EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education
STATUTORY RULES 1985 NO. 372
STUDENT ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Legislative authority
The Student Assistance Act 1973 (‘the Act’) 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. Sections 10 and 14 provide that approval for the grant of TEAS benefits or a Post-graduate Award is to be subject to and in accordance with the regulations, and sections 11 and 15 provide that the benefit under TEAS or an Award shall be as prescribed in the regulations.
The present Statutory Rules amend the Student Assistance Regulations (‘the Regulations’) which give effect to the Act.
Content of amendments
The present Statutory Rules make the following substantive changes to the Regulations:
(i) provide for an increase in the level of dependent child allowance payable in 1985 to a category of Post-graduate Award holders;
(ii) increase living allowance and income test levels for 1986;
(iii) abolish the separate component of the TEAS living allowance payable in lieu of family allowance;
(iv) modify the TEAS criterion for independent status on the basis of participation in the workforce;
(v) modify the concession to the TEAS income test applicable in cases where there is a fall in the income of the student’s spouse or parents;
(vi) omit references to colleges that have ceased to exist and record the change of name of a college;
(vii) vary the rate of fares allowance payable under TEAS in certain cases.
Item (i) rectifies an oversight in the implementation of a 1984 Budget decision. Item (ii) implements a 1985 Budget decision. Items (iii), (iv) and (v) implement decisions announced in the Treasurer’s Economic Statement of 14 May 1985. Item (vii) takes account of Public Service Board Determination No 51 of 1984.
Details of the proposed amendments are attached.
Commencing dates
The amendments, other than regulations 2, 11 and 12, come into operation on 1 January 1986. Regulation 2 corrects an omission in the implementation of a 1984 Budget decision and modifies accordingly the application of the Regulations in 1985. Regulations 11 and 12 are deemed to have come into effect on 1 January 1985. The retrospective changes do not adversely affect pre-existing rights.
DETAILS OF AMENDMENTS
Regulation 1 provides that regulations 3 to 10 come into operation on 1 January 1986, and that regulations 11 and 12 are deemed to have come into operation on 1 January 1985.
Regulation 2 has the effect of raising the level of the dependent child allowance payable during 1985 to Post-graduate Award holders, under paragraph 70(2)(c) of the Regulations, from $520 a year to $728 a year. This reflects a 1984 Budget decision.
Regulation 3 makes a number of changes to existing regulation 29, which defines expressions used in Part III of the Regulations.
Paragraph (a) omits the existing definition of ‘prescribed margin’ and substitutes a new definition. The effect is that the minimum level of allowance payable is now $50 a year for all students; it was formerly $300 a year for independent students and $50 a year for other students. The change follows the abolition of the separate component payable in lieu of family allowance: see amending regulation 7(f).
Paragraph (b) increases the maximum annual levels of TEAS living allowance payable at the away-from-home and independent rates from $3308 to $3821, and paragraph (c) increases the maximum annual level of TEAS living allowance payable at the at-home rate from $2048 to $2477. The new away-from-home and at-home rates have been set to include the maximum component ($273 a year) formerly payable in lieu of family allowance: see amending regulation 7(f).
Regulation 4 substitutes a new regulation 30(1) (f) to provide that a student may qualify for independent status under TEAS on the basis of participation in the workforce for 104 weeks (2 years) out of the last 156 weeks (3 years), and not out of the last 260 weeks (5 years) as formerly provided. It also clarifies that a student should qualify as independent on this basis only if he or she so requests.
Regulation 5 amends existing regulation 41, which determines the living allowance payable under TEAS for students of independent status.
Paragraphs (a) and (c) make drafting changes consequential on the amendments effected by amending regulation 3.
Paragraph (b) raises the threshold for the test on the spouse’s income from $14,281 to $14,995.
Paragraph (d) raises the dependent child allowance from $14 a week to $16 a week.
Paragraph (e) omits sub-regulations (6B) and (6C). These provisions are substantially repeated in the proposed new regulation 41B, inserted by amending regulation 6.
Regulation 6 repeals regulation 41A and inserts new regulations 41A and 41B.
The new regulation 41A replaces regulation 41A, which allowed for a modification of the normal application of the income
test to the spouse’s income in the financial year preceding the year of study. Under the former regulation 41A, the income test was applied to the spouse’s income in the financial year ending in the year of study where the spouse’s income fell before the year of study, or to the spouse’s income in the financial year commencing in the year of study where the fall occurred during the year of study. The new regulation 41A enables the income test to be applied to the financial year ending in the year of study whether the fall occurs before the year of study or in the first half of the year of study.
The new regulation 41B repeats the provisions of former sub-regulations 41(6B) and (6C), which required that the separation of a student and spouse continue for at least six months to be taken into account for TEAS. Regulation 41B clarifies that these provisions modify the application of regulation 41A, as well as regulation 41.
Regulation 7 amends existing regulation 42, which determines the living allowance payable under TEAS for students who do not qualify for independent status.
Paragraph (a) makes an amendment consequential on the amendment to be made by paragraph (f). Paragraphs (b) and (d) make amendments consequential on the amendments to be effected by regulations 8 and 9.
Paragraph (c) raises the threshold for the test on the parental income from $14,281 to $14,995.
Paragraph (e) raises the dependent child allowance from $14 a week to $16 a week.
Paragraph (f) omits existing sub-regulations (19), (20) and (21), which provide for the payment of an additional living allowance component in lieu of family allowance.
Regulation 8 inserts new regulations 42A and 42B, which modify the operation of the income test for students who do not qualify for independent status (provided for by regulation 42).
The new regulation 42A replaces the former regulations 46 an 46A, which modified the normal application of the income test to parental income in the financial year preceding the year of study. Regulation 46 enabled the income test to be applied to the financial year ending in the year of study where there was a fall in parental income before the year of study. Regulation 46A enabled it to apply to the financial year commencing in the year of study where the fall occurred during the year of study. Under the new regulation 42A, the income test may be applied to the financial year ending in the year of study, whether the fall occurs before the year of study or in the first half of the year of study.
The new regulation 42B repeats the provisions of former regulation 46B, which required that the separation of a student’s parents should continue for at least six months to be taken into account for TEAS purposes. The new regulation clarifies that these provisions apply to the concession to the income test (see new regulation 42A), as well as to the income test itself (see regulation 42).
Regulation 9 repeals regulations 46 and 46A, which are replaced by a new regulation 42A (inserted by amending regulation 8).
Regulation 10 amends existing regulation 70, which determines the living allowances payable under a Post-graduate Award, by:
• raising the basic annual living allowance for an Award holder from $7616 to $8126;
• raising the basic annual living allowance for an Award holder with a dependent spouse from $9836.40 to $10,346.40;
• raising the annual dependent child allowance from $728 to $832.
Regulation 11 amends Schedule 3, which lists various educational institutions that are to be treated as technical colleges. It omits references to various secretarial colleges that have ceased to exist, and takes account of the change of name of one college (Central Coast Secretarial College, which has changed its name to ‘Passmore’s Business College’).
Regulation 12 amends Schedule 6, which sets the rates of fares allowance payable under TEAS for cases where the motor vehicle allowance for Australian Public Service officers is payable.