Bills Digest No. 239 1997-98
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Amendment
Bill 1998
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 and Copyright Details
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Amendment
Bill 1998
Date Introduced: 25
June 1998
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Employment,
Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Commencement: On
Royal Assent.
This Bill provides for a number of
amendments to the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance)
Act 1996 (the Act). The main ones provide:
- $20 million for the introduction of Full Service Schools over three
years from 1998 and
- $40.2 million for the extension of the National Asian Languages and
Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) strategy over two years from
1998.
This Bill gives effect to initiatives announced in the
1998-99 Budget. These include the introduction of Youth Allowance - a
major new social policy reform of income support to begin on 1 July 1998.
The introduction of Youth Allowance will mean additional expenditure to
the social security budget of $212 million over the next four years.(1)
Youth Allowance is aimed at encouraging young people
under 18 years to complete their schooling, or if they leave school early,
to move on to further training or employment.
In order to receive the Youth Allowance from January
1999, eligible young people under 18 years who have not completed Year
12 or equivalent must be in full-time education or training unless specifically
exempted.
Full Service Schools
The Commonwealth has established the Full Service Schools
program in order to cover additional costs associated with the Youth Allowance
initiative. Funding for the program will address the specific needs of
young people returning to school following changes to the Youth Allowance
and for current students who are at risk of not completing Year 12, or
making a successful transition from school to work. The Program will target
students who are not likely to benefit from mainstream learning pathways.
Funds will be directed towards:
- the employment of specialist teachers or counsellors
- providing professional development for teachers and other staff
- delivering and developing special courses associated with pre-vocational
education or training, and
- assisting students to access government and community support services.
Funding will be provided to schools in areas with the
highest numbers of young people affected by the implementation of the
Youth Allowance.
Steering Committees will manage the implementation of
the Full Service Schools program in each State and Territory.(2)
NALSAS
The NALSAS Strategy is a cooperative initiative between
Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. The Strategy assists government
and non-government schools to improve participation and proficiency levels
in four targeted Asian languages. They are:
- Japanese
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Indonesian, and
- Korean.
The major collaborative activities are in three broad
areas. They are:
- professional development for teachers
- development of proficiency outcomes for students and teachers, and
- curriculum materials.
The strategy also introduces or increases Asian studies
content across the curriculum in order to improve Australia's capacity
and preparedness to interact with key Asian economies.
The
1998-99 Budget provided for funds of $40.2 million to take the NALSAS
program through to the end of 1999. This extra funding will be used to
provide continued support to teachers and students. Commonwealth funding
is matched by States and Territories.
Additional Amendments
The Bill also contains provisions which:
- from 1999, enable the Minister to vary funding provided to education
authorities under the Literacy and Country Areas programs(3)
- change funding schedules to insert amounts of capital funding for
2001(4)
- vary the amounts of 1997 recurrent and capital grants in respect of
the 1997 supplementation and provide for its flow on effects for 1998,
1999 and 2000
- rectify an inadvertent omission in the Act to provide for grants for
expenditure on special education services to be provided under the legislation
- incorporate a technical amendment to define the role of the Governor-General
in making regulations under the Act, and
- incorporate a minor stylistic change to the format of the Act.
Clause 7 adds to the provisions relating to grants
to meet special learning needs. This clause provides for funding for projects
to assist students who return to school because of the introduction of
the youth allowance and to assist students to complete senior secondary
education and to make a successful transition from school to training,
further education or employment.
Clause 10 updates funding amounts for students
with disabilities attending government schools from 1997 initial prices
to 1998 initial prices.
Clause 11 clarifies the full range of special
education services able to be supported under the Act and in particular
ensures that grants to non-government centres are not limited to special
education activities conducted at non-government centres.
Clauses 12 and 13 updates funding amounts for
recurrent expenditure on education in English as a second language for
eligible new arrivals.
Clause 15 inserts a new section 76A to allow the
Minister to approve projects under the Full Service Schools program which
provides additional funding for schools, industry and community groups
to assist in alleviating the concerns of parents, the community and young
people following the introduction of the youth allowance.
Clauses 16-18 provides that the Minister rather
than the Governor-General is responsible for determining cost supplementation
amounts prior to the Governor-General making a regulation under section
78.
Clause 20 makes changes to the cost supplementation
to reflect the introduction of the Full Service Schools program by Clause
15.
Clause 21 inserts a new section 78A to allow the
Minister to make a determination during a program year varying some or
all of the amounts of the Grants Under the Literacy Program. The amounts
are set out in Schedule 6.
Clause 23 inserts new subsections 79(2A) and (2B)
to allow the Minister to make a determination during a program year varying
some or all of the amounts of the Grants Under the Country Areas Program.
The amounts are set out in Schedule 8.
Clause 24 amends the tables in Schedules 1-8 to
update all legislated funding amounts from 1997 initial prices to 1998
initial prices. This clause also inserts a new Column 7 in Schedule 8
to reflect the introduction of the Full Service Schools Program.
Clause 25 inserts a new definition of 'youth allowance'
for the purposes of the Full Service Schools Program. Qualification for
youth allowance is set out in Part 2.11 of the Social Security Legislation
Amendment (Youth Allowance) Act 1998.
Evidence presented to a recent Senate Inquiry into the
Status of the Teaching Profession revealed concerns about the increasing
pressures on schools and on individual teachers in particular. The Inquiry's
report remarked that many teachers have identified relentless change as
a key contributor to the sense of crisis infecting the profession.(5)
The stresses that these Programs produce may be undermining the morale,
the attractiveness and, ultimately, the status of the teaching profession.(6)
- States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Amendment
Bill 1998, Second Reading Speech, by the Hon. Dr David Kemp MP,
Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, 25 June
1998.
- State and Territory Steering Committees will consist of representatives
of government and non-government education authorities, the Commonwealth,
principals' organisations and parent groups.
- Education authorities include those from State and Territory government
and non-government sectors.
- Capital funding relates to government and non-government schools.
- Senate Employment, Education and Training References Committee, A
Class Act: Inquiry into the Status of the Teaching Profession, The
Senate, March 1998, p.8.
- Ibid., Chapter 5, pp 95-105.
Ross Kilmurray
30 June 1998
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1998
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