ATTACHMENT B
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Guidelines issued under subsection 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Subject:- Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 9 to the Other Grants Guidelines 2006
Authority
Section 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act) provides that the Minister may make guidelines for the purposes of the Act. In particular, item 8 of the table in subsection 238-10(1) of the Act states that the Minister may make the Other Grants Guidelines so as to give effect to matters set out in Part 2-3 of the Act.
Subsection 41-15(1) of the Act provides that the Other Grants Guidelines may specify one or more programmes under which grants for particular purposes specified in the table in subsection 41-10(1) are to be paid. The table in sub-section 41-10(1) lists who is eligible for various grants under Part 2-3 of the Act.
Purpose and operation
These Guidelines amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 - Other Grants Guidelines 2006 (Other Grants Guidelines 2006) registered on 22 November 2006 (see F2006L03785) and which commenced on 23 November 2006. The Guidelines amend the Other Grants Guidelines 2006 for the ninth time.
Items 1 and 2
Items 1 and 2 of these guidelines replace the references to the ‘Australian Maritime College’ (AMC) with the ‘AMC institute at the University of Tasmania’ for the purposes of National Institutes funding under item 4 of the table in subsection 41-10(1) of the Act. Under the Maritime Legislation Amendment Act 2007, the AMC became part of the University of Tasmania on 1 January 2008. National Institutes funding that was available previously to the AMC will be provided to the University of Tasmania for the AMC institute.
Items 3, 4 and 5
Items 3, 4 and 5 make changes to Chapter 1 of the Guidelines which relate to the Indigenous Support Programme (ISP). ISP provides funding to eligible higher education providers and aims to assist eligible higher education providers to meet the special needs of Indigenous Australian students and to advance the goals of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy.
The purpose of the amendments is to:
- make it clear to higher education providers that ISP funding must be used for its correct purpose; and
- make minor technical changes.
Items 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 amend paragraphs 1.20.1, 1.35.5 and 1.35.10 as follows:
- The change to 1.20.1 is a grammatical amendment which completes the statement by including the words “the provider has demonstrated…”.
- The amendments to 1.35.5 (a) I - III clarify the funding source by adding the acronym for ISP.
- The addition of 1.35.5 (b) specifies that higher education providers must make a written request of the Department to roll over unspent funds. ISP funds are granted each calendar year and this amendment clarifies that unexpended ISP funding is not an automatic carry-forward to the next year, but requires approval from the Department. Higher education providers need to specify how the unspent funds will be used, reflecting the original purpose of the funding which is to meet the special needs of Indigenous Australian students in higher education.
- The amendment at 1.35.5 (c) adds in the word “Tutorial” so that the paragraph refers to the correct name of the scheme: the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme.
- The amendment at 1.3.5.10 clarifies that the Department will provide higher education providers with a special format for the providers reporting purposes.
Item 8
Item 8 inserts new Chapter 9A of the Other Grants Guidelines. Chapter 9A sets out the requirements relevant for the Diversity and Structural Adjustment Fund (Diversity Fund), which include the purpose of the Diversity Fund, what the program objectives are, the total program funds, the allocation of the grant, which organisations are eligible for the grants and the application process.
The purpose and objective of the Diversity Fund is to promote structural reform by eligible higher education providers that supports greater specialisation among providers, more diversity in the higher education sector and better responsiveness to labour markets operating in the local or national interest.
The total funds to be allocated under the Diversity Fund will be $206 million over 4 years 2008-2011. The yearly provision will be indexed in accordance with Division 198 of Part 5-6 of the Act, as in force from time to time.
Grants are:
- allocated to meet existing funding commitments under the Diversity Fund which subsumed the Collaboration and Structural Reform Fund;
- allocated in response to proposals invited by the Department as part of the annual funding round;
- allocated in response to proposals outside the submission-based rounds that address specific priorities set by the Minister. There will be a link to these priorities on the Department’s website;
- allocated by the Minister in writing and that determination will specify the amount of the grant as well as any conditions; and
- available to Table A and Table B providers that are universities and to certain bodies corporate that are listed at 9.20.2.
Commencement
The Guidelines commence on the day after the day on which the guidelines are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Consultation
Consultation on items 1 and 2 was undertaken with the Australian Maritime College and the University of Tasmania when the Department and the former Department of Transport and Regional Services were discussing the integration of the two bodies.
Consultation on items 3, 4 and 5 was not considered necessary as the changes are for the purpose of clarity and do not alter the substance of the requirements.
Consultation on item 6 was undertaken with the higher education sector in 2007. Twelve submissions were received from the peak organisations representing the higher education sector and individual universities. The feedback covered issues relating to: terminology and definitions, the program’s objectives, key priorities, assessment criteria and contributory funding from institutions. The guidelines were amended in response to the feedback the Department received.