Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Extension of Coronavirus Support) Bill 2020

VET Student Payment Arrangements (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2020

I also table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statements read as follows—

SOCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (EXTENSION OF CORONA VIRUS SUPPORT) BILL 2020

Purpose of the Bill

The Bill:

Reasons for Urgency

The Bill must be passed during 2020 to permit the COVID-19 Supplement and temporary modifications to social security law to continue in their current form until 31 March 2021.

VET STUDENT PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The Bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to implement measures to assist the Commonwealth to resolve outstanding matters that arose under the former VET FEE­HELP scheme, and introduce measures that will further facilitate closure of the scheme. The Bill also amends the VET Student Loans Act 2016 to improve administration of the VET Student Loans program.

Reasons for Urgency

Passage for the Bill in the 2020 Spring sitting period is sought in order to give the sector sufficient notice that the Commonwealth will cease paying amounts of VET FEE-HELP to providers unless those amounts are reported by specified deadlines.

This lead time is necessary and intended to influence the behaviour of providers to finalise data reporting, ensure that providers have sufficient notice of the change, and to manage perception of the change. Failure to give reasonable notice to providers may cause them to miss the specified deadlines and be unexpectedly out of pocket.