HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING ACT 1988

[ CCH Note: Act No 150 of 2003 (as amended by No 157 of 2004), s 3 and Sch 1 items 6 to 9 and 24, contains the following transitional provisions:

``Part 2 - Transitional arrangement for students under the Post-graduate education loan scheme

FEE-HELP assistance for existing students under the Post-graduate education loan scheme  
6
If:

(a) a person is enrolled with an institution in a unit of study that forms part of a course of study that the person started before 1 January 2005; and

(b) the period over which the person is undertaking the unit ends on or before 31 December 2008; and

(c) the person is an eligible student, within the meaning of section 98B of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 , for the semester; and

(d) the course is an eligible post-graduate course of study within the meaning of section 98A of that Act; and

(e) the Commonwealth had, under section 98G of that Act, discharged a liability that the person had incurred in relation to the course; and

(f) the person:

(i) is entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for the unit; or

(ii) would be entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for the unit but for paragraph 104-1(1)(a) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 ; and

(g) the person has neither:

(i) discontinued his or her enrolment in the course since that commencement (see item 7); nor

(ii) completed the requirements of the course;

then:

(h) if the institution is not (apart from this item) a higher education provider - the institution is taken, for the purposes of the application of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 in relation to the person and unit, to be a higher education provider; and

(i) if subparagraph (f)(ii) applies - the person is taken, for the purposes of that Act, to be entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for the unit; and

(j) the person is taken, for the purposes of that Act, to incur a HECS-HELP debt, and not a FEE-HELP debt, if the Commonwealth makes a loan to the person under section 104-1 of that Act in relation to the unit.

Note:

The effects of the person incurring a HECS-HELP debt rather than a FEE-HELP debt are that the indexation of the debt is limited to changes in the Consumer Price Index (see section 140-5 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 ), and that voluntary repayments may attract a 10% bonus (see section 151-5 of that Act).

Discontinuance of enrolments  
7
A person is not taken, for the purposes of subparagraph (g)(i) of item 6, to have discontinued his or her enrolment in a course of study merely because:

(a) the person has taken leave of absence from, or has deferred, the course, with the approval of the institution with which the person is undertaking the course; or

(b) the person transfers his or her enrolment in the course to another course of study at the same level with the same or another institution or higher education provider; or

(c) circumstances have occurred that are specified in the guidelines under item 8 as not amounting to a discontinuance of enrolment.

Guidelines  

8(1)
The Minister may, in writing, make guidelines providing for matters:

(a) required or permitted by this Schedule to be provided; or

(b) necessary or convenient to be provided in order to carry out or give effect to this Schedule.

8(2)
Without limiting subitem (1), the guidelines may provide for:

(a) when a person is taken to have commenced a course of study; and

(b) when a person is taken to have completed the requirements of a course of study.

Any such guidelines have effect, for the purposes of this Schedule, accordingly.

8(3)
The guidelines are disallowable instruments for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .

Meaning of institution  
9
In this Part:

institution
has the same meaning as in Chapter 4A of the old Act.

Definitions  
24
In this Schedule:

new Act
means the Higher Education Support Bill 2003 .

old Act
means the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 .'']