2008

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT (2008 MEASURES NO. 1) BILL 2008

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations the Honourable Julia Gillard MP)

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT (2008 MEASURES NO. 1) BILL 2008

OUTLINE

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to appropriate additional funding to facilitate the provision of 200 additional teachers over four years in Northern Territory Indigenous communities to assist in the education of up to 2,000 additional students of compulsory school age who are currently not enrolled in schools in the 73 communities affected by the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).

FINANCIAL IMPACT

The Bill will increase the appropriation under section 14A of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 by a net $7.162 million over the 2008 programme year (in initial 2005 prices) to support the provision of 50 additional teachers in 2008.

These amounts are subject to supplementation as prescribed in the Act.

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT (2008 MEASURES NO. 1) BILL 2008

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1 - Short title

Provides for the Act to be cited as the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Act 2008.

Clause 2 - Commencement

Provides for the Act to commence on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Clause 3 - Schedule(s)

Provides that each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule and that any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000

Item 1  Subsection 14A(1) (cell at table item 4, column headed “Starting amount”)

Amends the table in subsection 14A(1) of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 (which sets out appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments for the 2005-2008 quadrennium) to provide initial funding for 200 additional teachers over four years in Northern Territory Indigenous communities described in the Outline to this memorandum.  Item 1 has the effect of providing that the appropriation set out in table item 4 (which provides an appropriation for the period 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2009) is increased from “$261,745,000” to “$268,907,000” to reflect this additional funding.