EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Guidelines made under subsection 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 5 to the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training
Subject: Higher Education Support Act 2003
Amendment No. 5 to the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines
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, 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 of the Act.
Purpose and effect
The Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines commenced on 2 June 2004, and were amended on 5 November 2004, 2 December 2004, 13 May 2005 and on 27 September 2005 and are now being amended for a fifth time. The guidelines serve a number of purposes.
Chapter 7 – Increases in assistance for higher education providers meeting certain requirements sets out the requirements known as National Governance Protocols that higher education providers eligible for grants under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme need to satisfy under paragraph 33-15(1)(a) of the Act. Chapter 7 also sets out the date by which higher education providers must meet these requirements, and the date by which providers must meet the workplace relations requirements under paragraph 33-15(1)(b) of the Act.
This amendment revises Chapter 7 of the guidelines. The amendment provides for the inclusion of requirements to be known as the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs) which higher education providers must meet, as well as the National Governance Protocols, in order to receive an increase in a basic grant amount paid under the Act. The requirements must be met in workplace agreements made and approved or certified after 29 April 2005, and in a higher education provider’s workplace policies and practices.
There is no retrospective application of the HEWRRs. The reference in the guidelines to 29 April 2005 is:
a) for identification of those higher education providers required to have their workplace agreements compliant with the HEWRRs on or before 30 November 2005; and
b) identification of those employees who must be offered Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) in order for a higher education provider to be compliant with the HEWRRs in 2005 (those employees being new employees engaged after 29 April 2005 for a period longer than a month).
The HEWRRs were jointly announced by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Brendan Nelson MP, and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Kevin Andrews MP on 29 April 2005. The draft HEWRRs have been publicly available since that date.
The HEWRRs cover Choice in Agreement Making, Direct Relationships with Employees, Workplace Flexibility, Productivity and Performance, and Freedom of Association. An additional clause (clause 7.30.1) inserts the compliance date for meeting the HEWRRs for the 2006 grant year, 30 November 2005, and for later grant years, 31 August of the preceding year. The dates for meeting previous workplace relations requirements have been removed from the table in clause 7.15.1 which contains compliance dates for the National Governance Protocols.
To be compliant with the HEWRRs, higher education providers must offer AWAs to employees. Higher education providers’ workplace agreements, policies and practices must:
- provide for direct consultation between employees and the employer on workplace relations and human resource matters;
- facilitate and promote fair and flexible working arrangements;
- support organisational productivity and performance; and
- be consistent with freedom of association principles.
Consultation
The draft guidelines (including the draft HEWRRs) were sent for comments to peak bodies in the higher education sector. This included the Australian Vice-Chancellor’s Committee and the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association. Following this, the draft guidelines were sent to all higher education providers through the Backing Australia’s Future newsletter.
Commencement
The guidelines commence the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.