2008

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT (2008 BUDGET MEASURES) BILL 2008

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education the Honourable Julia Gillard MP)

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT (2008 BUDGET MEASURES) BILL 2008

OUTLINE

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to appropriate additional funding for two 2008 Budget measures known as Closing the Gap: Expansion of Intensive Literacy and Numeracy programs and Individual Learning Plans and Closing the Gap: Contribution to Indigenous Boarding Colleges as described in Budget Paper No.2 of 2008-09.  The funding provided for under this amendment is intended to cover the period from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008, but appropriations will remain available for expenditure through to 30 June 2009.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

The Bill will increase the appropriation under section 14A of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 by a net $8,353,000.This amount is subject to supplementation as prescribed in the Act. After this supplementation is applied, an additional $9,050,000 will become available to implement the measures described in the Outline to this memorandum.

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Provides that each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule and that any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms.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

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 to expand intensive literacy and numeracy programs to assist Indigenous students; to support teachers to develop individual learning plans with Indigenous students; and to build and contribute to the operations of three new boarding accommodation facilities for Indigenous secondary students in the Northern Territory as 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 $268,907,000” to “$277,260,000” to reflect this additional funding.