Bills Digest No. 77 2001-02
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance)
Amendment Bill 2002
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
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Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
States Grants (Primary and Secondary
Education Assistance) Amendment Bill 2002
Date Introduced: 14 February 2002
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Education, Science and Training
Commencement: Royal Assent
The Bill will
amend the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education
Assistance) Act 2000 (the current Act) to alter the provisions
for the granting of establishment assistance to new non-government
schools.
Establishment assistance for new non-government
schools was introduced under section 75 of the current Act. The
purpose of this assistance, as stated by the then Minister for
Education, Training and Youth Affairs, is 'to assist new
non-government schools with the costs incurred in their formative
years and to enable them to be competitive with existing
schools'.(1)
Last year the Government twice introduced
amending legislation to adjust shortfalls in the original estimates
for establishment grants. Both times the legislation failed to
pass, primarily because of concerns about the eligibility and
accountability criteria for the grants, and the issue of equity
with government schools. Bills Digest No. 30
2001-02 provides the background to the policy and issues
current at the time of this earlier debate.
The earlier bills sought to increase the total
amount available for establishment assistance by amending Schedule
7 of the current Act. This Bill proposes that a new section 75 be
inserted and Schedule 7 be repealed, thereby providing that
establishment assistance be paid on a similar basis to General
Recurrent Grants, ie. as a standing per capita appropriation rather
than as a special appropriation set by ministerial determination.
This will ensure that there is always sufficient funds to meet the
demands for establishment assistance.
In his
second reading speech to the Bill, the Minister for Education,
Science and Training estimates that as a result of the proposed
changes establishment assistance will increase by $6.9 million to
$11.9 million for the 2001-2004 funding period. This compares to a
proposed increase of $9.5 million to a total of $14.3 million under
the earlier Bills.
Failure to pass the earlier legislation has
meant that new non-government schools were not paid their full 2001
entitlement. The Minister claims that this has created particular
hardship for those new non-government schools from low
socioeconomic areas(2).
Schedule 1, Part 1
Item 1 repeals section 75 of
the current Act and substitutes a new section.
New subsections 75 (1) and (2)
provide that the Minister may authorise payment of establishment
assistance to new independent and systemic non-government
schools.
New subsections 75 (3)
and (4) define the circumstances under which
non-government schools may be eligible for establishment
assistance.
New subsections 75 (5) and (6)
provide the formulae, dependent on the circumstances of the school
as defined by subsections (3) and (4), for calculating the amount
of establishment assistance payable to new non-government
schools.
Items 2 and 3 make
consequential amendments to section 105 of the current Act.
Item 4 repeals Schedule 7 of
the current Act.
Schedule 1, Part 2
Items 5, 6 and 7 provide
transitional arrangements for the payment of establishment grants
for the 2001 and 2002 program years.
-
- Dr the Hon D. Kemp, House of Representatives, Debates,
6 September 2000, Second Reading Speech.
- Dr the Hon B Nelson, 'Labor has another chance to support poor
schools', Media release, 14 February 2002.
Marilyn Harrington
18 February 2002
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ISSN 1328-8091
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