Pat Farmer (Macarthur, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Science and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the supplementary memorandum to the bill and I move:

(1)    Schedule 1, page 3 (after line 8), after item 1, insert:

1A  Section 3-25

Repeal the section, substitute:

3-25  Provision of higher education in the external Territories (Chapter 6)

                 Chapter 6 primarily provides for approval of universities, self-accrediting entities and non self-accrediting entities to operate in external Territories, and for accreditation of courses of study in those Territories.

(2)    Schedule 1, item 12, page 4 (lines 23 and 24), omit the item, substitute:

12  Paragraph 19-20(b)

Omit “an authorised accreditation authority listed on the Australian Qualifications Framework Register”, substitute “a government accreditation authority”.

There were two minor technical drafting errors in schedule 1, which needed to be rectified by way of the government amendment. Section 3-25 is an information provision describing the purpose of chapter 6 on higher education in the external territories. The new item 1A will ensure that this section refers to the full range of different higher education entitlements and types of approvals which will occur under chapter 6 once the bill is passed.

Section 19-20 deals with the requirements on providers to comply with the national protocols. The amendment item 12 will correct paragraph 19-20(b) so that it refers to requirements imposed on the providers by a ‘government accreditation authority’ rather than an ‘authorised accreditation authority’. The former is the new term adopted for consistency with the new national protocols, with a definition added by item 52. The latter is the old term, which is already replaced in paragraph 19-20(a) by item 11. The omission from paragraph 19-20(b) was an oversight in the drafting. The amendment will ensure that the term is used consistently.

Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the parliamentary secretary for clarifying in the House on behalf of the minister the point in respect of overseas students and limiting that to New Zealand and some permanent visa holders. This was the advice given to my office by the minister’s office and I am pleased, as I requested it in my second reading contribution, for that to be placed on the record. Secondly, as I also indicated in my second reading contribution, the amendments before the House seem to be of a technical nature and rectify errors and omissions. As such, they are supported.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.