EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 171
STUDENT ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education and Youth Affairs
The Student Assistance Act 1973 provides legislative authority for the Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme (TEAS) and for Post-graduate Awards. Section 36 of the Act empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
The present Statutory Rules make amendments to the Student Assistance Regulations that are consequential on amendments made to the Student Assistance Act by the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 1) Act 1984. The amendments made by the Statute Law Act concerned the review procedures for decisions made under the Student Assistance Act and in the main implemented recommendations made by the Administrative Review Council in its report on the Student Assistance Review Tribunals (SARTs).
Regulation 1 determines 1 August 1984 as the day on which the amendments made by the Statutory Rules take effect. This is the day on which the amendments to the Student Assistance Act take effect.
Regulation 2 concerns an amendment to existing regulation 79, which requires notice of SART hearings to be given to the
parties to the proceedings. Sub-regulation 2(1) amends regulation 79 to require that 14 days’ notice is to be given, rather than 7 days as was formerly prescribed. Sub-regulation 2(2) provides that sub-regulation 2(1) will not apply to proceedings where a reconsideration of the relevant decision was requested before 1 August 1984, when the new Statutory Rules took effect. This reflects the transitional arrangement provided for by sub-sections 6(1) and (2) of the Statute Law Act.
Regulation 3 makes the amendments set out in the Schedule to the Statutory Rules. These cover the following drafting changes:
(i) “Student assistance to which the Act applies” is changed to “student assistance”, consequential on the drafting change made to section 5 of the Student Assistance Act by the Statute Law Act. (See amendments to regulations 41(3A), 42(9), 51(2), 70(7), 74(6), amendment (b) to regulation 87(1), amendments to regulations 91(b), 92(1).)
(ii) “Chairman” (of a SART) is changed to “Chairperson”, consequential on the same change made to section 17(1) and other provisions of the Student Assistance Act. (See amendment (b) of regulation 77, amendments of regulations 78(2), 79.)
(iii) In addition to the amendments referred to in (ii) above, the opportunity has been taken to remove sexist language from regulations 77 and 87. (See amendment (a) of regulation 77, amendment (a) of regulation 87(1).)