House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Alan Tudge MP)

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

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

The Education Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 (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

Schedule 1 of the Bill amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the ARC Act) applying current indexation rates to existing appropriation amounts and inserting a new funding cap for the financial year commencing 1 July 2023.

The amendments in Schedule 1 seek to increase the general financial support available to the research programs that the ARC administers.

The amendments only impact on administered special appropriations; they do not alter the substance of the ARC Act.

Schedule 2 of the Bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) to give effect to a 2020-21 MYEFO measure to re-categorise the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) as a Table A provider from 2021.

The amendments will ensure all non-medical domestic undergraduate students at UNDA have access to a Commonwealth supported place, including future students and current full-fee paying students (provided they meet all other eligibility criteria in HESA), and will ensure that UNDA is eligible to receive Commonwealth contribution amounts under Part 2-2 of HESA in relation to these students.

The amendments will also give UNDA access to new funding arrangements provided to Table A providers under the Job-ready Graduates reforms. This includes funding from the National Priorities Industry Linkage Fund to support enhanced engagement with universities and industry, and demand-driven funding to support all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from regional and remote communities to go to university.

Schedule 2 of the Bill also makes a minor amendment to subsection 30-10(1) of HESA to correct a typographical error.

Analysis of human rights implications

Schedule 1 of the Bill amends the ARC Act by applying indexation against appropriations for existing ARC research programs and including an additional figure for the last year of the forward Budget estimates (for the financial year starting on 1 July 2023). As a result, Schedule 1 does not have any human rights implications.

Right to education

Schedule 2 of the Bill engages the right to education contained in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 13(2)(c) of the ICESCR provides 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.'

The amendments improve access to education for non-medical domestic undergraduate students at UNDA, by making all of these students eligible to be Commonwealth supported students (provided they also meet the other eligibility criteria in HESA). This means these students will pay lower tuition fees based on the maximum student contribution amounts set out in HESA. As such, the Bill assists these students to access higher education by lowering the price of their courses, reducing barriers to their study and ensuring they have less debt when they graduate.

Conclusion

The Bill is compatible with human rights as it supports the right to education.