Bills Digest No. 24 2003-04
Australian National Training
Authority Amendment Bill 2003
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage
History
Australian National Training
Authority Amendment Bill 2003
Date Introduced:
14 August 2003
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Education, Science and Training
Commencement:
Formal provisions commence on Royal Assent,
Schedule 1 by Proclamation and Schedule 2 on 1 January
2004
This Bill would amend the Australian National
Training Authority Act 1992 to
- increase from five to seven the numbers of members of the
Australian National Training Authority (ANTA)
(i.e. other than the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson), and
- no longer require that new ANTA agreements be incorporated in a
schedule to the Act.
The creation of the Australian National
Training Authority (ANTA) in 1992 marked the beginning of a new era
in Commonwealth, State and Territory collaboration in vocational
education and training.(1) Commonwealth funding to
support State and Territory administered vocational education and
training, which is appropriated under the Vocational Education
and Training Funding Act 1992, is distributed by ANTA. The
quantum of funds available for distribution is determined by
agreement between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories.
The ANTA Agreement which usually spans a period of three years,
addresses the funding responsibilities of the parties and their
policy directions and priorities. Since 1992 there have been 3 ANTA
agreements and a fourth is currently being
negotiated.(2)
The Minister, in his second reading
speech, has said that the proposal to increase the size of the ANTA
Board emerged from Ministerial Council(3) and reflects
the Council s view that it will increase the capacity of the Board
to provide high quality advice. The filling of the proposed new
positions will be the responsibility of the Ministerial Council.
The ANTA web site provides the following description and details of
the ANTA Board and its members:
The ANTA Board is industry-led. Members are
nominated by the ANTA Ministerial Council and appointed by the
Governor General.
The Board is chaired by Stuart
Hornery, AO, former chairman, Lend Lease
Corporation Ltd. Other members are:
-
Stella Axarlis, AM, Deputy Chair ANTA Board; Chair,
Peninsula
Health
Service;
-
Vince O'Rourke, AM, former chief executive officer of Queensland
Rail;
-
Leonie Clyne, managing director and owner of Angus Clyne
Australia Pty Ltd;
-
Dr Evelyn Scott, AO, chairwoman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Corporation for Women;
-
David Hind,
BOC's managing director, process gas solutions, South
Pacific;
-
Julius Roe,
national president of the Australian Manufacturing
Workers Union.
Ex-officio
Member
-
John Smyth, chief executive officer of
the Institute
of
TAFE
Tasmania.
The Australian National Training
Authority Act 1992 currently requires that the legislation be
amended to incorporate any newly negotiated ANTA Agreement into
Schedule 1 of the Act. The amendments in this
Bill would no longer require that the Act be
amended to give effect to the ANTA Agreement, thereby changing the
nature of parliamentary consideration of the details of any new
ANTA agreement. The Minister has said in his second reading speech
that when the agreement for 2004 to 2006, which is currently being
negotiated, is signed by all parties, he will make it public by
tabling it in Parliament. This proposed process of tabling the new
agreement, is however not prescribed in the proposed amendments and
so may only be taken to apply to the next agreement.
Although each new ANTA Agreement details
the Commonwealth s commitment of grants to the States and
Territories for vocational education and training for the duration
of the agreement, the Commonwealth appropriations which give effect
to this commitment are actually made under a different Act, the
Vocational Education and Training Funding Act 1992. Any
new funding arrangements will therefore be considered by the
Parliament in the context of amendments to this Act. In addition,
the terms of recent ANTA Agreements have involved the Commonwealth
in maintaining its level of base funding, therefore requiring
annual amendments to this Act for indexation purposes.
Schedule 1 relates to the
membership of ANTA. The effect of item 1 of
schedule 1 is to increase the number of members of
the Authority, other than the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson,
from 5 to 7. Items 2-4 amend the operational
requirements as a consequence of this increase in membership, by
increasing the number of allowable membership vacancies and of
members required for quorums and the carrying of resolutions.
Schedule 2 relates to the
ANTA Agreement. Item 1 substitutes a new
definition so that new ANTA agreements will no longer have to be
incorporated as a schedule in the Act and item 2
repeals Schedule 1 where the text of each new ANTA agreement has
previously been incorporated. Items 4 and 5 are
consequential amendments to affected subsections of the
Vocational Education and Training Funding Act 1992.
- For a more detailed account of this see
Bills
Digest, no. 35, 1998 99.
- For an account of the terms of the various
ANTA agreements and negotiations for a new one see
Bills
Digest, no. 22, 2003 04.
- The Australian National Training Authority
(ANTA) Ministerial Council is comprised of Commonwealth, State and
Territory Ministers with responsibility for vocational education
and training.
Carol Kempner
22 August 2003
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2003
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2003.
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