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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
1998-1999-2000
The Parliament
of the
Commonwealth of
Australia
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Presented and read a first
time
Indigenous
Education (Targeted Assistance) Bill
2000
No. ,
2000
(Education, Training and Youth
Affairs)
A Bill for an Act to provide
targeted financial assistance to advance the education of Indigenous persons,
and for related purposes
ISBN: 0642 439028
Contents
A Bill for an Act to provide targeted financial
assistance to advance the education of Indigenous persons, and for related
purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Indigenous Education (Targeted
Assistance) Act 2000.
This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal
Assent.
Making of agreements
(1) This Act allows the Minister to make an agreement with an education
provider or other person or body authorising the making of payments during the
2001 to 2005 calendar years.
Agreements with education providers
(2) For an agreement with an education provider, the payments may be for
recurrent expenditure of the provider in those years, for ABSTUDY approved
courses run by the provider in those years or for particular projects.
Agreements with other persons or bodies
(3) For an agreement with another person or body, the payments may be for
particular projects.
Payments must be for advancing the objects of this Act
(4) The payments under an agreement must be for advancing the objects of
this Act.
Amount of the payments
(5) The amount of the payments must be specified in the agreement or
worked out in accordance with the agreement.
Recovery of payments
(6) If there is a breach of a condition in an agreement, the Minister may
require an amount to be repaid to the Commonwealth. If the amount is not repaid,
other payments under the agreement may be reduced or the Commonwealth may
recover an amount as a debt.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
ABSTUDY approved course means a course that:
(a) is provided through a mixture of distance education and either or both
of the following:
(i) residential education;
(ii) face-to-face education; and
(b) is provided at a higher education institution or a vocational
education and training institution; and
(c) is approved as a mixed mode away-from-base course under the ABSTUDY
Scheme.
ABSTUDY payment means a payment of the kind mentioned in
paragraph 10(1)(b) that is made under an agreement made under
section 10.
advancing the objects of this Act includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
(a) publicising this Act, its objects and how it achieves those
objects;
(b) monitoring or evaluating the effectiveness of this Act in advancing
its objects;
(c) monitoring or evaluating the effectiveness of an agreement made under
this Act in advancing the objects of this Act.
education provider means:
(a) a State or Territory; or
(b) a university or other institution providing post-secondary education;
or
(c) a person or body conducting, or associated with, an educational system
or educational institution; or
(d) a person qualified to carry out research, or give advice, about
education.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering the
Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
funding year means the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 or 2005
calendar year.
higher education institution means an institution within the
meaning of section 4 of the Higher Education Funding Act
1988.
Indigenous person means:
(a) a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia; or
(b) a descendant of the Indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait
Islands.
non-ABSTUDY payment means a payment (other than an ABSTUDY
payment) that is made under an agreement made under this Act.
Territory means the Australian Capital Territory or
the Northern Territory.
vocational education and training institution means an
institution in a State or Territory that:
(a) is registered as an institution providing vocational education and
training by the appropriate State or Territory authority; and
(b) is receiving or is eligible to receive funding from the appropriate
State or Territory authority; and
(c) provides courses that are accredited under State or Territory
requirements for the accreditation of vocational education and training courses;
and
(d) is not conducted for profit.
It is an object of this Act to achieve equitable and appropriate
educational outcomes for Indigenous people by:
(a) arrangements for the adequate preparation of Indigenous children for
primary and later schooling through preschool education; and
(b) arrangements enabling Indigenous children to attain, through
compulsory primary and secondary education, commensurate skills and standards of
skills as those attained by other Australian children; and
(c) arrangements enabling Indigenous secondary students to attain the same
rate of successful completion of Year 12, or its equivalents, as that attained
by other Australian secondary students; and
(d) arrangements enabling Indigenous students participating in
post-secondary education to attain the same graduation rates as those attained
by other students so participating; and
(e) developing programs to support the maintenance and continued use of
the languages of Indigenous people; and
(f) the provision of community education services to enable Indigenous
people to manage the development of their communities; and
(g) arrangements enabling Indigenous students to attain better literacy
and numeracy skills, and to attain better attendance outcomes, through access to
priority Commonwealth education initiatives and strategic projects;
and
(h) arrangements for education that will enable Indigenous adults with
limited or no educational experience to attain proficiency in numeracy, the
English language and life skills; and
(i) education enabling Indigenous students to appreciate the history,
culture and identity of Indigenous people; and
(j) education enabling all Australian students to understand and
appreciate the traditional and contemporary culture of Indigenous
people.
It is an object of this Act to ensure that Indigenous people enjoy
equality with other Australians in their access to education and, in particular,
to ensure:
(a) that Indigenous children who are below primary school age enjoy
equality with other Australian children of that age in their access to preschool
education; and
(b) that all Indigenous children have local access to compulsory primary
and secondary schooling; and
(c) that Indigenous people have equitable access to other secondary and
post-secondary education.
It is an object of this Act to ensure equity of participation by
Indigenous people in education and, in particular, to ensure:
(a) the participation of Indigenous children in preschool education for a
period similar to that during which other Australian children participate in
that education; and
(b) that all Indigenous children participate in compulsory primary and
secondary schooling; and
(c) that the rate of participation of Indigenous people in other secondary
and post-secondary education is equivalent to that of other
Australians.
It is an object of this Act to increase the involvement of Indigenous
people in the making of decisions concerning education by:
(a) the establishment of effective arrangements for the participation of
Indigenous parents and other Indigenous people in decisions concerning the
planning, delivery and evaluation of preschool, primary and secondary education
for Indigenous children; and
(b) the establishment of effective arrangements for the participation of
Indigenous students and other Indigenous people in decisions concerning the
planning, delivery and evaluation of post-school education to Indigenous people;
and
(c) an increase in the number of Indigenous people who are employed or
otherwise involved in education:
(i) as administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, researchers, student
services officers, curriculum advisers and community liaison officers;
and
(ii) as special teachers of the culture, history, contemporary society and
languages of Indigenous people;
or otherwise; and
(d) the provision of education and training to develop the skills of
Indigenous people that are relevant to their participation in the making of
decisions concerning education; and
(e) the development of arrangements to secure independent advice from
communities of Indigenous people concerning educational decisions to be taken at
local, regional, State and Territory, and national levels.
It is an object of this Act to encourage the development of education
services that are culturally appropriate for Indigenous people by:
(a) the development of curricula that are suited to:
(i) the education of Indigenous students; and
(ii) the training of professional educators (including administrators,
teachers, teaching assistants, researchers, student services officers,
curriculum advisers and community liaison officers) who are involved in the
education of Indigenous students; and
(b) the development of teaching methods and techniques that are suited to
the learning styles of Indigenous students; and
(c) the promotion of research to devise innovative methods to deliver
education services to Indigenous students; and
(d) the promotion of research to devise methods to eliminate barriers to
educational attainment encountered by Indigenous students; and
(e) the conduct of pilot studies to test the effectiveness of the methods
referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d).
(1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, make an agreement
with an education provider that does one or more of the following:
(a) authorises the making of one or more payments to the provider for its
recurrent expenditure in one or more specified funding years that is for the
purpose of advancing the objects of this Act;
(b) authorises the making of one or more payments to the provider for one
or more specified ABSTUDY approved courses that are run by the provider in one
or more specified funding years;
(c) authorises the making of one or more payments to the provider, or to
another person or body, for one or more specified projects whose purpose is to
advance the objects of this Act.
Amount of payments for recurrent expenditure
(2) The amount or amounts of the one or more payments for recurrent
expenditure for each funding year covered by the agreement must be:
(a) specified in the agreement; or
(b) worked out in accordance with the agreement.
Amount of payments for ABSTUDY approved courses
(3) The amount or amounts of the one or more payments for each ABSTUDY
approved course covered by the agreement must be:
(a) specified in the agreement; or
(b) worked out in accordance with the agreement.
Amount of payments for particular projects
(4) The amount or amounts of the one or more payments for each project
covered by the agreement must be:
(a) specified in the agreement; or
(b) worked out in accordance with the agreement.
(1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, make an agreement
with a person or body (other than an education provider) authorising the making
of one or more payments to the person or body for one or more specified projects
whose purpose is to advance the objects of this Act.
Amount of the payments
(2) The amount or amounts of the one or more payments for each project
covered by the agreement must be:
(a) specified in the agreement; or
(b) worked out in accordance with the agreement.
Notice requiring repayment of amount
(1) If:
(a) a payment is made to an education provider (the
recipient), or to another person or body (also the
recipient), under an agreement made under this Act; and
(b) the agreement sets out one or more conditions on which the payment is
made; and
(c) one or more of those conditions is breached;
the Minister may, by notice sent to the recipient, require the recipient to
repay to the Commonwealth the amount (the recoverable amount)
stated in the notice.
Limit on amount stated in the notice
(2) The recoverable amount cannot be more than the payment made to the
recipient.
Reduction in other payments
(3) The Minister may, by determination in writing, reduce any other
payment or payments authorised to be made under the agreement by an amount or
amounts not more than the outstanding balance (if any) of the recoverable
amount.
Commonwealth may recover an amount as a debt
(4) The Commonwealth may recover, as a debt in a court of competent
jurisdiction:
(a) the outstanding balance (if any) of the recoverable amount;
less:
(b) the total of any reductions to a payment or payments under
subsection (3).
ABSTUDY payments are to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund,
which is appropriated accordingly.
1 January 2001 to 30 June 2002
(1) $129,897,000 is appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in
respect of the period that starts on 1 January 2001 and ends on
30 June 2002 for the purpose of making non-ABSTUDY payments during that
period.
1 January 2002 to 30 June 2003
(2) $126,066,000 is appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in
respect of the period that starts on 1 January 2002 and ends on
30 June 2003 for the purpose of making non-ABSTUDY payments during that
period.
1 January 2003 to 30 June 2004
(3) $128,438,000 is appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in
respect of the period that starts on 1 January 2003 and ends on
30 June 2004 for the purpose of making non-ABSTUDY payments during that
period.
1 January 2004 to 30 June 2005
(4) $129,588,000 is appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in
respect of the period that starts on 1 January 2004 and ends on
30 June 2005 for the purpose of making non-ABSTUDY payments during that
period.
Increasing
the amount of the appropriations
(5) The regulations may make provision for increasing the amounts
mentioned in this section by reference to changes in an index determined in
writing by the Finance Minister for the purposes of this section.
Each provision of this Part that appropriates money out of the
Consolidated Revenue Fund operates separately from the other provisions that so
appropriate money.
(1) The amount appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under the
Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 for the period
starting on 1 January 2000 and ending on 30 June 2001 is also
available for the purpose of making non-ABSTUDY payments during the period
starting on 1 January 2001 and ending on 30 June 2002.
Note: Under subsection 13B(8) of the Indigenous Education
(Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 an amount of money was appropriated for
the period starting on 1 January 2000 and ending on 30 June 2001.
Section 13C of that Act allowed for that amount to be replaced with another
amount.
(2) Subsection (1) is in addition to subsection 14(1).
The Minister may, by writing, delegate any of the Minister’s powers
under this Act to:
(a) the Secretary of the Department; or
(b) an APS employee in the Department.
The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters:
(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or
(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving
effect to this Act.