Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset, I thank members for their contribution to the debate on the Student Assistance Legislation Amendment Bill 2005 today, particularly the member for Maranoa. I want to start by correcting some of the assertions made by the member for Jagajaga in her speech. She suggested that, while the Howard government had closed the student financial supplementary scheme in December 2003, it had failed to provide any other sort of student income in its place. That is just not correct. The member for Jagajaga has again failed to acknowledge the government commitment of more than $400 million over five years to provide more than 43,000 scholarships for university students.

This year alone more than 22,000 students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are set to benefit from the 2006 Commonwealth learning scholarships. This year’s $68 million worth of scholarships will provide new and continuing students with support for their tertiary studies. I will break that down. There will be 5,047 new students with a $2,080 education cost scholarship, 3,531 new students with a $4,161 accommodation scholarship, 7,529 continuing students with a $2,080 education cost scholarship and 6,518 continuing students with a $4,161 accommodation scholarship.

The member for Jagajaga suggested that students were forced into work to cover their upfront fees at university, including rent and transport. I remind the honourable member that, from 1 July 2006, university students will no longer be forced to pay upfront up to $590 in student union fees. This will put $170 million back into the pockets of students to determine what services, if any, they are willing to support. Finally, I remind the honourable member that, in the financial year 2004-05, the Howard government provided more than $2 billion in income support for full-time students.

In turning to the bill, I remind the House that the purpose of this bill is to amend both the Student Assistance Act 1973, part 4A, financial supplement for tertiary students, and the Social Security Act 1991 to ensure that these acts reflect the reality that the Student Financial Supplement Scheme was closed in December 2003. Under the old Student Financial Supplement Scheme—the SFSS—the Commonwealth Bank of Australia administered SFSS loans on behalf of the Australian government. Eligible students applied to the CBA for a loan of up to $7,000 per annum. This scheme was closed administratively on 31 December 2003 and no new loans have been issued since then. However, the Student Assistance Act 1973 and the Social Security Act 1991 do not reflect this reality, so the bill will remove the provisions pertaining to the scheme from both those acts. The bill will also amend both acts to provide for the alignment of the SFSS repayment thresholds and indexation with the Higher Education Loan Program under the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The bill will also apply the definition of ‘taxable income’ used under the HELP arrangements to the SFSS. The same repayment thresholds as apply to HELP will also apply and, for the financial year 2005-06, the repayment threshold is $36,184.

SFSS loan recipients earning below the minimum threshold will continue to be exempt from a compulsory repayment through the taxation system. Alignment of the two thresholds will simplify PAYG tax rates, which will reduce complexity for business, especially small business. While these changes will result in an increase in the thresholds at which the SFSS becomes repayable, that increase will be relatively small, will not have a major impact on graduates and will make payment administratively simpler for them. The bill will amend the Student Assistance Act 1973 to insert an express provision permitting the incorporation of an instrument ‘as in force or existing from time to time’ for the purposes of section 14 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. This will eliminate the need to make new regulations under the act whenever the publication—A guide to Australian government paymentsis altered. As indicated in the replacement explanatory memorandum for the bill, the power proposed in subsection 48(2) is not intended to permit the creation, determination or variation of prescribed events by documents other than regulations. In other words, prescribed events may and will only be determined expressly in the regulations. The bill also makes minor consequential amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953. I present the replacement explanatory memorandum and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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