Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, I think it's probably unfair to Senator Pocock that you haven't been more transparent about this, and, mind you, we've only recently seen this amendment as well. My deep concern is that you're proposing that the STARTUP-HELP guidelines 'may' require higher education providers to conduct an internal audit. I'd invite Senator Pocock to reply if he has any concerns that he wants to share with the Senate on that. But my concern about this amendment is that there's no compulsion to do so. Therefore, it leaves students stranded without the appropriate mechanism to secure a refund, and it really only becomes a matter of discretion as to whether the government includes these provisions in the guidelines. Minister, I'd like to check something with you. As you know, I've received a copy of your guidelines during this debate, but, obviously, I haven't had an opportunity to read them. Do your guidelines provide provisions in relation to the requirement of universities to conduct an internal audit?