House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Industry, the Honourable Ian MacFarlane MP)

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

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

TRADE SUPPORT LOANS BILL 2014

TRADE SUPPORT LOANS (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL 2014

The Trade Support Loans Bills (the Bills) are 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 amendments

The Bills enable students to receive Trade Support Loans (TSL) (the loans) which are income-contingent loans, claimed on a voluntary basis. These loans will be available to an apprentice who is undertaking a qualifying apprenticeship in an occupation on the priority occupation list. The Trade Support Loans (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014 will also make a number of amendments to the Bankruptcy Act 1966, Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Taxation Administration Act 1953, and the Taxation (Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983.

The apprentices will be limited to a lifetime limit of $20,000 (this limit will be indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index from July 2017). For most apprenticeships, the apprentice will be paid amounts totalling up to $8,000 in their first year of an apprenticeship, $6,000 in their second year, $4,000 in their third year, and $2,000 in their fourth year (totals for each year will be indexed from July 2017). The loans will be repayable under similar arrangements to Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts.

Apprentices will only be required to begin repaying the loans once their earnings are above the repayment threshold (which will be consistent with the current HELP repayment thresholds) and after any accumulated HELP debt has been paid.

The loans are repayable under similar arrangements to those for HELP debts.

Human rights implications

The Bill engages the following human rights:

Right to education

This Bill engages the right to education contained in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

In particular, Article 13(2)(b) states that secondary education, including technical and vocational secondary education shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.

The Bills will promote an individual's right to education by providing access to financial assistance, under the loans, during an apprenticeship. The loans are designed to help apprentices with the everyday living expenses associated with training (technical and vocational education). This will improve the accessibility of technical and vocational education, as individuals need not miss out on enrolment due to the prospect of financial difficulties in undertaking an apprenticeship. The Bills will therefore expand the accessibility of technical and vocational education.

The fact that the loans are repayable once the person reaches a particular income threshold will not limit a person's right to education.

Right to equality and non-discrimination

The right to equality and non-discrimination is protected in Articles 2 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Article 2(1) of the ICCPR obligates each State party to respect and ensure to all persons within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognised in the Covenant without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. ^[2]

Article 26 of the ICCPR not only entitles all persons to equality before the law as well as equal protection of the law, but also prohibits any discrimination under the law and guarantees to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. ^[2]

While the Bills limit access to the loans based on an individual's status as an Australian resident and that they are engaged in an eligible apprenticeship, these requirements are compatible with the nature of the ICCPR rights and solely for the purpose of promoting general welfare, as permitted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its commentary on differential treatment. ^[3] Therefore, the Bills do not restrict any person's right to equality and non-discrimination as contained in Articles 2 and 26 of the ICCPR.

Right to privacy

Article 17 of the ICCPR requires the protection against arbitrary and unlawful interferences with privacy, including personal information. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information under the Bills engage the right to privacy under Article 17 of ICCPR. As such, the information collected will be protected by provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.

The Bill provides that the TFN will be collected and verified with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the purposes of assessing applications and ongoing administration of trade support loans.

Given the importance placed on confidentiality and that loans are claimed on a voluntary basis, the requirements do not restrict any person's right to privacy.

Conclusion

The Bill is compatible with human rights. To the extent they may have limited impact on a person's access to education, an adequate standard of living or the right to equality and non-discrimination, the limitation is reasonable, proportionate to the policy objective and for legitimate reasons.

The Minister for Industry, the Honourable Ian Macfarlane MP