Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to 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 (TUITION PROTECTION AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2019

Today I am introducing a package of Bills to reform tuition protection. This includes the Education Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2019, which will establish strong and sustainable tuition protections for domestic students accessing a VET Student Loan, a FEE-HELP loan or HECS-HELP loan with a private education provider or TAFE.

To achieve this, I am intending to expand the successful Tuition Protection Service (TPS) for international students, to also protect this cohort of domestic students who are accessing Government loans.

These tuition protections will ensure students are supported if their education or training 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 a qualification, or may have their loan removed for the parts of their study they have commenced but were not able to complete.

It makes sense to expand the TPS model to domestic students accessing Government loans. Since its inception in 2012, the TPS has proven to be successful for students and providers, and contributes to the strong reputation of Australia's international education sector.

The Bill also provides from 1 January 2020, the new tuition protection arrangements will:

Students, providers, and the training and education sectors can be confident the new tuition protection arrangements will support students, and replacement providers. This is all part of Government's ongoing commitment to safeguard the integrity and reputation of its income contingent loan programs.

I commend the Bill.

TREASURY LAWS AMENDMENT (INTERNATIONAL TAX AGREEMENTS) BILL 2019

Australia and Israel share a close friendship and have longstanding trade and investment ties. In 2017-18 total merchandise trade between Australia and Israel was worth over $1 billion, and Israel's investment in Australia was over $300 million.

Behind these numbers are many real-world examples of this economic relationship. This includes Australian startups using the Tel Aviv Landing Pad to access Israel's innovation ecosystem. It also includes two Israeli biotech companies, Azura Opthalmics and Bioforum that have established a physical presence in Australia to take advantage of our world-leading clinical research environment.

This bill, and the treaty contained within, will further nurture and strengthen this growing economic relationship.

On 28 March 2019, the Convention between the Government of Australia and the Government of the State of Israel for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance, as it is formally known, was signed by Australia and Israel.

The first of its kind between the two countries, it brings with it a range of benefits.

The Convention will support new trading opportunities for Australian businesses by reducing withholding tax rates, helping to create a more favourable bilateral investment environment and making it cheaper for Australian business to access Israel's capital and technology.

The Convention will also improve tax certainty for business by introducing anti-discrimination and arbitration rules, as well as a range of rules to prevent double taxation.

Importantly, the convention will strengthen the integrity of Australia's tax system and help detect and prevent tax evasion. It does this by authorising the revenue authorities of Australia and Israel to exchange taxpayer information on all taxes covered by the Convention.

Finally, the Convention incorporates important integrity provisions from the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, known as BEPS. These provisions are designed to minimise tax avoidance opportunities and ensure that multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax.

The new Convention will enter into force following the last notification that both countries have completed their domestic requirements which, in the case of Australia, includes the enactment of this Bill.

As well as amending the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to give force to the convention, the bill also amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to introduce a new deemed source of income rule. This will ensure that Australia can fully exercise the taxing rights it has negotiated under this new convention and future international tax agreements.

Full details of the measure are contained in the explanatory memorandum.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.