Higer Education Legislation

The Government yesterday introduced the HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (No. 2) 2004 into parliament.

Attached is the hansard of Nelson's speech.
I had a quick persusal of the text of the bill and the explanatory memorandum and it seems a relatively benign housekeeping bill that puts into operation the announcements made in the 2004-5 federal budget. It also deals with some legislative matters relating to the Higher Education Support Bill forgotten in last year's mad wheeling and dealing over the Nelson package. Below is a quick provisional outline of the bills provisions.

The full bill and explantatory memorandum are on the current bills
section of the parliamentary website.

Also other remaining matter from the Nelson package, the VSU bill, is currently scheduled to be debated tomorrow morning (the last sitting day of this parliament if there is an August 7 election) but like the other times is quite likely to drop off the agenda. The bill will lapse once parliament is dissolved but can be re-introduced by the new government.

HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (No. 2) 2004

Appropriations previously Announced In 2004-5 Federal Budget
Funding amounts in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA)
under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme, Other Grants and Commonwealth
Scholarships are being adjusted to reflect the Government's (partial) indexation arrangements for 2005-07 and several previously announced Budget measures including: additional medical and nursing places, additional funds for Regional Protection under Backing Australia's Ability; funding for the Australian Maritime College for the Point Nepean initiative; and funding for the University of Western Sydney to establish a medical school. As previously mentioned the Government's paltry funding handouts are mainly focused on marginal seats.

1. Extension of the Regional Protection Scheme under Backing
Australia's Ability The Government will provide $12.4 million over four years for continued transitional assistance for regional tertiary institutions whose funding for research purposes would otherwise be reduced as the result of the application of performance-based formulae for allocating research funds. This is the continuation of funding from the 2001 Backing Australia's Ability package.

2 . New Medical and Nursing places Under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme:

• an additional 12 medical school intake places a year have been

• funding has been allocated for 400 new commencing undergraduate nursing places with a focus on aged care from 2005 (growing to 1,094 over four years) at a cost of some $33 million. This initiative was announced as part of the Investing in Australia's Aged Care: More Places, Better Care package.

3. Australian Maritime College (AMC) - Point Nepean initiative
The Bill provides for $4.9 million over four years for the Australian
Maritime College for the development of a new campus at Point Nepean, Victoria which will offer courses in marine and coastal conservation.
The AMC will receive funding under HESA through both the Commonwealth Grants Scheme and Other Grants for National Institutes. The AMC will be establishing the National Centre for Marine and Coastal Conservation at Point Nepean.

luxury hotels in Faaborg4. UWS Medical School
The Bill provides capital funding of $18 million being allocated over three years for the University of Western Sydney to establish a medical school. A proportion of the UWS medical school students may be bonded to spend a period of time after their graduation practising medicine in areas of medical workforce shortage, some of which are in Greater Western Sydney.The Commonwealth contribution is contingent on matching contributions from both the University and the NSW Government. We are still yet to see funding for actual places to allocated.

Changes to HEFA (still in place until 2005)
The Higher Education Funding Act 1998 (HEFA) is being amended to revise funding levels to reflect new overenrolment estimates for 2004, and indexation arrangements for transition funding in 2005-07.

Non-appropriation measures
These are mainly further changes to the Higher Education Support Act (the Nelson Review Bill) and associated legislation (things they forgot to do last year).

Quality and Accountability Requirements

The Government states "that the overall intent of amendments related to Part 2.1 & Chapter 6 of HESA is to strengthen protection for students and potential students by ensuring that the Commonwealth has appropriate capacity to assure accountability and regulation in institutions in which students pay to study."

The amendments will ensure that a higher education institution:

• has as its main purpose the delivery of education and/or research;

• this will ensure the financial viability of the institution can be

• this amendment also applies in Chapter 6 so that any higher

• has open, fair and transparent procedures based on merit for the

• In the case of non-Table A providers the focus of amendments mean that institutions must have comprehensive grievance procedures in place capable of addressing both academic and non-academic issues raised by students and those seeking to enrol. While non-academic procedures are already required to meet both HESA requirements and the HEP Guidelines, the amendment will ensure that grievance procedures for academic matters also meet the HEP Guidelines and HESA requirements.

Open Learning Australia (OLA)

• HESA is being amended so that OLA is subject to all necessary

• Students will be able to obtain a loan for the full amount of the

• Students will be able to defer part of their fee, not just the full fee.

• Part-time students will have access to FEE-HELP.

• Students doing postgraduate units of study will have access to FEE-HELP.

• There is no limit on the number of units for which a student can

• For students enrolling directly in units of study with OLA, the 20%

Amendment to definition of 'institution' to allow NIDA to become autonomous The Bill clarifies the definition of 'institution'. Under these arrangements, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) will apply to become a Higher Education Provider in its own right
(currently it is a company linked to UNSW). NIDA will obtain
additional revenue of around $0.6-$0.8 million a year under the new arrangements and the Government has indicated that it will amend its agreement with NIDA so that current NIDA students pay no more than under the current HECS arrangements. This could be pertinent to the current issues at Victoria College of the Arts.

Commonwealth Scholarship provisions extend to more private higher education providers with Commonwealth supported places
The Bill makes Commonwealth supported students at the private
University of Notre Dame and the Seventh Day Adventist Avondale College eligible to apply for Commonwealth Scholarships. This diminishes the number of scholarships available to students at public unis.

Australian National University Act 1991 Amendments
The Australian National University Act 1991 is being further amended that the University is able to comply with the requirements of the National Governance Protocols. The amendments in this Bill particularly relate to the position held by the Pro-Chancellor and the ability of the ANU Council to remove a member by a two-thirds majority. (Unlike other unis the ANU and the Australian Maritime College Acts are controlled by the federal government). The Act removes the definition of ex officio from the ANU Act but the presidents of the undergraduate and postgraduate associations had already been removed from the Council by last years legislation.

Download File:
hansard of Nelson's speech [ pdf ]
Contact Details
Graham Hastings
Ph:  9650 8908
research@nus.asn.au