Higher Education Support Act 2003

Chapter 2 - Grants for higher education assistance etc  

PART 2-1 - HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS  

Division 19 - What are the quality and accountability requirements?  

Subdivision 19-D - The fairness requirements  

SECTION 19-38   Higher education providers ' expenditure of student services and amenities fees  

19-38(1)    
A higher education provider must not spend an amount paid to the provider as a *student services and amenities fee to support:

(a)    a political party; or

(b)    the election of a person as a member of:

(i) the legislature of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or

(ii) a local government body.

19-38(2)    
If a higher education provider pays a person or organisation an amount paid to the provider as a *student services and amenities fee, the provider must make the payment on the condition that none of the payment is to be spent by the person or organisation to support:

(a)    a political party; or

(b)    the election of a person as a member of:

(i) the legislature of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or

(ii) a local government body.

19-38(3)    
A higher education provider must not spend, for a purpose other than that specified in subsection (4) , an amount paid to the provider as a *student services and amenities fee.

19-38(4)    
Subsection (3) does not prohibit expenditure for a purpose that relates to the provision of any of the following services:

(a)    providing food or drink to students on a campus of the higher education provider;

(b)    supporting a sporting or other recreational activity by students;

(c)    supporting the administration of a club most of whose members are students;

(d)    caring for children of students;

(e)    providing legal services to students;

(f)    promoting the health or welfare of students;

(g)    helping students secure accommodation;

(h)    helping students obtain employment or advice on careers;

(i)    helping students with their financial affairs;

(j)    helping students obtain insurance against personal accidents;

(k)    supporting debating by students;

(l)    providing libraries and reading rooms (other than those provided for academic purposes) for students;

(m)    supporting an artistic activity by students;

(n)    supporting the production and dissemination to students of media whose content is provided by students;

(o)    

helping students develop skills for study, by means other than undertaking *courses of study or *accelerator program courses in which they are enrolled;

(p)    advising on matters arising under the higher education provider ' s rules (however described);

(q)    advocating students ' interests in matters arising under the higher education provider ' s rules (however described);

(r)    giving students information to help them in their orientation;

(s)    helping meet the specific needs of *overseas students relating to their welfare, accommodation and employment.

Note:

Examples of expenditure for a purpose that relates to the provision of a service specified in subsection (4) include:

(a) expenditure by the higher education provider in directly providing the service; and

(b) expenditure by the higher education provider in getting someone else to provide the service or subsidising the provision of the service by someone else; and

(c) expenditure by the higher education provider on infrastructure for the provision of the service.

19-38(5)    
Without limiting who is a child of a person for the purposes of paragraph (4)(d) , someone is the child of a person if he or she is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 .

19-38(6)    
To avoid doubt, subsections (1) , (2) and (3) apply to an advance made to a higher education provider on account of *SA-HELP assistance in the same way as they apply to an amount paid to the provider as a *student services and amenities fee.

Note:

An amount of SA-HELP assistance paid to a provider is an amount paid to the provider as a student services and amenities fee because, under section 128-1 , the SA-HELP assistance is paid to discharge the student ' s liability to pay the fee.

19-38(7)    
Subsection (6) does not limit subsection 164-10(2) .

Note:

Subsection 164-10(2) applies to an advance on account of an amount the conditions that would apply to payment of the amount.