States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance 1997-2000) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1) 2000 No. 303
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 303
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance 1997-2000) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1)
Section 91 of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 78(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may state for a particular program year, numbers to be used for the variation of amounts of recurrent and capital grants, respectively, specified in Schedules in relation to that year.
Subsection 78(1A) of the Act provides that before the Governor-General makes regulations, the Minister must take into consideration changes in the amount known as the Average Government School Costs (AGSC) published from time to time by the Ministerial Council of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).
Subsection 78(1B) of the Act provides that before the Governor-General makes regulations, the Minister must take into consideration changes in the Building Price Index published from time to time by the Australian Statistician.
The Regulations amend the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations 1997 to specify numbers for the 2000 programme year in respect of recurrent grants and for the 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 programme years in respect of capital grants.
The amounts of recurrent and capital grants to be provided to States for specific purposes are set out in the Schedules for each program year and are to be supplemented each year to meet the costs of inflation by multiplying the amounts in the Schedules by the relevant numbers set out in the regulations. Supplementation applies to programmes for both government and non-government schools.
Recurrent grants are supplemented in line with the Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index. The AGSRC index used for this purpose is based on movements in AGSC excluding. capital costs associated with the provision of buildings and grounds, with modifications for one-off costs such as redundancy payments and the exclusion of the Commonwealth's own outlays. The AGSRC. data is maintained by MCEETYA. The latest available data is for the 1998-99 financial year.
Capital grants are supplemented by the Building Price Index (BPI) using data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Regulations provide for recurrent grants for 2000 to be supplemented for the movement in the AGSRC index between the 1997-98 and 1998-99 financial years of 7.4%. Capital grants for 2000 are to be supplemented by the BPI for cost movements between December 1998 and December 1999 of 1.1%. This results in a 'recurrent grants number' of 1.133 and a 'capital grants number' of 1.032, as determined by the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs after considering the above changes in the AGSC and the BPI.
The Regulations provide an additional $300.3 million in 2000 over the legislated amounts for the recurrent programmes and $3.4 million in 2000 for the capital grants program.
The Regulations commenced on the date of Gazettal.
Details of the Regulations are attached.
Overview
The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance 1997-2000) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1) were enacted to address the need for adjustments to the amounts of recurrent and capital grants provided to states under the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996, in light of changes in educational costs and building prices. The regulations were authorised by the Parliament of Australia and made under the authority of the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs. The primary policy objective was to ensure that the grants kept pace with inflation and other cost changes, thereby maintaining the financial support for primary and secondary education in line with actual cost increases. This was achieved by supplementing the grants with specific indices: the Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index for recurrent grants and the Building Price Index (BPI) for capital grants. The adjustments were made to reflect the changes in these indices between specific financial years, ensuring that the financial assistance provided remained relevant and effective.
Scope and Application
The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance 1997-2000) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1) applies to the implementation of recurrent and capital grants for primary and secondary education assistance within Australia, as governed by the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996. The Act and the associated regulations pertain to the Commonwealth government's financial support for educational institutions across the nation, aiming to ensure that both government and non-government schools receive adequate funding to meet educational needs. The regulations specifically target the financial years 2000 to 2003, with adjustments made to grant amounts to account for inflation, utilising the Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index for recurrent grants and the Building Price Index (BPI) for capital grants. The amendments are made under the authority provided by section 91 of the Act and are intended to reflect the most recent economic data, ensuring that the financial support provided is current and relevant. The geographic reach of these regulations is national, applying to all states and territories within Australia. The Regulations commenced on the date of their publication in the Gazette.
Key Provisions
The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance 1997-2000) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 1) (the Regulations) primarily amend the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations 1997 by specifying the numbers for the variation of amounts of recurrent and capital grants for the program years 2000 to 2003. These numbers are used to supplement the amounts set out in the Schedules for each program year to account for inflation (sections 1-3). The supplementation for recurrent grants is determined using the Average Government School Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index, while for capital grants, the Building Price Index (BPI) is used. The AGSRC index, excluding capital costs and one-off costs, is based on the Average Government School Costs (AGSC) published by the Ministerial Council of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), and the BPI is based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (subsections 78(1) and 78(1A)-78(1B) of the Act).
The Regulations impose obligations on the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs to consider changes in the AGSC and the BPI before making the regulations (subsections 78(1A) and 78(1B) of the Act). This means that the Minister must assess the latest available data on educational costs and building prices to determine the appropriate supplementation factors for the grants. These factors are then used to calculate the 'recurrent grants number' and 'capital grants number', which are specified in the Regulations. By doing so, the Minister ensures that the grants provided to states are adjusted to reflect the actual costs of providing education and building infrastructure over time.
Failure to comply with the Regulations could lead to financial discrepancies and potentially result in legal consequences. While the Regulations themselves do not explicitly state penalties for non-compliance, breaches of the underlying Act or related legislation could lead to civil or criminal penalties. For instance, under section 91 of the Act, the Minister may face legal action for not adhering to the prescribed processes for making regulations. Additionally, the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1996 may provide for specific offences and penalties, such as fines or imprisonment, for non-compliance with its provisions. The precise penalties would depend on the specific breach and relevant laws governing educational funding and administration.