House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education and Training,Senator the Honourable Simon Birmingham)

Statement Of Compatibility With Human Rights

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

HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES) BILL 2015

This 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

Schedule 1 amends the eligibility conditions for tertiary students to access the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA). This will enable certain New Zealand citizens who are Special Category Visa holders to be eligible for HELP assistance from 1 January 2016. This includes access to HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP, OS-HELP and SA-HELP loans.

Schedule 2 amends the list of Table B providers in section 16-20 of HESA to enable Torrens University Australia to be eligible for equivalent funding support as all other private Australian universities, including research block grant funding under Part 2-3 (such as the Research Training Scheme and the Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities Scheme) and postgraduate research Commonwealth scholarships funding under Part 2-4.

Schedule 3 updates HESA to change the name of the University of Ballarat to Federation University Australia. This recognises the passage of the University of Ballarat Amendment (Federation University Australia) Act 2013 by the Victorian Parliament.

Schedule 4 inserts a provision that confirms the relevant heads of constitutional power that Part 2-3 (Other Grants) of HESA relies upon, in addition to the effect that Part 2-3 otherwise has.

Schedule 5 makes consequential amendments to corporate reporting requirements under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 following passage of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Schedule 6 amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act) to update appropriation amounts by applying indexation to existing funding caps and inserting new funding caps for the last two years of the forward estimates (the financial years commencing on 1 July 2017 and 1 July 2018).

The amendments in Schedule 6 support the financial assistance for approved research programmes administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The ARC Act provides a maximum cap for financial assistance for approved research programmes. These programmes fund the high-quality research Australia needs to address the great challenges of our time, to improve the quality of people's lives, to support Australian businesses to become more innovative and to remain competitive in the global knowledge economy.

The ARC supports the highest quality fundamental and applied research and research training through funding schemes under the National Competitive Grants Programmes (NCGP). The NCGP comprises two main programmes-Discovery and Linkage. Funding awarded under the NCGP:

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is allocated on the basis of a competitive peer review process involving national and international assessors

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supports research across all disciplines (with the exception of a range of medical and dental research).

The amendments in Schedule 6 also repeal Division 1 of Part 6 of the ARC Act to remove the requirement for the ARC to prepare corporate plans, as section 35 of the PGPA Act contains a similar requirement for the ARC to prepare and publish corporate plans in accordance with the Rule made under the PGPA Act.

The amendments do not alter the substance of the ARC Act, the obligations required of the ARC, or increase departmental funds.

Analysis of human rights implications

Schedules 2-6 do not have human rights implications.

The only measure with potential human rights implications is Schedule 1. This is potentially relevant to the following international covenants.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Article 13: Right to education

This Bill engages with Article 13(2)(c) of the ICESCR which states that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education".

Schedule 1 of the Bill expands access to higher education by allowing certain New Zealand citizens, who hold a Special Category Visa, to access the Australian Government's HELP loans scheme from 1 January 2016. Residency requirements for this measure will ensure that only New Zealand citizens with a demonstrated commitment to living in Australia will be eligible for a HELP loan.

This measure is designed to allow access to the HELP scheme to New Zealand citizens, who are long-term residents of Australia but are not able to access traditional routes to Australian citizenship that are available to citizens of other countries.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 26: Right to equality and non-discrimination

Schedule 1 of the Bill expands access to higher education by allowing certain New Zealand citizens, who hold a Special Category Visa and have been long-term residents of Australia since childhood, to access the Australian Government's HELP loans scheme from 1 January 2016. New Zealand citizens in these circumstances often perceive themselves as Australians and view their inability to access HELP loans as discriminatory. This change will address this perceived inequity.

Conclusion

The Bill is compatible with human rights.

HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES) BILL 2015