EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Finance
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment
(Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026
The Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997 (the FFSP Act) confers on the Commonwealth, in certain circumstances, powers to make arrangements under which money can be spent; or to make grants of financial assistance; and to form, or otherwise be involved in, companies. The arrangements, grants, programs and companies (or classes of arrangements or grants in relation to which the powers are conferred) are specified in the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Regulations 1997 (the Principal Regulations). The powers in the FFSP Act to make, vary or administer arrangements or grants may be exercised on behalf of the Commonwealth by Ministers and the accountable authorities of non‑corporate Commonwealth entities, as defined under section 12 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
The Principal Regulations are exempt from sunsetting under section 12 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015 (item 28A). If the Principal Regulations were subject to the sunsetting regime under the Legislation Act 2003, this would generate uncertainty about the continuing operation of existing contracts and funding agreements between the Commonwealth and third parties (particularly those extending beyond 10 years), as well as the Commonwealth’s legislative authority to continue making, varying or administering arrangements, grants and programs.
Additionally, the Principal Regulations authorise a number of activities that form part of intergovernmental schemes. It would not be appropriate for the Commonwealth to unilaterally sunset an instrument that provides authority for Commonwealth funding for activities that are underpinned by an intergovernmental arrangement. To ensure that the Principal Regulations continue to reflect government priorities and remain up to date, the Principal Regulations are subject to periodic review to identify and repeal items that are redundant or no longer required.
Section 32B of the FFSP Act authorises the Commonwealth to make, vary and administer arrangements and grants specified in the Principal Regulations. Section 32B also authorises the Commonwealth to make, vary and administer arrangements for the purposes of programs specified in the Principal Regulations. Section 32D of the FFSP Act confers powers of delegation on Ministers and the accountable authorities of non-corporate Commonwealth entities, including subsection 32B(1) of the FFSP Act. Schedule 1AA and Schedule 1AB to the Principal Regulations specify the arrangements, grants and programs.
Section 65 of the FFSP Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the FFSP Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the FFSP Act.
The Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) amend Schedule 1AB to the Principal Regulations to establish legislative authority for government spending on the Anti-bullying Additional Measures program (the program). The program will be administered by the Department of Education.
The program aims to support and prepare school communities for the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review (the Review) recommendations and implementation. The Review highlights the need for a shared understanding, clear expectations and whole-school approaches that embed common rules and positive behaviour messaging across school culture and practices.
The program will focus on increasing awareness of the Review and supporting school communities in preparing for upcoming implementation activities. This will involve
non-campaign communications that reinforce anti-bullying messages and promote national expectations for addressing bullying in Australian schools. Delivery will include establishing an appropriate, dedicated online space, providing a central access point and serving as a
long-term platform for anti-bullying initiatives. The program will also include resources to promote the Review and support whole-of-school community understanding and expectations, providing a staged introduction ahead of delivery of the anti-bullying campaign and resources.
Funding of $1.0 million in 2025-26 will enable the implementation of additional measures to increase awareness of the Review and support successful reform implementation.
Details of the Regulations are set out at Attachment A. A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment B.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
The Regulations commence on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Consultation
In accordance with section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003, consultation has taken place with the Department of Education.
Attachment A
Details of the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment
(Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the title of the Regulations is the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Regulations commence on the day after registration 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 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Regulations 1997
The item in Schedule 1 amends Schedule 1AB to the Principal Regulations to establish legislative authority for government spending on an activity to be administered by the Department of Education (the department).
Item 1 – In the appropriate position in Part 4 of Schedule 1AB (table)
This item adds one new table item to Part 4 of Schedule 1AB.
Table item 774 – Anti-bullying Additional Measures
New table item 774 establishes legislative authority for government spending on the
Anti-bullying Additional Measures program (the program).
The program will directly support and prepare school communities for implementation of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review (the Review) recommendations. The Review was announced in February 2025 to examine what is working to prevent and address bullying in Australian schools and what needs strengthening.
The Review Final Report (www.education.gov.au/antibullying-rapid-review/
resources/final-report-antibullying-rapid-review) includes eight recommendations that aim to ensure that Australian schools are safe, inclusive, and respectful environments where bullying and other harmful behaviours are not accepted.
Australia’s schooling system is committed to providing positive learning environments and supporting the safety and wellbeing of students. Bullying behaviours, including harmful antecedent behaviours are increasingly impacting these core goals. In October 2025, Education Ministers agreed to the recommendations from the Review and asked their departments to work together to develop an implementation plan.
The Review highlighted the need for a shared understanding, clear expectations and
whole-of-school approaches that embed common expectations and positive behaviour messaging across school cultures and practices. With changes to the cyber-safety and
anti-bullying policy landscapes, notably the Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) restrictions, the Review and consequent current and upcoming impacts on the school environment, it is critical school communities are prepared and supported. Providing students, parents, carers and school staff with resources from a national level will support a shared understanding, clear expectations and help support student wellbeing as implementation commences.
The work to tackle bullying, including cyberbullying in schools, sits alongside the Tackling Bullying and Harmful Behaviours program and the SMMA legislation and reforms. The SMMA restriction requires age restricted social media platforms to prevent Australians under 16 years from having accounts. This includes TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X, YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Threads and Reddit. The legislation reflects Australians’ expectations for a strong regulatory response to harms experienced by children and young people on social media platforms, including problematic use, social isolation, poor mental health, and exposure to harmful content.
The program will lay the foundation for, and complement, the anti-bullying campaign and targeted resources for schools and communities to be delivered from May 2026 onwards. This approach will enable a timely and effective government response to the Review, support successful reform implementation and facilitate change management so that targeted actions can commence from May 2026 in line with the anti-bullying campaign and targeted resources.
Under the program, measures will focus on raising awareness of the Review, promoting its findings and recommendations, and preparing schools for upcoming implementation. This will include non‑campaign communication to build understanding and engagement across the whole‑of‑school community, and to provide a staged introduction ahead of the formal anti‑bullying campaign and resource rollout. Measures may include targeted webinars for parents, carers, teachers, school leaders and other school staff to outline anticipated changes and support readiness for implementation.
The measures will be implemented in consultation with relevant stakeholders and supported by the establishment of an appropriate, dedicated online space, providing a central access point and serving as a long-term platform for anti-bullying initiatives. The website will host factsheets, videos and other resources, and will be progressively expanded as additional materials are developed from May onwards. Promotional activity on these initiatives to schools will be coordinated through jurisdictional and non-government education authorities as part of the department’s engagement activities in early to mid-2026.
Funding amount and arrangements, merits review and consultation
Funding of $1.0 million in 2025-26 for this item will come from Program 1.5: Early Learning and Schools Support, which is part of Outcome 1. Details are set out in the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2025-26, Education Portfolio at pages 36-37.
The department will deliver the additional measures through a procurement process. Procurement decisions will be made in accordance with the Commonwealth resource management framework, including the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
Limited approach to market processes will be undertaken for the development of the resources, including the proposed webinars, with decisions on expenditure made by a delegate of the Secretary of the department in accordance with the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997. The delegate will be a Senior Executive Service officer responsible for the program with appropriate skills and experience to perform this function.
The department follows the standard procurement process to issue a work order for each supplier, including issuing a request for quote, evaluation, and delegate approval before engaging each supplier. An evaluation plan is required for all procurements over $10,000 (GST inclusive). The procurement process evaluation will be undertaken in accordance with the methodology set out in the approach to market documentation and the evaluation plan and in line with the department’s procurement guidance. All contract information for providers will be published on AusTender following the procurement process (www.tenders.gov.au).
Independent merits review will not be available for the program. The expenditure decision, once made, will be final and not subject to merits review. This expenditure involves an allocation of a finite resource to providers. Review (and potential change) of the decision would affect an allocation that has already been made and impede timely and effective implementation of the program. The Administrative Review Council has recognised that it is justifiable to exclude merits review in relation to decisions of this nature (see paragraphs 4.11 to 4.17 of the guide, What decisions should be subject to merits review?).
The program responds to the Review findings, which were informed by extensive consultation by the expert co-chairs, including:
- over 1,700 submissions including from students, families, teachers, and organisations;
- 115 consultations with more than 610 participants; and
- input from a reference group of parents, principals, unions, agencies, academics, and peak bodies.
This extensive consultation identified national priority areas that underpinned the Review’s recommendations, including the need to establish national expectations for all Australian schools and to strengthen schools’ capacity to prevent and respond to bullying. The Review emphasised the importance of a whole‑of‑school approach, with shared expectations and active involvement from the entire school community. It also highlighted the need to ensure that school communities have access to clear information and meaningful opportunities to support and contribute to anti‑bullying initiatives. Key concerns raised and takeaways from the consultation process are captured in the “What the Review Heard” section and throughout the Final Report.
The department has consulted across Commonwealth agencies and with states and territories regarding Review recommendations. Education Ministers agreed to all eight recommendations from the Review in October 2025, including recommendation 1 to ‘set a National Standard for every Australian school to be a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment’. Further consultation will occur with relevant stakeholders in implementing the measures to ensure messaging is appropriately framed and not duplicative.
An external provider with appropriate expertise will be engaged to develop the resources in consultation with key stakeholders. An external provider with appropriate expertise will also be engaged to build the website. State and territory governments and non-government school sectors will also be engaged to ensure the communications are available nationally.
Constitutional considerations
Noting that it is not a comprehensive statement of relevant constitutional considerations, the objective of the item references the external affairs power (section 51(xxix)) of the Constitution.
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 implementing Australia’s international obligations under treaties to which it is a party.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Australia has obligations relating to access to education and quality of education under Articles 18(2) and 29(1), read with Article 4, of the CRC.
Article 4 of the CRC obliges Australia to take appropriate measures to implement the rights recognised by the CRC. This includes the rights recognised in Articles 18 and 29 of the CRC.
Article 18(2) of the CRC provides that States Parties should render ‘appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children’.
Article 29(1) of the CRC provides that States Parties agree the education of the child shall be directed to:
- the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
- the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
- the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own;
- the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin.
The objectives of the program are to fund communication activities focused on promoting the national expectations on preventing and addressing bullying in Australian schools, resources to promote the Review and support whole-of-school community understanding and preparing school communities for upcoming implementation. The Review set eight recommendations to help ensure that Australian schools are safe, inclusive and respectful learning environments. The Review report also highlighted the importance of whole-of-school approaches to preventing and addressing bullying and other harmful behaviours and the need for further actions to empower and equip school communities to work together to prevent and address these issues.
The program will support implementation of the Review’s recommendations by providing students, parents and carers, and school staff with resources that support a shared understanding of the Review’s recommendations and findings and support school communities to prepare for anti-bullying reforms. This will in turn support whole-of-school understandings of bullying, and other harmful behaviours, and how to address bullying.
Attachment B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026
This disallowable 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
Section 32B of the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997 (the FFSP Act) authorises the Commonwealth to make, vary and administer arrangements and grants specified in the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Regulations 1997 (the Principal Regulations) and to make, vary and administer arrangements and grants for the purposes of programs specified in the Regulations. Schedule 1AA and Schedule 1AB to the Principal Regulations specify the arrangements, grants and programs. The powers in the FFSP Act to make, vary or administer arrangements or grants may be exercised on behalf of the Commonwealth by Ministers and the accountable authorities of non‑corporate Commonwealth entities, as defined under section 12 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
The Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Education Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) amend Schedule 1AB to the Principal Regulations to establish legislative authority for government spending on the Anti-bullying Additional Measures program (the program). The program will be administered by the Department of Education.
The program aims to support and prepare school communities for the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review (the Review) recommendations and implementation. The Review highlights the need for a shared understanding, clear expectations and whole-school approaches that embed common messaging across school culture and practices.
The program measures will focus on increasing awareness of the Review and supporting school communities in preparing for upcoming implementation activities. This will involve non-campaign communications that reinforce anti-bullying messages and promote national expectations for addressing bullying in Australian schools. Delivery will include establishing an appropriate, dedicated online space, providing a central access point and serving as a long-term platform for anti-bullying initiatives. The program will also include resources to promote the Review and support whole-of-school community understanding and expectations, providing a staged introduction ahead of delivery of the anti-bullying campaign and resources.
Funding of $1.0 million in 2025-26 will enable the implementation of additional measures to increase awareness of the Review and support successful reform implementation.
Human rights implications
This disallowable legislative instrument engages the right to education – Articles 18 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), read with Article 4.
Article 4 of the CRC obliges Australia to take appropriate measures to implement the rights recognised by the CRC. This includes the rights recognised in Articles 18(2) and 29(1) of the CRC.
Article 18(2) of the CRC provides that States Parties should render ‘appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children’.
Under Article 29(1) of the CRC, the education of the child shall be directed to:
- the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
- the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
- the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own;
- the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin.
This disallowable legislative instrument promotes the right to education. It will enable funding of activities focused on wellbeing, safety and inclusion messaging and resources to promote the Review findings and support whole-of-school community understanding and expectations. The program will support implementation of the Review’s recommendations by providing students, parents and carers, and school staff with resources and messages that support a shared understanding of the Review and whole-of-school expectations.
The program supports Article 18(2) by assisting parents and carers through resources which focus on student wellbeing, respect and inclusion. The program further supports Article 29(1) by providing students with resources and messages in respect to preventing and addressing bullying and other harmful behaviours, thereby developing a child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. This assists Australia to meet the above obligations.
Conclusion
This disallowable legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it promotes the protection of human rights.
Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher
Minister for Finance