Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The Governor - General may make regulations prescribing matters:
(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the regulations; or
(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection ( 1), the regulations may prescribe the following:
(a) penalties, not exceeding 50 penalty units, for offences in the regulations relating to:
(i) the requirement to provide information relating to a school's census; or
(ii) using or disclosing school education information;
(b) if a provision of this Act (including the regulations) permits or requires a decision to be made--matters that the decision - maker may or must (as prescribed by the regulations) have regard to in making the decision.
Example: A provision of this Act permits or requires a decision to be made if the provision permits or requires the Minister to make a determination of an administrative character.
(3) The regulations may allow the Minister to determine matters in relation to anything in relation to which regulations may be made.
(4) Despite subsection 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003 , the regulations may provide in relation to a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in any other instrument or other writing as in force or existing from time to time.
Requirement to consult Ministerial Council
(5) Before the Governor - General makes one of the following, the Minister must consult, and have regard to any relevant decisions of, the Ministerial Council:
(a) a regulation for the purposes of:
(i) subsection 22(1) (conditions of financial assistance--implementing national policy initiatives relating to school education); or
(ii) section 22A (conditions of financial assistance--maintaining State and Territory contributions);
(iii) section 24 (condition of financial assistance--recovering amounts);
(b) a regulation that will affect an approved authority for a government school for the purposes of:
(i) section 77 (ongoing policy requirements for approved authorities); or
(ii) section 78 (ongoing funding requirements for approved authorities).
This Act provides Commonwealth financial assistance for schools. The financial assistance is provided to States under section 96 of the Constitution, and to Territories under section 122 of the Constitution. The Act imposes requirements on States and Territories as conditions of this financial assistance, including requirements to comply with intergovernmental agreements on school education, and to implement nationally - agreed policy initiatives on school education.
Each school has an approved authority, which is approved by the Minister. For a government school located in a State or Territory, the approved authority is the State or Territory. For a non - government school, the approved authority is a body corporate that is approved by the Minister for the school.
Financial assistance is provided directly to a State or Territory for its government schools. Financial assistance for a non - government school located in a State or Territory is provided to the State or Territory which must give it to the approved authority for the school.
The amount of financial assistance that a school attracts for a year is worked out using the formula in Division 2 of Part 3. The financial assistance consists of a base amount for all schools, plus loadings for schools with students with greater needs. The base amount and most of the loadings are worked out by reference to an amount per student called the SRS funding amount. (SRS is short for schooling resource standard.)
The formula produces the Commonwealth share of a total amount of funding. Not all schools will attract the final Commonwealth share immediately. Most schools will move to that share over a period of transition years .
The Minister can determine other kinds of funding for any school under Part 5. The Minister can determine capital funding for non - government schools, which is ultimately provided to capital grants authorities and block grant authorities. The Minister can determine funding for schools in special circumstances or if the Minister is satisfied that prescribed circumstances apply in relation to schools. In addition, the Minister can determine additional adjustment funding for schools for transition years for the schools , in accordance with the regulations.
The Minister can also determine funding for non - government representative bodies for non - government schools. Non - government representative bodies are bodies that represent approved authorities for non - government schools. A block grant authority or non - government representative body is approved by the Minister.
The Minister may require an amount to be repaid, reduce an amount that would otherwise be payable, or delay making a payment, if an amount is owed to the Commonwealth under this Act (or other similar Acts) or there is a failure to comply with particular requirements.
This Part sets out the financial assistance that is payable by the Commonwealth to States and Territories under this Act, and the conditions that apply when that financial assistance is provided.
The conditions include requiring States and Territories to implement national policy initiatives for school education, as well as requiring a State or Territory to give any financial assistance provided to the State or Territory to the appropriate approved authority, capital grants authority, block grant authority or non - government representative body.
The Minister may determine the amounts and timing of individual payments of financial assistance.
Financial assistance for schools is payable by the Commonwealth each year, based on a formula in Division 2 of this Part. The formula produces the Commonwealth share of a total amount of funding. Most schools will move to that share over a period of transition years .
All schools are entitled to a base amount of funding for every student. Students and schools who need extra support will also attract additional loadings.
The base amount, and most of the loadings, are worked out by reference to an amount per student called the SRS funding amount. (SRS is short for schooling resource standard). There is a different SRS funding amount for primary and secondary students, which is indexed yearly.
The base amount for a school for a year reflects:
(a) the number of students at the school for the year; and
(b) the SRS funding amount for the year for a student at the school; and
(c) the capacity of the school's community to contribute financially to the school.
The following loadings are also provided:
(a) a loading for students with disability;
(b) a loading for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students;
(c) a loading for socio - educational disadvantage;
(d) a loading for students who have low English proficiency;
(e) a loading for schools that are not in major cities;
(f) a loading for schools that are not large schools.
The loadings (except the size loading) are a percentage of the relevant SRS funding amount multiplied by the number of students at a school that qualify for that loading. The size loading provides an amount based on the total number of students at a school. Small schools, and very small schools in very remote areas with a certain number of students, are entitled to the maximum size loading while large schools are not entitled to any size loading. All other schools are entitled to a proportion of the maximum size loading.
This Part provides additional discretionary funding for schools.
The Minister may determine capital funding to be paid to a State or Territory under this Part. The capital funding is to be paid by the State or Territory to either a capital grants authority or a block grant authority, as determined by the Minister.
Block grant authorities are bodies corporate that are approved for a non - government school by the Minister under Division 3 of Part 6. A school's capital grants authority is its approved authority. If the school has a block grant authority, the block grant authority is also the school's capital grants authority. If the school is a non - government school located in a State or Territory, the approved authority for government schools located in the State or Territory is also the school's capital grants authority.
The Minister may also determine that financial assistance is payable for a school in special circumstances or if the Minister is satisfied that prescribed circumstances apply in relation to the school. In addition, the Minister can determine additional adjustment funding for schools for transition years for the schools , in accordance with the regulations.
The total amount of capital funding payable to block grant authorities for a year is capped.
The Minister can also determine funding for non - government representative bodies. These are bodies that are approved by the Minister under Division 4 of Part 6 and that represent the interests of one or more approved authorities for non - government schools.
The Minister approves approved authorities, block grant authorities and non - government representative bodies under this Part.
An approved authority is the body to which recurrent funding under this Act is ultimately paid. For government schools, the approved authority is the relevant State or Territory. For a non - government school, the approved authority is the body corporate approved by the Minister for the school.
A block grant authority is one of the bodies to which capital funding may ultimately be paid under subsection 67(1), and is the body to which capital funding is ultimately paid under subsection 67(2). A body can be a block grant authority only for non - government schools.
A non - government representative body for a non - government school represents the interests of the approved authority for the school. A non - government representative body is the body to which funding under section 70 is ultimately paid.
An approved authority, block grant authority or non - government representative body must satisfy basic requirements (such as being fit and proper), as well as ongoing requirements (such as requirements relating to dealing with financial assistance and providing information).
This Part gives the Minister the power to take action if an approved authority, a block grant authority, a non - government representative body or a State or Territory fails to comply with particular requirements or does not repay an amount that it owes to the Commonwealth. The Minister may require a State or Territory to pay an amount, reduce an amount that would otherwise be payable under this Act or delay a payment.
Division 3 deals with recoverable payments (which are payments that the Commonwealth does not otherwise have the power to make). The Secretary must report on any recoverable payments that are made.
Division 2 contains rules relating to applications made under this Act.
Division 3 provides for decisions under this Act to be reviewed internally and by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Division 4 contains miscellaneous provisions, including provisions
relating to false and misleading information, the use and disclosure of
information, and delegations.