EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Guidelines issued under subsection 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 11 to the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines No.1
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations
Subject: Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 11 to the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines No.1
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 2 of the table at section 238‑10 specifies that the Minister may make the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines to give effect to matters set out in Part 2-2 and section 93-10 of the Act.
Purpose and operation
The Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines No.1 commenced on 13 December 2006 and is being amended for the eleventh time.
The purpose of this amendment is to repeal the current provisions for regional loading and to give effect to the 2011-12 Budget measure by introducing new provisions for the calculation and payment of regional loading from 2012.
Explanation of amendments
Item 1 – Amendment to Chapter 1
The purpose of this amendment is to define a number of terms used in the Guidelines to facilitate readability and ease of use.
Item 2 – Amendment to Chapter 4
The purpose of this amendment is to replace Chapter 4 in its entirety. The new chapter will specify how the payment of regional loading, announced in the 2011-12 Budget, will be distributed from 2012.
Regional loading is funding paid to eligible providers for Commonwealth supported places under section 33-1(1)(b)(i) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Regional loading funding is intended to help providers offset the disparity in costs and revenue of regional campuses in comparison with major city campuses.
Originally, the regional loading was based on the distance of the campus from the closest mainland State capital city and the size of the higher education provider. From 2007 to 2011 the funding provided to each institution was based on the regional loading provided in 2006 indexed for each subsequent year. From 2012, regional loading funding will be distributed through a new formula that is transparent and responds to student demand. The new formula will target funding to regional campuses in accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ remoteness structure, which is based on access to goods and services. Funding will also be based on the student load enrolled at each regional campus, with a the minimum student load to ensure each campus has a significant physical presence.
Commencement
Amendment No. 11 to the Guidelines will take effect on 1 January 2012.
Consultation
The amendments to the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines No.1 give effect to 2011-12 Budget measures and reflect the Government’s response to the Review of Regional Loading. An external Regional Provision Reference Group was established by the Department to provide advice and guidance to the Department throughout the review.The Review involved extensive consultation with the higher education sector, including higher education providers, peak bodies, state and territory governments and other key stakeholders. The consultation involved a public submission process and face to face consultations in each state and territory. Details of the submission and the consultations are provided in the Review Final Report published on 11 May 2011. A copy of the Review Final Report, public submissions and commissioned research reports are available from the Department’s web site at http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Pages/ReviewOfRegionalLoading.aspx.
The provisions of the legislative instrument are intended to give effect to policy changes resulting from the Review of Regional Loading. On this basis consultation was not considered necessary and was not undertaken.