Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Amendment Instrument 2016 [F2016L02003]-Concluded matters [2017] AUSStaCSDLM 117 (22 March 2017)

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Instrument	Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Amendment Instrument 2016 [F2016L02003]
Purpose	Extends an exemption allowing registered training organisations to issue vocational educational and training qualifications or statements of attainment to individuals without a student identifier
Last day to disallow	9 May 2017
Authorising legislation	Student Identifiers Act 2014
Department	Education and Training
Scrutiny principle	Standing Order 23(3)(d)
Previously reported in	Delegated legislation monitor 1 of 2017

Matter more appropriate for parliamentary enactment

The committee commented as follows:

Scrutiny principle 23(3)(d) of the committee's terms of reference requires the committee to consider whether an instrument contains matters more appropriate for parliamentary enactment (that is, matters that should be enacted via primary rather than delegated legislation). This may include instruments which extend relief from compliance with principal legislation.

This instrument extends a current exemption for a further year to 1 January 2018 for registered training organisations who deliver vocational educational and training (VET) courses that last one day or less to issue VET qualifications, or VET statements of attainment, to individuals without a student identifier.

The ES for the instrument states:

Subsection 53(1) of the Act [Student Identifiers Act 2014] specifies that a registered training organisation must not issue a VET qualification or a VET statement of attainment to an individual unless the individual has been assigned a student identifier. Subsection 53(2) of the Act specifies that subsection 53(1) does not apply to an issue specified by the Minister under subsection 53(3).
Subsection 6(4) of the Principal Instrument [Student Identifiers Regulation 2014] contains an exemption to this requirement that allows registered training organisations who deliver VET courses that last one day or less, to issue a VET qualification or VET statement of attainment to individuals who are unable to obtain a student identifier before the completion of the VET course. This exemption is limited in duration and was due to expire on 1 January 2016.
Registered training organisations caught by the exemption requested that the exemption be extended. The Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Amendment Instrument 2015 (No. 2) extended this exemption for a year to 1 January 2017.

Given the unchanged purpose of the exemption, it appears that the instrument may be addressing an unintended consequence of the operation of the provisions of the Student Identifiers Act 2014 concerning the issuance of VET qualifications.

The committee generally prefers that exemptions are not used or do not continue for such time as to operate as de facto amendments to principal legislation (in this case the Student Identifiers Act 2014). However, no information is provided in the ES as to why the exemption has been re-made rather than seeking to amend the relevant VET qualifications provisions of the Student Identifiers Act 2014.

The committee requests the advice of the minister in relation to the above.

Minister's response

The Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills advised:

The purpose of the exemption for single-day courses was to recognise issues that may arise where enrolment, course delivery, assessment and issuing of qualifications all occur on the same day. This leaves limited time to resolve issues with identity verification, which is an important element in the student identifiers scheme. The exemption was initially intended
to expire on 31 December 2015, but was extended for a further year after feedback from affected training providers, to give them more time to adjust their business processes to the student identifier requirements,
for example by modifying their enrolment procedures to collect student identifiers in advance of the course.
I and all skills ministers from states and territories agreed to the extension of the exemption for a further 12 months because the exemption is currently part of a wider review of VET data collection arrangements.
The review of the National VET Provider Collection Data Requirements Policy (VDR Policy) includes all current reporting exemptions relating to the collection of VET data. Term of Reference 3 of the review relates to 'The effectiveness, suitability and impact of all current (and any proposed) exemptions for collecting and reporting Total VET Activity and Unique Student Identifier (USI) data'. This USI exemption is one of six exemptions and concessions being considered in the review.
The review is being conducted by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training on behalf of all skills ministers and is expected
to be considered by ministers in mid-2017. More information about
the review is available at: https://submissions.education.gov.au/Forms/ VETDP/pages/index
Should a decision be taken through the review to continue this exemption, appropriate steps will be taken to implement the decision in accordance with the Student Identifiers Act 2014.

Committee's response

The committee thanks the minister for her response and has concluded its examination of the instrument.

The committee notes the minister's advice that the exemption is currently part of a wider review of VET data collection arrangements, and that this exemption will be reconsidered as a result of the review.

The committee notes that this information would have been useful in the ES.

Senator John Williams (Chair)