Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (UP-FRONT PAYMENTS TUITION PROTECTION) BILL 2020

The Education Legislation Amendment (Up-front Payments Tuition Protection) Bill 2020 expands Australia's unique and successful Tuition Protection Service (TPS) to cover domestic higher education students who pay their study costs up front. This will ensure that higher education students receive the same high quality Government-backed tuition protection regardless of whether they pay up front or access a HELP loan for their study costs.

These new tuition protection arrangements will ensure that domestic higher education students who pay for their study costs up-front are supported if their private higher education provider stops teaching or closes entirely. Students protected under these new arrangements will be assisted to complete their studies in a similar course with another provider and gain their qualification, or they may receive a refund for tuition payments they had made for those units of study which were not fully delivered by their provider.

The TPS successfully delivers tuition protection for international students and domestic students who receive Commonwealth assistance in the form of a HELP or VSL loan to support their studies. The TPS is a well respected and proven model and contributes to the strong reputation of Australia's international education sector. The expansion of the TPS to include domestic higher education students who pay tuition fees for their studies up front contributes to the Government's ongoing commitment to safeguard the integrity and quality of Australia's higher education sector.

The Bill also provides that from 1 January 2021, the new tuition protection arrangements will:

Higher Education Support Act 2003

In 2019, a number of providers and the peak bodies who represent the sector provided feedback to the Senate Enquiry to the Education Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2019 (which is now enacted), seeking the extension of the TPS to higher education students who pay their study costs up front. Private higher education providers will also no longer be required to maintain separate burdensome and costly assurance arrangements for these up-front paying students.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and its impacts on the higher education sector, these new tuition protection arrangements provide an additional measure of assurance to domestic up-front fee paying students that they will be assisted in the event that their provider closes or stops teaching a course from 2021. These arrangements will encourage people to invest in their education and gain a qualification, knowing that they will be protected by Government-backed arrangements, so they can help expand Australia's skilled workforce and support growth in our economy.

I commend the Bill.

HIGHER EDUCATION (UP-FRONT PAYMENTS TUITION PROTECTION LEVY) BILL 2020

I am also introducing the Higher Education (Up-front Payments Tuition Protection Levy) Bill 2020 that gives effect to the up-front payments tuition protection levy. This levy is part of the new tuition protection arrangements to protect domestic higher education students who pay for their study costs up front in event of a provider ceasing to deliver a course or closing.

The levy framework reflected in the Bill has been developed by the Australian Government Actuary and is broadly consistent with the levy structure used by the successful Tuition Protection Service (TPS) for international students, and students accessing HELP and VET Student Loans.

The Bill imposes a levy on private higher education providers that have domestic students who pay for their higher education study costs up front. The levy has three components—an administrative component, determined by an annual legislative instrument made by the Minister, a risk rated premium component, and a special tuition protection component, which the Higher Education Tuition Protection Director sets annually by legislative instrument. The Treasurer is required to approve the legislative instrument made by the Higher Education Tuition Protection Director.

The strong governance arrangements of the TPS, including an Advisory Board, and flexibility in the levy framework, will ensure the levy settings can respond to emerging trends in the higher education sector, and reward low-risk providers through imposing lower levies. This is essential as it ensures sustainability of the Government's tuition protection model, rewards providers when the sector is stable, and encourages providers to do the right thing by their students

I commend the Bill.

Debate adjourned.