EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2008 No. 230

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education

 

Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000

 

Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Regulations 2008 (No. 1)

 

 

Authority

Section 18 of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Subsection 14A(1) of the Act sets out the appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments for the period from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2009. Non-ABSTUDY payments are payments (other than ABSTUDY payments) made for the purposes of the Act to organisations, institutions and individuals. Payments are made under the Indigenous Education Program, which includes elements such as Supplementary Recurrent Assistance, English as a Second Language – Indigenous Language Speaking Students, Indigenous Education Projects, the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme and the Whole of School Intervention Strategy.

 

Subsection 14A(2) of the Act allows the making of regulations to increase the appropriations provided in subsection 14A(1) by reference to changes in a specified index. The index specified for this purpose in the proposed Regulations is the Wage Cost Index Number 1 (WCI1).

 

Purpose and operation

The Regulations make provision for an increase in the amounts that may be payable to organisations, institutions and individuals under subsection 14A(1) of the Act to supplement the cost of delivering educational services to Indigenous students for the period 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2009 in line with changes in the WCI1.

 

The Regulations amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Regulations 2001 (the Principal Regulations) to provide for increases in the appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments set out in subsection 14A(1) of the Act. The Principal Regulations currently specify a factor of 1.021 for item 1, 1.040 for item 2 and 1.061 for item 3 of the table in subsection 14A(1). These Regulations have the effect of increasing the amount stated in item 4 of the table in subsection 14A(1) by a factor of 1.083, which reflects the increase in the WCI1 for calendar year 2008.

 

The effect of the Regulations is to provide an additional $5.7 million for the period 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2009.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

Commencement

The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Consultation

 

Consultation was not undertaken as it was not considered necessary. The Regulations have the effect of increasing the amounts appropriated under section 14A of the Act.

 

Details of the Regulations

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Regulations 2008 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Regulations 2001

 

This regulation provides that the Principal Regulations are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Item [1] – Subregulation 5(1)

 

Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations sets out the factor by which appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments set out in the table in subsection 14A(1) of the Act are increased. The factor for each year is specified in the table in subregulation 5(1). Table item 4 in both subsection 14A(1) of the Act and subregulation 5(1) deals with the appropriation for non-ABSTUDY payments for the period 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2009.

 

Item [1] amends table item 4 in subregulation 5(1) to have the effect of providing that, pursuant to subsection 14A(2) of the Act, the amount mentioned in table item 4 in subsection 14A(1) of the Act is increased by a factor of 1.083, which is the factor by which the Wage Cost Index No. 1 has changed for the 2008 calendar year.