Bills Digest No. 82 2001-02
Higher Education Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002
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This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Higher Education Legislation Amendment
Bill (No.1) 2002
Date Introduced: 14 February 2002
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Education, Science and Training
Commencement: Royal Assent
To amend the Higher Education Funding Act
1988 (the Act) to establish a scheme for providing loans to
overseas-trained professional people who require bridging courses
to enter their professions in Australia.
The Government announced in the 2001-02 Budget
that income contingent loans for bridging courses for overseas
trained professionals would be introduced from 1 July 2002. This
measure was estimated to save $2.1 million in 2002-03 by replacing
the Bridging Courses for the Overseas Trained
Program.(1) This program is administered by the National Office of
Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) in the Department of
Education, Science and Training (DEST). It provides bridging
courses to assist overseas trained professionals holding Australian
citizenship or permanent residence and living in Australia, who
have not been able to achieve recognition of their qualifications
in Australia. These bridging courses help to meet or prepare to
meet specific academic or professional requirements for:
-
- registration or other entry to regulated professions, or
-
- membership of a professional body or other occupational entry
to self-regulating professions.(2)
The current program benefits around 500 persons
each year. According to the Minister's Second Reading Speech, the
demand for courses has exceeded the supply of places (which has
been limited by the program's budget). It is hoped that the new
scheme will encourage an expansion in the supply of these
courses.
The proposed scheme is similar to the
Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme (PELS), which provides income
contingent loans for fee-paying postgraduate coursework
students.(3) PELS was introduced by the Innovation
and Education Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 2001, which
received assent on 18 September 2001. Like the PELS, the new scheme
will be jointly administered by DEST, the Australian Taxation
Office, and participating educational institutions. In summary, the
scheme will enable the Commonwealth to pay the tuition fees of
students undertaking bridging for overseas trained professionals
(BOTP) courses. These payments, or loans, will be repaid through
the taxation system when the student's income reaches a specified
level. No interest is charged on the loan, although the amount of
the debt is indexed for inflation. Indexation and repayment
arrangements are the same as those for PELS and the Higher
Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).
The new scheme will not effect the NOOSR
Assessmnt Fee Subsidy for Overseas Trained Australian Residents
(ASDOT) scheme, which pays the fees for some assessments of
overseas qualifications where occupations are regulated or, in
other professions, the fees for any examination required. ASDOT is
only available for disadvantaged persons (holders of Commonwealth
concession cards).(4)
Item 3 of Schedule
1 inserts a new Chapter 4B in the Higher Education
Funding Act 1988 establishing a BOTP loan scheme.
Proposed section 98S provides
that the Minister may determine specified occupations and assessing
bodies for the purposes of the scheme. Such determinations are to
be disallowable instruments.
Proposed section 98T provides
that assessing bodies may make 'assessment statements' which
indicate that if a particular person undertakes specified studies,
exams or training, then that person would meet the requirements for
entry into a particular occupation in Australia. These 'assessment
statements' can only be made for persons who have overseas
qualifications for specified occupations (ie. those determined
under new setion.98S) and who propose to seek
entry to that occupation in Australia.
Proposed section 98U sets out
the circumstances in which subject units, courses of instruction,
and tuition and training programs constitute 'BOTP courses'.
Proposed section 98V defines
the citizenship/residency requirements for the scheme.
Proposed section 98W makes
compliance with the requirements of the BOTP scheme a condition of
financial assistance to institutions under the Higher Education
Funding Act 1988.
Proposed section 98X sets out
the procedures for applying for a BOTP loan.
Proposed section 98Y provides
that some existing provisions of the Act relating to the tax file
number of a student apply to recipients of BOTP loans.
Proposed section 98Z sets out
the notification requirements for institutions towards students who
are enrolled in BOTP courses and who have applied for loans to pay
their fees.
Proposed section 98ZA requires
the Commonwealth to make a loan to students who have met the
requirements of the scheme. This loan is to be equivalent to the
student's outstanding fees, and is to be paid to the institution in
discharge of the student's liability.
Item 9 of Schedule
1 amends s.106H91) of the Act to include BOTP debts in the
definition of 'semester debt'. This means that the provisions of
the Act relating to the calculation and repayment of loans will
apply to BOTP debts.
-
- Budget Measures 2001-02 (Budget Paper No. 2), p. 95
- See http://www.dest.gov.au/noosr/brgcourses.htm#program
- Information on PELS can be obtained from http://www.hecs.gov.au/pels.htm
- See http://www.dest.gov.au/noosr/asdot/asdot.htm
for information on ASDOT.
Kim Jackson
4 March 2002
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
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