IT change needed to mask student TFNs was in place across the relevant IT systems.

19. It is considered appropriate for the authorisation in the Bill to have retrospective application, so that dealing with TFNs during the relevant period by relevant persons is aligned with legislation and lawful. It is appropriate to authorise relevant persons' past dealings with TFNs (where they fall within the narrow scope of subclause 4(1)), given that these dealings were made in good faith to enable students to access loans through the VET Student Loans program, by facilitating the administration of or administering the students' applications for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself. There are unlikely to be any persons adversely affected by the retrospective operation of the Bill. There are strict use and disclosure provisions that apply to VET information under the VSL Act, which providers must comply with, and providers have been subject to this regime since the VSL Act commenced. Providers, provider officers and Commonwealth officers would benefit from the retrospective operation of the authorisation, so that activities which were undertaken for the purposes of facilitating the administration of or administering the students' applications for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself will be considered lawful and aligned with legislation. The authorisation is only required to apply retrospectively as there have been updates to the program's IT systems which removed the need for providers to deal with student TFNs.

20. Subclause 4(3) provides that the VSL Act is taken to have been and to always have been a taxation law for the purposes of sections 8WA and 8WB of the TAA and the TFN Rule, but excluding rule 13 of that instrument. Rule 13 is excluded so that there is no retrospective obligation on the Commissioner of Taxation to have made certain information available with respect to any historical requests for TFNs that would be authorised by this Bill. The VSL Act is deemed to be a taxation law only for the purposes set out in paragraphs 4(3)(a) and 4(3)(b) and not for any other purposes.

21. The intention with paragraph 4(3)(a) is to confirm that the VSL Act is a taxation law for the purposes of the TAA. When read together with subclause 4(2), this engages the exception to the prohibition on requiring or requesting a person's TFN under paragraph 8WA(1AA)(a) of the TAA and the exception to the prohibition on the recording, using and divulging of a person's TFN under paragraph 8WB(1A)(a) of the TAA. Whilst this is not strictly necessary, given the engagement of the exceptions already under subclause 4(2) alone, it has been included out of an abundance of caution.

22. The intention with paragraph 4(3)(b) is to ensure that the entire VSL Act would fall within the definition of 'taxation law' under the TFN Rule, and not only the provisions for which the Commissioner of Taxation has powers and functions related to the use of TFNs (see the definition of 'taxation law' in section 6 of the TFN Rule). This ensures that dealings by relevant persons within the relevant period that fall within the scope of subclause 4(1) would not be in breach of sections 8 or 10 of the TFN Rule. The TAA itself is a 'taxation law' and the other provisions in the Bill engage relevant exceptions under the TAA, which means the relevant conduct may already be considered compliant with sections 8 and 10 TFN Rule. However, to avoid doubt this additional provision has been included.

23. Subclause 4(4) provides that to avoid any doubt, anything done, or anything purported to have been done, by a person that would have been wholly, or partly, invalid or unlawful except for subsections (2) and (3) is taken for all purposes to be valid and lawful and to have always been valid and lawful, despite any effect that may have on the accrued rights of any person.

24. Subclause 4(5) sets out how the authorisation in the Bill would apply to civil and criminal proceedings and complaints made under the Privacy Act. To the extent that the Bill would apply to the proceedings or complaint, the authorisation in clause 4 would apply to those proceedings or complaints and the matter would be decided, taking into account that authorisation.

25. Paragraph 4(5)(a) provides that the Act would apply in relation to:

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civil and criminal proceedings instituted before the commencement of the Act and not concluded before the commencement of the Act, and

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civil and criminal proceedings instituted on or after the commencement of the Act.

26. For example, if proceedings had commenced but not concluded before the commencement of the Act, then the authorisation in clause 4 would apply to those proceedings and would need to be considered by the court when deciding the matter.

27. Paragraph 4(5)(b) provides that the Act would apply in relation to the Privacy Act to:

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complaints made to the Information Commissioner before the commencement of this Act in relation to which the Information Commissioner has not made a determination before the commencement of the Act, and

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complaints made to the Information Commissioner on or after the commencement of the Act.

28. For example, if a complaint was made to the Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioner made a determination on the complaint before the commencement of the Act, the authorisation in clause 4 would not be relevant to that complaint. However, if the complaint was made before the commencement of the Act but the Information Commissioner had not made a determination on the complaint before the Act commenced, then the authorisation in clause 4 would need to be considered when making a determination on that complaint.

29. Clause 4 of the Bill provides relevant persons with immunity from liability, but only in narrow circumstances. The immunity would only apply during the relevant period when the relevant persons were dealing with TFNs, for the purpose of facilitating the administration of or administering the students' application for a VET Student Loan or the loan itself. Immunity from liability in these narrow circumstances is appropriate as the relevant dealings had been taken in good faith to allow students to access loans under the VET Student Loans program, and relevant persons were following procedures that were considered to be aligned with legislation at the time. The immunity is provided in a context where there were strict use and disclosure provisions that applied to VET information under the VSL Act, which providers were required to comply with. Providers have been subject to that regime since the VSL Act commenced and remain subject to that regime.

Clause 5: Compensation for acquisition of property

30. Subclause 5(1) provides that the Commonwealth would be liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation to a person, if:

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apart from this clause, the operation of clause 4 would result in an acquisition of property (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution) from the person otherwise than on just terms (within the meaning of that paragraph); and

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the acquisition would be invalid because of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.

31. Subclause 5(2) provides that if the Commonwealth and the person do not agree on the amount of the compensation, the person may institute proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for the recovery from the Commonwealth of such reasonable amount of compensation as the court determines.

32. Clause 5 is intended to require the Commonwealth to pay reasonable compensation to the extent that clause 4 would result in an acquisition of property other than on just terms, including to the extent it extinguishes an accrued or vested cause of action.