EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 246
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training
Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004
Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
The Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 (the Act) provides for financial assistance to the States and Territories for government and non‑government schools for the 2005-2008 funding quadrennium.
Section 140 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The purpose of the Regulations was to re-make regulation 4.3 of the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Regulations 2005 (which was made under section 125 of the Act) under section 123A of the Act. Regulation 4.3 relates to changes to recurrent grants, in particular to ‘guarantee amounts’.
Section 125 of the Act currently allows regulations to be made to vary the guarantee amounts for the recurrent costs of grants for literacy, numeracy and special learning needs. The guarantee amounts for a particular program year are set out in the table in Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Act. This approach ensures that Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs programme funding recipients are not disadvantaged by changes in the mechanisms by which funding is allocated for the 2005-2008 quadrennium.
Items 21 and 22 of Schedule 1 to the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Act 2006 provide for regulation-making power to be moved to new section 123A and for the repeal of section 125. These two items commenced six months after Royal Assent on 7 October 2006.
The Regulations maintain the dollar amounts prescribed for the purposes of new subsection 123A(1) with those amounts in the previous regulations under section 125.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Regulations commenced on 7 October 2006.
Consultation was not undertaken prior to making the regulations as it was not considered necessary. The Regulations are to replace existing regulations before they are repealed.
Overview
The Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 was enacted to provide financial assistance to the states and territories for government and non-government schools for the 2005-2008 funding quadrennium. This legislation was designed to ensure equitable funding for schools across Australia, addressing the gap in financial support mechanisms for literacy, numeracy, and special learning needs programs. The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament, with the policy objective of enhancing educational outcomes by providing consistent and reliable funding. The Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1), issued under the authority of the Minister for Education, Science and Training, were introduced to re-make regulation 4.3 of the original regulations, ensuring that the guarantee amounts for recurrent grants remain unchanged. This amendment aimed to maintain the integrity of the funding allocations and prevent any disadvantage to the recipients of literacy, numeracy, and special learning needs programs.
Scope and Application
The Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 provides financial assistance to states and territories for both government and non-government schools, covering the 2005-2008 funding period. The Act applies to all educational institutions within Australia that are eligible for funding under this scheme, encompassing a broad range of entities including primary, secondary, and special education schools across various sectors. Its jurisdictional reach is national, as it applies to all states and territories in Australia, thereby ensuring a uniform approach to educational funding across the country. The Act does not explicitly outline exclusions or thresholds, but the eligibility criteria for funding are defined within its provisions and subsequent regulations. Notably, the Act has been amended to shift certain regulatory powers, such as those concerning recurrent grants for literacy, numeracy, and special learning needs, from section 125 to section 123A. These amendments are operationalised through the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1), which were made under section 140 of the Act, and they maintain the existing guarantee amounts to avoid disadvantaging funding recipients during the transition.
Key Provisions
The Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) focus primarily on ensuring the continued and uninterrupted financial support for literacy, numeracy, and special learning needs programs in schools across Australia. Section 123A of the Act, which was introduced through the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Act 2006, provides the legislative basis for these regulations. These regulations maintain the guarantee amounts for recurrent costs for these specific educational programs as outlined in the Act's Schedule 9, ensuring that the funding recipients are not affected by changes in the funding mechanisms for the 2005-2008 quadrennium.
Under the new regulations, the guarantee amounts for recurrent grants related to literacy, numeracy, and special learning needs remain consistent with those specified in the previous regulations made under section 125 of the Act. This approach was taken to avoid any disruption in funding for these critical educational programs. The regulations aim to ensure that schools, both government and non-government, continue to receive the necessary financial support to meet their educational needs without any adverse impact due to changes in the regulatory framework.
These regulations impose specific obligations on the entities involved in the allocation and receipt of these funds. Educational institutions and funding bodies must adhere to the prescribed guarantee amounts for the specified programs. The primary requirement is to ensure that the funding provided aligns with the amounts set out in the regulations, thereby maintaining the integrity and purpose of the funding mechanism. This includes ensuring transparency in the application and distribution of funds to avoid any potential shortfall or over-allocation.
Failure to comply with the provisions of these regulations could result in legal consequences for the entities involved. Although specific penalties are not detailed in the explanatory statement, breaches of regulations related to financial assistance and educational funding can typically lead to civil or administrative penalties, including financial penalties or the requirement to repay misallocated funds. The regulations underscore the importance of accurate and timely adherence to the prescribed funding amounts to uphold the intended objectives of the Act.