EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training
Subject: Higher Education Support Act 2003
Administration Guidelines
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, section 238-10 specifies that the Minister may make Administration Guidelines to give effect to matters set out in Chapter 5 of the Act.
The Administration Guidelines commenced on 30 June 2004, the date of gazettal. On 10 August 2004, Chapter 2 of those guidelines was updated to incorporate two new sections, 2.5.17 and 2.10.7, and a new version of those guidelines was made. An amendment to those guidelines was made on 19 August 2004 to extend the publishing date for an EFTSL value for a unit of study to 1 October of the year prior to the commencement of that unit of study.
These Guidelines consolidate all versions of the guidelines and amendments. They also revoke all Administration Guidelines previously made.
The Administration Guidelines are comprised of six chapters and each chapter serves the following purposes.
The Introduction chapter outlines the purpose of the guidelines and lists terms that appear in the Act.
The chapter on the Notice to Students sets out the information that must be given by higher education providers in the notice to students, called the Commonwealth Assistance Notice, and defines the period within which the notice must be given to students.
The chapter on Other Requirements for Work Experience in Industry specifies the other requirements that must be met in order for work to be considered work experience in industry under the Act.
The chapter on Determining Exemption for Work Experience in Industry specifies the circumstances where students are exempt from payment of student contribution amounts and tuition fees for units of study that wholly consist of work experience in industry.
The chapter on Publication Requirements for Census Dates and EFTSL Values specifies the publication requirements for higher education providers in relation to the census dates and EFTSL values for units of study.
The chapter on Electronic Communication sets out the requirements relating to information systems that may be used by students to give to their higher education provider documents that the students are required or permitted to give under the Act; methods that may be used by students to identify themselves, and indicate their approval of documents, in connection with documents that are required to be signed by students and given to a higher education provider; and higher education providers providing students with access to information systems that higher education providers use to give students notices.