1998‑99

The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Presented and read a first time

Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Amendment Bill 1999

No.      , 1999

(Education, Training and Youth Affairs)

A Bill for an Act to amend the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 and the Student Assistance Act 1973

ISBN:  0642 405476

Contents
1	Short title	1
2	Commencement	1
3	Schedule(s)	2
Schedule 1—Amendment of the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989	3
Schedule 2—Amendment of the Student Assistance Act 1973	7

A Bill for an Act to amend the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989 and the Student Assistance Act 1973
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1  Short title
		This Act may be cited as the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Amendment Act 1999.
2  Commencement
		This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
3  Schedule(s)
		Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989
  
1  Section 3
Insert:
ABSTUDY approved course means a course that:
	(a)	is provided through a mixture of distance education and either or both of the following:
	(i)	residential education;
	(ii)	face‑to‑face education; and
	(b)	is provided at a VET institution or higher education institution; and
	(c)	is approved as a mixed mode away‑from‑base course under the ABSTUDY Scheme.
2  Section 3
Insert:
higher education institution means an institution within the meaning of section 4 of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988.
3  Section 3 (at the end of the definition of permitted payment)
Add:
; but does not include a payment made under Division 3 of Part 2.
4  Subsection 9A(1)
Omit “either, or both,”, substitute “any one or more”.
5  At the end of subsection 9A(1)
Add:
	; (c)	funding for an ABSTUDY approved course.
6  At the end of section 9A
Add:
	(3)	If the agreement provides for the payment of money for an ABSTUDY approved course, the amount of the payment is worked out under Division 3.
7  At the end of Part 2
Add:
Division 3—Funding for ABSTUDY approved courses
10L  Amount of payment for ABSTUDY approved courses
	(1)	The Minister may make an agreement with an education provider authorising a payment to the provider of an amount for an ABSTUDY approved course (the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course):
	(a)	that is run by the provider in the 2000 calendar year; and
	(b)	for which Indigenous students are enrolled.
	(2)	The amount of the payment must not exceed the amount worked out using the formula:

where:
number of Indigenous students means the number of Indigenous students enrolled for the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course.
unit cost means the unit cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course (see subsections (3) and (4)).
	(3)	If funding was provided in the 1998 calendar year in respect of Indigenous students enrolled for that year in ABSTUDY approved courses run by the education provider, then the unit cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course is worked out using the formula:

where:
1998 funding means the amount of funding that was provided in the 1998 calendar year in respect of Indigenous students enrolled for that year in ABSTUDY approved courses run by the education provider.
1998 number of Indigenous students means the number of Indigenous students who were enrolled for the 1998 calendar year in ABSTUDY approved courses run by the education provider.
1999 IF means the indexation factor that applies for the 1999 calendar year.
2000 IF means the indexation factor that applies for the 2000 calendar year.
	(4)	If:
	(a)	subsection (3) does not apply; or
	(b)	the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course was not an ABSTUDY approved course in 1998;
then the unit cost for the 2000 ABSTUDY approved course is the median of the unit costs that are worked out under subsection (3).
10M  Indexation of amounts
	(1)	The indexation factor for a calendar year (the current year) is worked out using the formula:

where:
index number, for a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number that is the weighted average of the 8 capital cities and is published by the Australian Statistician for that quarter.
previous June quarter means the June quarter before the recent June quarter.
recent June quarter means the June quarter in the year before the current year.
	(2)	The indexation factor worked out under subsection (1) must be rounded up or down to 3 places (rounding up in the case of exactly halfway between).
	(3)	If at any time (whether before or after the commencement of this section) the Australian Statistician has changed or changes the reference base for the Consumer Price Index, then, for the purposes of applying this section after the change, only index numbers published in terms of the new reference base are to be used.
8  After section 11
Insert:
12  Appropriations for payments made under Division 3 of Part 2
		Payments made under Division 3 of Part 2 must be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.
9  At the end of section 13B
Add:
	(8)	$126,100,000 is appropriated out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in respect of the period that starts on 1 January 2000 and ends on 30 June 2001 for the purpose of making permitted payments during that period.
10  Subsections 13C(1) and (2)
Omit “or (7)”, substitute “, (7) or (8)”.

Schedule 2—Amendment of the Student Assistance Act 1973
  
1  At the end of paragraph 55A(1)(c)
Add “, other than in relation to the away‑from‑base element of that Scheme for mixed mode study”.