EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Guidelines issued under clause 99(1) of Schedule 1A to the Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 1 to the VET Guidelines 2013
Issued by the authority of the
Minister for Education
Subject
Higher Education Support Act 2003
VET Guidelines 2013
Authority
Clause 99(1) of Schedule 1A to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act) provides that the Minister may make VET Guidelines (the VET Guidelines) to provide for matters required or permitted by that Schedule to be provided or necessary or convenient to be provided in order to carry out or give effect to that Schedule.
Purpose
The purpose of Amendment No. 1 to the VET Guidelines 2013 is to amend the VET Guidelines to:
a) specify the qualifications that are taken to be VET qualifications for the duration of the Trial to Extend VET FEE-HELP to Specified Certificate IV Qualifications (the Trial) in Western Australia; and
b) substitute one of the qualifications specified for South Australia for the duration of the Trial in line with the South Australian government prioritising the funding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses.
Consultation
Consultations were undertaken with the Western Australian and South Australian state governments and this amendment is a direct result of those consultations.
Commencement
Amendment No. 1 to the VET Guidelines 2013 takes effect on the day after its registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Detailed explanation of the amendment
Item 1
This item amends the table of specified qualifications at Schedule 1 to the current VET Guidelines 2013, referred to in Chapter 11. It substitutes the current table of VET qualifications for the purpose of the Trial in order to:
- Extend VET FEE-HELP to the following qualifications in Western Australia:
(A) Certificate IV in Aged Care as described in the Community Services Training Package
(B) Certificate IV in Disability as described in the Community Services Training Package
(C) Certificate IV in Community Services Work as described in the Community Services Training Package
(D) Certificate IV in Youth Work as described in the Community Services Training Package
(E) Certificate IV in Education Support as described in the Community Services Training Package.
ii. Substitute one of the qualifications specified for South Australia by removing the “Certificate IV for Work Health and Safety as described in the Business Services Training Package” and substituting the “Certificate IV in Engineering as described in the Metal and Engineering Training Package”.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Amendment No. 1 to VET Guidelines 2013
This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The purpose of the Instrument is to amend Schedule 1 to the VET Guidelines 2013 that specifies those Certificate IV qualifications that are eligible for income contingent loans in certain circumstances to include those Certificate IV qualifications for the State of Western Australia and to change one of the Certificate IV qualifications specified for the State of South Australia.
Human rights implications
Right to education
The Instrument engages the right to education contained in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In particular, article 13(2)(c) states that higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.
This Instrument affects the provision of vocational education and training by broadening access to the VET FEE-HELP Assistance Scheme for eligible subsidised students to specified Certificate IV qualifications in the states of Western Australia and South Australia.
This right to education is promoted by the Instrument as the Instrument will enable continued and extended access to VET FEE-HELP assistance which will in turn expand the availability of education to eligible students.
This legislative instrument may also indirectly promote the accessibility of higher level vocational education and training by improving the integrity of the VET sector by ensuring that appropriate administrative procedures are in place.
Conclusion
This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of human rights.