Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 5978 together:

(1)    Schedule 1, item 2, page 4 (lines 17 to 20), omit subsection (10A), substitute:

   (10A)    Paragraph (10)(b) does not apply for the purposes of determining whether a person is to be regarded as independent for the purposes of Part 2.11, this Part or section 1070G, unless subsection (10B) or (10C) applies to the person.

(10AA)    Paragraph (10)(c) does not apply for the purposes of determining whether a person is to be regarded as independent for the purposes of Part 2.11, this Part or section 1070G, unless subsection (10B), (10BA) or (10C) applies to the person.

(2)    Schedule 1, item 2, page 4 (after line 24), after paragraph 1067A(10B), insert:

(10BA)    This subsection applies to a person if the Secretary is satisfied that the person is required to live away from home to pursue his or her chosen course of education.

(3)    Schedule 1, page 5 (after line 25), at the end of item 2, add:

   (10D)    The regulations may prescribe an audit process to enable the Secretary to verify that a person who is to be regarded as independent for the purposes of Part 2.11, this Part or section 1070G because of subsections (10AA) and (10BA) continues to meet the requirements of those subsections.

    (10E)    Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (10D) may include a requirement that such a person periodically provide relevant information to the Secretary, including evidence capable of satisfying the Secretary that the person continues to live away from home.

    (10F)    If:

             (a)    a person fails to meet a requirement prescribed by regulations made for the purpose of subsection (10D); or

             (b)    the Secretary is no longer satisfied that the person meets the requirements of subsections (10AA) and (10BA);

the Secretary may determine that the person is no longer to be regarded as independent for the purposes of Part 2.11, this Part or section 1070G because of subsections (10AA) and (10BA).

(4)    Schedule 1, item 4, page 6 (line 4), omit “, (10B)”, substitute “, (10AA), (10B), (10BA)”.

The opposition’s amendments relate clearly to recommendations that came from the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee’s report. I note Senator Nash, who chaired that report, is in the chamber now.

Opposition amendment (1) will retain the workforce participation criteria in section 1067A(10)(c), which relates to the fixed amount earned within 18 months. That will be retained so that students required to leave home to pursue higher education qualify as independent. That reflects recommendation 1 of the committee.

Opposition amendments (2) and (3) reflect recommendation 2 of the committee, relating to the auditing process to ensure that, once students have received independent youth allowance, they do not return to live at home. The Secretary of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations must be satisfied that the student is required to live away from home to pursue his or her chosen course of education. The secretary will be required to develop guidelines to establish the criteria under this legislation and enforce that legislation.

Amendment (4) is simply a consequential amendment relating to recommendation 1 of the committee. That, in a sense, is the opposition remedying the mischief created by the government’s legislation, which Senator Fielding and Senator Hanson-Young have spoken to. I repeat: that is to ensure access for people in rural and regional areas to higher education and social inclusion. That is what the Senate committee recommended, and that is what the opposition’s amendments seek to do.