States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 199
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 199
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992
States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations (Amendment)
Section 119 of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 106(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may specify 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. The Minute recommends amendments to the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations to specify the numbers for the 1996 program year in respect of recurrent and capital grants.
The amounts of recurrent and capital grants given to each State for specific purposes are set out in the Schedules for each program year and are supplemented each year to meet the cost of inflation by multiplying the amounts of the Schedules by the relevant numbers set out in the Regulations.
Recurrent grants are supplemented in line with the Average Government Schools Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index. The AGSRC index used for this purpose is based on movements in Average Government School Costs, excluding capital costs associated with the provision of buildings and grounds, and 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 the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. The latest available AGSRC is for the 1994/95 financial year.
Capital grants are supplemented by the Building Price Index (BPI) which is based on information provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Regulations provide for the recurrent grants for 1996 to be supplemented by movements in the AGSRC between the 1993/94 and 1994/95 financial years. The variation between these two years is 2.5%.
The Regulations provide for capital grants for 1996 to be supplemented by tile BPI for cost movements between December 1994 and December 1995. The variation between these two years is 2.2%.
The effect of the Regulations is to provide an additional $72.5 million in 1996 for recurrent programs. For capital grants, the cost of the movement in the BPI is $7.1 million for 1996.
The supplementation applies to both government and non-government school sectors.
Details of the Regulations are below.
Regulation 1: Amendment
Provides that the Regulations amend the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations.
Regulation 2: Regulation 3A (Cost supplementation - recurrent grants in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 program years)
Provides for a new regulation, regulation 3A, to prescribe a number in respect of the program year 1996.
Regulation 3: (Cost supplementation - capital grants)
Provides for a new regulation, regulation 4, to prescribe a number in respect of the program year 1996.
Overview
The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 199 were enacted to address the need for updating the recurrent and capital grants provided to states for primary and secondary education under the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992. This legislation was introduced to ensure that the grants would adequately reflect the cost of inflation for the 1996 program year. The amendments were made under the authority of the Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training, with a policy objective to provide supplementary funding to both government and non-government schools to meet their operational and capital costs. These supplementary grants are calculated using the Average Government Schools Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index for recurrent grants and the Building Price Index (BPI) for capital grants, ensuring that the financial support aligns with the actual cost changes in the education sector.
Scope and Application
The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 199, issued under the authority of the Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training, amends the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations to specify the numbers for the 1996 program year in relation to recurrent and capital grants. These amendments are made pursuant to section 119 of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992, which allows the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Act. The amendments are intended to supplement the amounts of recurrent and capital grants given to each state for specific educational purposes by multiplying the amounts of the Schedules by the relevant numbers set out in the Regulations. The supplementation applies to both government and non-government school sectors, and the amounts are adjusted based on the Average Government Schools Recurrent Costs index for recurrent grants and the Building Price Index for capital grants. The Regulations provide for an additional $72.5 million in 1996 for recurrent programs and $7.1 million for capital grants due to the movements in the respective indices.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 199 involve the creation and amendment of regulations under Section 119 of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 1992 (the Act). Specifically, Regulation 3A pertains to the cost supplementation for recurrent grants in the 1996 program year, and Regulation 4 pertains to the cost supplementation for capital grants in the same year. These regulations prescribe the numbers used to adjust the amounts of recurrent and capital grants for the 1996 program year. Regulation 1 is the amendment to the existing regulations, while Regulations 3A and 4 introduce new regulations to reflect the adjustments for the 1996 program year.
The obligations and requirements imposed by these Regulations on the parties involved are primarily related to the adjustment of grant amounts. The recurrent grants for 1996 are to be supplemented by movements in the Average Government Schools Recurrent Costs (AGSRC) index between the 1993/94 and 1994/95 financial years, which amounts to a 2.5% increase. Capital grants for 1996 are to be supplemented by the Building Price Index (BPI) for cost movements between December 1994 and December 1995, reflecting a 2.2% increase. This supplementation applies to both government and non-government school sectors. The adjustments are intended to ensure that the grants keep pace with inflation and other cost increases.
Any breach of the provisions of these Regulations may not necessarily result in criminal or civil consequences, as the Regulations primarily address administrative adjustments to grant amounts. However, failure to comply with these regulations could lead to the misallocation of funds or an incorrect distribution of grants, which could potentially result in administrative penalties or other corrective measures. While the Explanatory Statement does not explicitly detail maximum penalties, any significant non-compliance could be subject to review by the relevant authorities, potentially leading to financial corrections or other administrative actions to rectify the non-compliance.