David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by thanking those senators who spoke on the bill. The bill before the Senate amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to increase the maximum student contribution amount for units of study in mathematics, statistics and science. The bill removes eligibility for Commonwealth-supported places and the Higher Education Loan Program schemes for Australian citizens who will not undertake any of their course study in Australia. From 1 January 2013, all students will pay the increased maximum student contribution amount for units of study in maths and science, regardless of when they commenced their course of study.

The government believes the reduction in student contributions for maths and science that commenced for students starting a course of study from 1 January 2009 was not delivering value for money. The majority of students undertaking maths and science units in 2009 and 2010 were not enrolled in a maths or science course of study. Nor were they studying an education course. It is clear the policy was not substantially increasing the number of maths and science graduates in the workforce as intended, or improving the supply of quality maths and science teachers. Improving the supply of quality maths and science teachers is a priority for the government, which is why it announced a $54 million package in the 2012-13 budget to enhance student engagement in maths and science from primary to tertiary.

The government is removing eligibility for Commonwealth-supported places and the HELP schemes for Australian citizens who will not undertake any of their course of study in Australia. The amendment applies to Australian citizens who are living overseas on an ongoing basis. The government believes its funding priority should be to support those students who are most likely to pursue careers in Australia, repay their HELP debts and use their education to benefit Australia's workforce and economic needs. The small number of students who are not resident in Australia and who are currently enrolled in Commonwealth-supported places or who are accessing HELP will continue to be eligible for the schemes for the duration of their current course. This amendment complements last year's changes to the act, clarifying that Australian citizens are not entitled to Commonwealth support or to access HELP when they are undertaking courses of study primarily at an overseas campus.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.