Details of the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education and Training Measures No. 3) Regulations 2018
Section 1 - Name
This section provides that the title of the Regulations is the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education and Training Measures No. 3) Regulations 2018.
Section 2 - Commencement
This section provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 - Authority
This section provides that the Regulations are made under the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997.
Section 4 - Schedules
This section provides that the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Regulations 1997 are amended as set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1 - In the appropriate position in Part 3 of Schedule 1AB (table)
This item adds a new table item to Part 3 of Schedule 1AB to establish legislative authority for government spending on an activity that will be administered by the Department of Education and Training (the department).
New table item 28 establishes legislative authority for the Government to provide grant funding to The Smith Family to expand its Let's Read program.
The Let's Read program is a national evidence-based early literacy initiative that promotes reading with children from birth to five years. Its vision is for all Australian children to share books, stories, songs and nursery rhymes every day from birth with the important people in their lives. The program is designed to increase home literacy resources and build the capacity of families and professionals to foster children's emergent literacy skills.
Let's Read currently:
* provides disadvantaged parents and caregivers with books to read with children under their care aged up to five years;
* provides parents and caregivers with information, support and techniques to assist those children to develop early literacy skills through reading; and
* assists parents and caregivers to understand the impact of literacy education on early childhood development.
Let's Read was initially developed by the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Royal Children's Hospital. These entities have partnered with The Smith Family to implement Let's Read with communities across Australia.
Let's Read is currently delivered at various locations, such as The Smith Family sites, children's centres and state government funded locations.
The Australian Government will provide funding to The Smith Family in 2018-19 to expand the reach of the Let's Read initiative, including its promotion. In particular, funding will be provided to extend the delivery of Let's Read to local libraries where teachers, parents and caregivers would be able to engage with the program. The libraries will be determined in consultation between the department and The Smith Family. The funding would not be used to substantively alter the types of activities currently carried out through the program.
Funding would enable The Smith Family to create stronger links to local public libraries to promote the importance of early literacy and engage with teachers, families and caregivers to help them support their children's emergent literacy. Expanding the reach of The Smith Family's Let's Read program to include strong links with local public libraries will broaden the reach of these programs to ensure that teachers, families and caregivers are supported to build foundation literacy skills in the early years.
The Smith Family is a national education-oriented charity supporting disadvantaged Australian children to participate fully in their education, giving them the best chance at breaking the cycle of disadvantage.
It is envisaged that funding would be provided to The Smith Family for Let's Read for promotion and activities to commence in early September 2018 as part of a National Literacy and Numeracy program.
Funding of $37,500 for 2018-19 for the purposes of including Let's Read in a National Literacy and Numeracy program will come from the Quality Outcomes subprogram in Program 1.7: Early Learning and Schools Support, which is part of Outcome 1. Funding details are set out in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2018-19, Budget Related Paper 1.5, Education and Training Portfolio at page 37. The Minister for Education and Training (the Minister) approves any funding allocations for the purpose of Let's Read from this funding source.
Quality Outcomes is a discretionary funding program for initiatives of importance to the Australian Government. The Minister approves funding allocations under Quality Outcomes which is a long-standing appropriation to the department for the purposes of providing funding for a variety of initiatives.
Funding for Let's Read will be expended in accordance with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 (CGRGs), the department's Secretary Instructions and delegations on the expenditure of relevant monies, and in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (the PGPA Act).
Funding for Let's Read will be provided by way of a targeted grant to The Smith Family. The process for, and the administration of any grant, will be conducted in accordance with the CGRGs, and will adhere to standard grant selection and reporting requirements.
Grant guidelines will be developed and made publicly available on GrantConnect (www.grants.gov.au). The Minister will make grant funding decisions in relation to Let's Read. The grant will be directly negotiated and agreed with The Smith Family. Information about the grant will be published on GrantConnect (www.grants.gov.au) once an agreement has been signed with The Smith Family.
Independent review will not be available for the grant provided to The Smith Family in relation to Let's Read, as the grant will be one-off, non-competitive and for a specific purpose and entity (that is, The Smith Family). Furthermore, as The Smith Family is the organisation responsible for delivery of the Let's Read initiative, and has a well-established record of delivering this initiative which it has been implementing since 2005, it is not reasonably foreseeable nor envisaged that any other organisation would receive funding in relation to the initiative.
Noting that it is not a comprehensive statement of relevant constitutional considerations, the purpose of the item references the external affairs power of the Constitution (section 51(xxix)).
Section 51(xxix) of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to 'external affairs'. The external affairs power supports legislation with respect to matters or things outside the geographical limits of Australia.
Australia has obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child [1991] ATS 4 (CROC). In particular:
* Article 4 sets out a general obligation for States Parties to implement the rights set out in the CROC;
* Article 6(2) notes that States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the development of the child;
* Article 17 requires States Parties to ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, including those aimed at the promotion of the child's moral well-being and physical and mental health. Notably, Article 17(c) states, "to this end, States Parties shall ... encourage the production and dissemination of children’s books"; and
* Article 18(2) sets out that, for the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights in the CROC, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in performance of their child rearing responsibilities.
Let's Read will involve the provision of books to parents and caregivers to read with their children. This measure of Let's Read will encourage the dissemination of childrens' books, and therefore ensure that children have access to information, with a view to improving their wellbeing and development.
Let's Read will also assist parents and legal guardians to fulfil their child rearing responsibilities with a view to promoting the child's right to education. A key component of Let's Read is to educate parents about the importance of reading with their children, and to fulfil their responsibilities in this regard.
Australia has the following obligations under the CROC:
* Article 28, which specifies that States Parties recognise the right of the child to education, which includes (at Article 28(1)(a)) "making primary education compulsory and available free to all"; and
* Article 29(1), which notes that States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to the development of their personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.
Let's Read will assist caregivers to deliver early literacy education to children under their care, which will be directed to the development of the children's talents and mental abilities to their fullest potential. Additionally, by enabling children to be read to at an early age, Let's Read will assist children to take full advantage of their right to education when they enter formal schooling.
Australia also has obligations under Articles 2 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [1976] ATS 5 to take steps necessary for the full realisation of the right to education more generally. Let's Read would be appropriate and adapted to implementing these articles.
Item 2 - In the appropriate position in Part 4 of Schedule 1AB (table)
This item adds a new table item to Part 4 of Schedule 1AB to establish legislative authority for government spending on an activity that will be administered by the department.
New table item 299 establishes legislative authority for government spending on the Endeavour Leadership Program (the ELP) that was announced in the 2018-19 Budget.
The ELP, which will commence in 2019, is the Australian Government's two-way mobility program, providing financial support for international (incoming) recipients from Australia's priority partner countries to undertake short- and long-term study, research and professional development in Australia, and for Australian (outgoing) recipients to do the same in Australia's priority partner countries overseas. Information about the strategic prioritisation of the partner countries will be set out in the ELP Guidelines which will be available at: http://internationaleducation.gov.au/endeavour when the 2019 round opens.
The ELP amalgamates the existing Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships and the Endeavour Mobility Grants programs into a single merit-based program. The ELP provides opportunities for established and emerging leaders to undertake a global mobility experience, within their study, research or professional field.
The first application round for the new program will be for the 2019 calendar year. It is anticipated that the application period for the 2019 round will open in August 2018.
The ELP supports Australia's first National Strategy for International Education 2025 (the Strategy), which sets out a 10-year plan for developing Australia as a global leader in education, training and research. This is to be achieved through making transformative partnerships (Pillar 2 of the Strategy), and expanding student, education and training professional and researcher mobility (Action 6.2 of the Strategy).
Funding of $119 million will continue to be provided for the new program and was included in the 2018-19 Budget under the measure 'Endeavour Leaderships Program - efficiencies' for a period of four years commencing in 2018-19. Details are set out in the Budget 2018-19, Budget Measures, Budget Paper No. 2 2018-19 at page 87.
Under the 2019 round, approximately $27 million in funding is available to support two-way mobility Leadership Activities. It will support short- and long-term study, training, research and professional development across a range of sub-categories under the Endeavour Leadership Program.
There will be two different funding opportunities with differing financial benefits - one for Recipient Institutions and one for Individual Endeavour Leaders.
Recipient Institutions
Recipient Institutions will receive a grant of up to $2,500 per student for Leadership Activities of short duration (up to six months), and up to $5,000 for long-term Leadership Activities (up to 12 months). Recipient Institutions may be Australian or overseas institutions.
Recipient Institutions may also be eligible for additional ELP funding through:
* Language Support Grants, which are designed to support Asian language competency as part of a Leadership Activity, may be provided at a rate of $1,000 per student. Language training must be undertaken prior to, or concurrently with, an approved Leadership Activity; and
* Leadership Activity Facilitation Subsidies on the basis of one subsidy of $1,500 per Leadership Activity. The subsidy can be used for administration purposes associated with management of the Leadership Activity.
Individual Endeavour Leaders
The entitlements for each recipient of funding as Individual Endeavour Leaders will be dependent on the activity level and duration associated with the program categories.
There are four program categories for Individual Endeavour Leaders for an activity undertaken in Australia:
* Postgraduate: supports study or research at the Masters or PhD level (up to four years for international [inbound] recipients and up to two years for Australian [outbound] recipients);
* Research: supports short-term study towards an overseas Masters or PhD, or postdoctoral research (up to six months for inbound and outbound recipients);
* Executive: supports professional development through a host work environment rather than through formal enrolment in a study program (up to four months for inbound and outbound recipients); and
* Vocational Education and Training (VET): supports education and training at the Australian Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree level for up to two and a half years (inbound only).
There are three program categories for Individual Endeavour Leaders for an activity undertaken in an eligible country outside Australia:
* Postgraduate: supports study or research at the Masters or PhD level (up to four years for international [inbound] recipients and up to two years for Australian [outbound] recipients);
* Research: supports short-term study towards an overseas Masters or PhD, or postdoctoral research (up to six months for inbound and outbound recipients); and
* Executive: supports professional development through a host work environment rather than through formal enrolment in a study program (up to four months for inbound and outbound recipients).
All successful Individual Endeavour Leaders will receive an award of $3,000 per month as a stipend (maximum amount of $36,000 per calendar year paid up to the maximum duration for each category on a pro-rata basis). The activity level, duration and tuition amounts for each program category will be set out in the ELP Guidelines.
Successful Individual Endeavour Leaders will also be eligible for:
* travel allowance of up to $3,000 (with provision to pay up to $4,500 under special circumstances);
* an establishment allowance of between $2,000 and $4,000;
* health insurance for the maximum study/research duration (Overseas Student Health Cover for international recipients); and
* travel insurance (excluding during the Program for international recipients).
Individual Endeavour Leaders undertaking postgraduate research or VET will also receive tuition fees paid up to the maximum study/research duration on a pro-rata basis. Tuition includes student service and amenities fees.
Funding will be provided to support mobility opportunities to high-performing Individual Endeavour Leaders, and to applicant higher education providers and Registered Training Organisations (for use with groups of enrolled students), whose proposed Endeavour activity will best support the ELP's objectives and provide value for money.
To be successful in receiving ELP funding, applicants will need to demonstrate that their proposed activity supports the ELP's objectives of:
* building Australia's reputation for excellence in international education by supporting the internationalisation of Australia's education, training and research sectors through mobility opportunities which support successful Australian applicants to study overseas, and successful international applicants to study in Australia;
* contributing to the implementation of government policy priorities by increasing international research and education engagement between Australia and priority countries in key fields of education, research and innovation;
* offering high-achieving individuals from Australia and overseas the opportunity to develop their knowledge and expertise and build institution-to-institution connections; and
* creating the next generation of international education and research leaders across a wide variety of professional fields.
All types of activity opportunities available under previous Endeavour rounds - undergraduate, postgraduate, VET and professional - will continue to be offered. Examples of suitable activities include:
* study towards an undergraduate qualification (through a Recipient Institution) or VET qualification;
* research towards a PhD or Masters qualification;
* postdoctoral research;
* institution-to-institution exchange for enrolled students, where there is an exchange agreement in place between institutions;
* practicums, clinical placements, Internships, or volunteer Leadership Activities;
* mentoring, work experience or other professional development through a host work environment rather than through formal enrolment in a study program.
It is anticipated that program administration support and post-selection support services would be provided by a third party contractor. Any procurement activities would be undertaken by the department in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs). The support could include:
* initial shortlisting of applications against the eligibility criteria;
* engagement of the selection panel to assess applications and determine a final merit list of recommended applications as well as a reserve list of unfunded projects should additional funds become available;
* acting as the first point of contact for applicants on administrative matters, including eligibility for the ELP, nominations, and applications;
* making all payments to individual Endeavour Leaders and recipient institutions;
* post-selection support, including: providing a dedicated case manager, pre-departure briefings, advice on health, travel insurance, accommodation, payment of funding, assistance with variations, assisting on return to the home country on completion, and reporting to the department on progress; and
* management of the activity schedule by working with recipients and monitoring progress.
Following shortlisting, applications will be assessed by an independent selection panel of eminent academics, professionals and government representatives. The selection panel will determine a final merit list of recommended applications for funding to be provided to the Minister for Education and Training for approval. Should the Minister be unable to make the final decision, the final merit list will be forwarded to the department's Program Delegate for approval. The delegate for ELP will be a Branch Manager in the International Group, Department of Education and Training.
ELP funding will be expended in accordance with the CGRGs, the department's Secretary Instructions and delegations on the expenditure of relevant monies, and in accordance with the PGPA Act.
In the event that the funding limit is not reached, the remaining funding will be allocated at the department's discretion. Decisions by the Minister and the delegate are final in all matters, including:
* approval of the Award/Grant;
* the Award/Grant funding amount; and
* the terms and conditions of the Award/Grant.
Neither the Minister nor the delegate will approve funding unless it is reasonably considered that the Leadership Activity represents value for money.
There is no appeal mechanism for decisions to be reviewed. Merits reviews are excluded on the grounds that ELP funding is a finite resource, and an allocation that has already been made to another party would be affected by overturning the original decision.
Any procurement undertaken in relation to the ELP will be conducted in accordance with the CPRs, and will adhere to applicable approach to market and other procurement requirements. Information will be available on AusTender (www.tenders.gov.au). In accordance with the department's procurement complaint process, any complaints in relation to a procurement will be directed, in the first instance, to the relevant contact for the procurement. Unresolved complaints may then be directed, if considered appropriate, to an independent officer of the department or a probity adviser.
The procurement of services will be subject to the requirements of the Commonwealth's resource management framework, including the CPRs and the PGPA Act. Independent review will not be provided for any funding provided by way of procurement, as the tender process will be open and competitive, and will therefore provide sufficient opportunity for each tenderer to submit their best and most competitive offer to provide the services.
Funding for the ELP will come from Program 2.7: International Education Support, which is part of Outcome 2. Details are set out in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2018-19, Budget Related Paper 1.5, Education and Training Portfolio at pages 18, 20 and 55.
Noting that it is not a comprehensive statement of relevant constitutional considerations, the objective of the item references the following powers of the Constitution:
* the aliens power (section 51(xix));
* the social welfare power (section 51(xxiiiA); and
* the external affairs power (section 51(xxix)).
Aliens power
Section 51(xix) of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to 'naturalization and aliens'.
The ELP will provide funding to individuals who are not Australian citizens/dual citizens of Australia, or permanent residents of Australia to undertake study, research or professional development in Australia.
Social welfare power
Section 51(xxiiiA) of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to the provision of various social welfare benefits and services, including 'benefits to students'.
The ELP will provide funding to offer scholarships to students to support their studies overseas.
External affairs power
Section 51(xxix) of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to 'external affairs'. The external affairs power supports legislation with respect to matters or things outside the geographical limits of Australia.
The ELP will build Australia's reputation for excellence in international education by supporting the internationalisation of Australia's education, training and research sectors through mobility opportunities between Australia and overseas. In particular, the ELP will offer high-achieving Endeavour Leaders from Australia opportunities to build institution-to-institution connections and support international education engagement between Australia and priority countries.
Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements