EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Declaration issued under paragraph 36-35(1)(b) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training
Subject:- Higher Education Support Act 2003
Percentage of Commonwealth supported places to be provided by Table A providers for a course of study in medicine
Authority
Paragraph 36-35(1)(b) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act) requires a higher education provider to ensure that the number of Commonwealth supported places accounts for at least the percentage, declared by the Minister in writing, of the total places provided by the provider for domestic students in each course of study in medicine.
Purpose and operation
When the Australian Government announced the Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future package of reforms in 2003, it made a commitment that the maximum number of domestic full fee paying students in a course of study in medicine will be limited to 10 per cent (the 10% percent rule).
On 19 August 2004, a declaration was made under paragraph 36-35(1)(b) of the Act that the percentage of Commonwealth supported places to be provided by Table A providers (except for Griffith University) must be a least 97.5% of the total places provided by the provider for domestic students in each course of study in medicine. The figure of 97.5% was calculated as being the average proportion of Commonwealth-supported students to allow universities to enrol up to 10% of their domestic load as fee payers in their commencing intake in 2005.
Universities have the most up to date information about the number of Commonwealth supported and fee paying places they have filled in their courses and so are best placed to do the calculation needed to determine the percentage in light of the enrolment of successive intakes of fee paying students, having regard to the duration of their courses.
The existing declaration is being revoked and a new declaration made that for each provider, the percentage referred to in paragraph 36-35(1)(b) of the Act, is 90% or the percentage calculated using the formula below, whichever is the higher:
[the number of places with continuing Commonwealth supported students plus 90% of the number of domestic places with commencing students] divided by the total number of domestic places, expressed as a percentage.
All of the numbers refer to medical courses for the provider in the relevant year.
Commencement
The declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and will take effect the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Consultation
The policy of setting a ten per cent cap on the number of domestic fee paying medical places was developed as part of the Backing Australia’s Future reforms which involved extensive consultation with the sector.