David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 2017:

(1) Schedule 1, item 25, page 22 (after line 25), at the end of Subdivision 128E-B, add:

128E-40 Reversal of STARTUP-HELP assistance: material non-compliance

(1) An amount of *STARTUP-HELP assistance that a person received for an *accelerator program course provided during a period by a higher education provider is reversed if a report of an audit conducted in accordance with subsection (2) finds that there is any material non-compliance with respect to the course provided in the period.

Note: For the consequences if an amount of assistance is reversed, see sections 128D-5, 128D-10 and 137-17. See also paragraph 128B-1(1)(c).

(2) The STARTUP-HELP Guidelines may require higher education providers that provide *accelerator program courses to conduct internal audits, or to arrange for audits, of compliance with the STARTUP-HELP Guidelines with respect to the courses. The Guidelines may prescribe any or all of the following:

(a) circumstances in which audits must be conducted or arranged;

(b) requirements in relation to when and how audits must be conducted or arranged and reported on.

(2) Schedule 1, item 73, page 34 (line 5), at the end of the definition of reversed in subclause 1(1) of Schedule 1, add:

; (f) section 128-40 (provider non-compliance).

I understand these amendments would be contingent on amendments moved by Senator Henderson around the refund for students. I also share this concern for students going into newly formed accelerator programs, and, should those programs not be up to scratch, then having some sort of recourse, some sort of way to get a refund. These amendments state that a university can be required to conduct an audit of the course, and, should it be found to be deficient, then the students would be entitled to a refund. I thank Senator Henderson for her work on this bill and her concern for students who potentially would be billed for a course that does not necessarily meet the requirements, but I believe this is a way to achieve that outcome through using an audit. Minister, I just have one question. The bill being around startups and entrepreneurship, I'm interested in why the emphasis is on the accelerator programs creating qualifications rather than startups, and, with that in mind, whether the government will consider providing funding to expand accelerator programs that have a proven record of helping support startups. For example, here in Canberra the Canberra Innovation Network, CBRIN, has a long history of working with universities and working with students, helping them develop their startup. An independent review suggested that, for every $1 invested in CBRIN, they were returning $50 worth of value to the Canberra area.