Bills Digest no. 20 2005–06
Arts Legislation Amendment (Maritime Museum and Film, Television
and Radio School) Bill 2005
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
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Arts
Legislation Amendment (Maritime Museum and Film, Television and Radio
School) Bill 2005
Date Introduced: 23 June 2005
House: Senate
Portfolio: Arts and Sport
Commencement: on receiving Royal Assent
The Arts Legislation Amendment (Maritime Museum and
Film, Television and Radio School) 2005 (the ‘Bill’) is to amend:
- the Australian Film and Television and Radio School Act 1973 (‘AFTRS
Act’) to provide for determinations to be made by the Australian Film
and Television and Radio School (‘School’) as to which degrees, diplomas
or certificates will be awarded by the School, and
- the Australian National Maritime
Museum Act 1990 (‘ANMM Act’) to broaden the power
for the Australian National Maritime Museum (‘Museum’) to fix entry
charges to it’s exhibitions.
The Explanatory Memorandum for the Bill, focuses on how the amendments
will bring flexibility to the School and the Museum, by streamlining procedures
currently subject to the regulatory powers of the Governor-General.
One of the functions of the School, under section 5(1)(g) of the AFTRS
Act, is to award degrees, diplomas and certificates as provided for by
regulation. Therefore, each time a new course is offered or an old course
is discontinued, a regulatory process has to be followed.
The amendments proposed in the Bill would remove the need for the regulations
to provide for degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by the School.
Instead, the School would be able to make a determination as to the degrees,
diplomas and certificates it would award.
This determination would be by way of a legislative instrument.
The Explanatory Memorandum claims that by removing the current regulatory
requirement, the School will have a greater autonomy and flexibility.(1)
Senator Patterson, in her second reading speech on the Bill, stated that
the proposed amendments mean that the School will be able to respond quickly
to the needs of the film and broadcasting community.(2)
The importance of the School being alert to changes in the entertainment
industry and being able to respond accordingly with changes to it’s curriculum
has been discussed in an article in the Australian Financial Review on
16 April 2005.(3) That article discusses a shift in focus for
the School towards including business skills components in courses. The
change in focus comes in response to a downturn in the production and
revenue in the Australian film and television industry in the past couple
of years.
Currently, section 54(1)(d) of the ANMM Act provides for the Governor-General
to make regulations with regards to fixing charges for entry into museum
premises.
The Museum also has a limited power, under section 7(1)(r) of the ANMM
Act, to:
fix charges for entry onto any land, or into any building,
owned by, or under the control of the Museum, being charges that:
(i) are in addition to the charges fixed by the regulations;
and
(ii) relate to special exhibitions or other special events.
(emphasis added)
The proposed amendments would mean that the Governor General, in addition
to making regulations to fix entry charges for the Museum, could also
make regulations providing for the Museum to fix entry charges.
Under regulations providing for the Museum to fix entry charges, the
Museum would have increased scope, beyond the powers in section 7(1)(r),
to fix entry charges to it’s premises and exhibitions.
The proposed amendments also clarify that where the Museum’s exhibitions
take place on water (as is likely with a Maritime Museum), then the Museum
does have the power under section 7(1)(r) to fix charges for entry to
vessels or structures.
Item 2 of Schedule 1 inserts a new section 6A into the
AFTRS Act empowering the School to make a determination specifying degrees,
diplomas and certificates to be awarded in relation to the education and
training provided by the School.
Item 3 of Schedule 1 is a saving provision, preserving any regulation
in force under section 5(1)(g) of the AFTRS Act at the time of commencement
until the time the first determination is made by the School.
Items 4 and 5 of Schedule 1 insert the references to “water” and
“structure or vessel” to the powers in section 7(1)(r) of the ANMM Act,
making it clear that the Museum’s power to fix entry charges is not limited
to exhibitions held on land.
Item 6 of Schedule 1 amends the regulatory powers of the Governor-General
under the ANMM Act to make regulations providing for the Museum to fix
charges.
The proposed amendments to the AFTRS Act are stated to provide the School
with greater flexibility, autonomy and efficiency in deciding the direction
of the School’s curriculum by replacing the current regulatory process
for the awarding of certificates, degrees.
However, the proposed process requires the School to determine certificates,
diplomas and degrees by way of legislative instruments. Under the Legislative
Instruments Act 2003 (Cth), legislative instruments are:
- registered on the Federal Registrar of Legislative Instruments in
order to be enforceable,
- tabled in Parliament, and
- subject to scrutiny and disallowance by Parliament.
Therefore, it is questionable that the proposed processes of having the
School make a determination in the form of a legislative instrument will
in fact be more efficient than the current regulatory process. The proposed
process:
- will shift the administrative burden in terms of drafting the determination
from the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing to the School,
and
- may result in greater uncertainty during the period between registration
and the Parliament considering the legislative instrument.
- Arts Legislation Amendment (Maritime Museum and Film, Television and
Radio School) Bill 2005, Explanatory Memorandum, p. 1.
- Senator Kay Patterson, Minister for Family and Community Services
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues, ‘Second
Reading Speech: Arts Legislation Amendment (Maritime Museum and Film,
Television and Radio School) Bill 2005’, Senate, Debates, 23 June 2005,
p. 7.
- S. Williams, “Film Schools Shift Focus to Fostering Business”, Australian
Financial Review, 16 April 2005, p. 37.
Ann Palmer
9 August 2005
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament
using information available at the time of production. The views expressed
do not reflect an official position of the Information and Research Service,
nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of the
public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2005
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Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2005.
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