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2002-2003-2004
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED
ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL 2004
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated
by authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training the Hon Dr
Brendan Nelson MP)
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION
(TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL 2004
The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted
Assistance) Act 2000 (the Act) to maintain and enhance the Australian
Government’s effort in improving education outcomes for Indigenous
Australians over the 2005 to 2008 quadrennium. The objects of the Act are
closely aligned with the goals of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Education Policy (AEP) which was endorsed in 1989 by all Australian
governments and continues as Australia’s national policy on Indigenous
Education. The Bill provides for continuation, for a further four years, of
arrangements under the Act whereby agreements may be made with education
providers, other persons or bodies, authorising the making of payments for the
purpose of advancing the objects of the Act.
The Bill provides funding
for both the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme (IESIP) and
the Indigenous Education Direct Assistance Programme (IEDA) for the period 1
January 2005 to 30 June 2009. IESIP provides supplementary recurrent funding as
well as funding for significant national initiatives and special projects. IEDA
provides funding for the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme and funding to
support a Whole of School Intervention Strategy.
The Bill also provides
for a continuation of the “Away-From-Base” element of ABSTUDY, which
was transferred to IESIP in 1999, for the 2005-2008 period.
The Bill
includes provisions to significantly strengthen the accountability arrangements
for funding agreements made under the Act. It specifies commitments and
conditions, including financial and educational accountability conditions, that
must be included in those agreements. It also includes a provision enabling the
Minister to intervene to address underperformance by funding
recipients.
Finally, the Bill provides for repeal of the spent
transitional provision at section 16 of the Act and for repeal of the
Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Bill provides for appropriation of some $865.9 million in final 2003
prices for non-ABSTUDY payments. Additionally, it provides authority for
ABSTUDY (Away From Base) payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue
Fund, which is appropriated accordingly. The projected demand for 2005-2008 for
ABSTUDY (Away From Base) payments, in constant final 2003 prices is $101.4
million. In accordance with the Government’s policy, these amounts will
be adjusted for price movements.
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL
2004
Clause 1 - Short title
Provides for the Act to be cited
as the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Act
2004.
Clause 2 - Commencement
Provides for the Act
to commence on the day on which it receives the Royal
Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedule(s)
Provides that each Act
that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the
applicable items in the Schedule and that any other item in a Schedule has
effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1 –
Amendments relating to assistance for Indigenous
education
Part 1
–
Appropriation
amounts
Indigenous
Education (Targeted Assistance) Act
2000
Items 1 and
2
Amends the overview of the Act in subsection 3(1) (dealing
with the making of agreements) and the definition of funding year
in section 4 to reflect the extension of funding under the Act by four years to
2009.
Item 3
Inserts a new section 14A to provide
appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments for the period 1 January 2005 to 30 June
2009.
Proposed subsection 14A(1) inserts a
table providing for base funding amounts (starting amounts) for four overlapping
eighteen month appropriation periods from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2009. These
appropriations may be increased by indexation in accordance with subsection
14A(2).
Proposed subsection 14A(2) provides that the regulations may
provide for an increase in the base starting amount for each appropriation
period in accordance with a specified
index.
Part
2—Strengthening accountability for agreements
The
amendments made by this Part specify strategies to accelerate improved
educational outcomes by setting out accountability provisions in relation to
agreements made under section 10 of the Act with an education provider.
Accountability provisions (see Division 2) list 3 types of accountability
requirements. Namely, commitments and general conditions (see Subdivision A),
specific conditions about financial accountability (see Subdivision B) and
specific conditions about educational accountability (see Subdivision
C).
Indigenous Education (Targeted
Assistance) Act 2000
Items 4-6
Insert in
section 4 definitions of other party, performance
indicators and performance targets in relation to an
agreement made under the Act to facilitate new provisions to strengthen
educational and financial accountability for funding under the
Act.
Item 7
Inserts a new Division heading in Part 3
entitled “Division 1—Making agreements”. Division 1 comprises
existing section 10 dealing with the making of agreements with education
providers.
Item 8
Amends
subsection 11(1) to have the effect of providing that the Minister may (on
behalf of the Commonwealth) make an agreement with a person or body
(including 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 the Act. This is intended to allow the Minister to
enter an agreement with an education provider for the provision of goods or
services other than under section 10. Item 8 also alters the heading to section
11 to read “Agreements with any persons or
bodies”.
Item 9
Inserts a new Division 2 dealing
with accountability for section 10 agreements and comprising three new
Subdivisions whose provisions are explained below: Item 9 also creates a new
Subdivision D to incorporate existing section
12.
Proposed Subdivision
A—Commitments and general conditions
Proposed section
11A Agreements are subject to commitments
Provides that the Minister
must not make an agreement under section 10 unless the agreement specifies
commitments by each other party to advance the objects of this Act and to
achieve the performance targets. The agreement may also specify other
commitments.
Proposed section 11B
Agreements are subject to conditions
Proposed subsection 11B(1)
provides that the Minister must not make an agreement under section 10 unless
the agreement specifies the following conditions:
• That the payments
received under the agreement by each other party be spent by the party for the
purposes specified in the agreement;
• The conditions mentioned in
Subdivisions B and C;
• That reports covered by paragraph 11B(1)(b)
[dot point 2 above] must be given to the Secretary of the Department at the
times, and in the manner, required by the agreement;
• That each other
party give the Minister any reports required by the Minister in the time and
manner required by him/her.
Proposed subsection 11B(2) provides that the
Minister must not make the agreement unless the agreement specifies that the
payments under the agreement are made on the conditions described in subsection
11B(1).
Proposed subsection 11B(3) provides that the agreement may also
specify other conditions and that the payments under the agreement are made on
those
conditions.
Proposed
Subdivision B—Specific conditions about financial
accountability
Proposed section
11C Certifying agreement payments duly spent or committed
Proposed
section 11C provides that there must be a condition that (for each funding year
covered by the agreement) each other party gives the Secretary of the Department
a certificate made by a person authorised to do so by the agreement and
specifying whether the payments to the party for the funding year have been
spent (or committed to be spent) in that year for the purposes specified in the
agreement.
Proposed section 11D
Reporting other funds used to advance the objects of this
Act
Proposed subsection 11D(1) provides that
there must be a condition that each other party report how the party has
advanced ( and intends to advance) the objects of this Act from funds coming
from sources other than the Act, the States Grants (Primary and Secondary
Education Assistance) Act 2000 or any Act applying to periods ending after
the last period covered by the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education
Assistance) Act 2000 and having purposes similar to that
Act.
Proposed subsection 11D(2) provides that the condition set
out in proposed subsection 11D(1) must require (for each funding year covered by
the agreement) a report covering such funds spent (or committed to be spent) by
the party in the funding year and such funds expected to be spent (or to be
committed for spending) by the party in the next funding year and must include
the information required by the agreement about those
funds.
Proposed
Subdivision C—Specific conditions about educational
accountability
Proposed section
11E Reporting on performance
Proposed subsection 11E(1) provides
that there must be a condition that each other party complies with the
requirements specified in the agreement about reporting on performance against
the performance indicators and performance
targets.
Proposed subsection 11E(2) provides
that, without intending to limit subsection 11E(1), this condition may include a
requirement to report on performance against the performance indicators in a way
that gives data for different geographical regions.
Proposed
section 11F Minister may intervene if under-performance
Proposed
subsection 11F(1) provides that if the Minister thinks one of the other parties
is not achieving the performance targets, the Minister may direct the party to
take the action specified in the direction.
Proposed subsection 11F(2)
provides that there must be a condition that the other party complies with the
requirements specified in the agreement about reporting on the action taken in
response to such a direction.
Proposed
section 11G Participation in evaluation and data validation
exercises
Proposed section 11G provides that there must be a
condition that each other party does each of the following in the manner (and by
the times) specified in the agreement:
• participates in evaluating how
effectively projects and initiatives covered by the agreement advance the
objects of the Act; and
• participates in data validation
exercises.
Proposed
Division 3—Contravening conditions
New Division 3
incorporates existing section 12 dealing with recovery of
payments.
Item 10
This is an application provision
which provides that the amendments of the Indigenous Education (Targeted
Assistance) Act 2000 made by Part 2 of Schedule 1 apply in relation to
agreements made under that Act after the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule
1.
Part
3—Other
amendments
Indigenous
Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989
Item
11
Repeals the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act
1989.
Indigenous Education
(Targeted Assistance) Act 2000
Item 12
Repeals
section 16 of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000
which related to transitional arrangements for use of appropriations under the
Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989. These
arrangements were available up to 30 June 2002 and the section is no longer
required.