Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor supports the Education Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Bill 2021. This bill makes administrative changes to the Higher Education Support Act and the Education Services for Overseas Students Act. It is designed to fix uncontroversial and recognised issues in the existing legislation.

The bill amends the citizenship requirements within the Higher Education Loan Program to ensure that students on humanitarian visas do not lose access for travelling overseas after spending five years in Australia, and empowers the minister to extend availability of HELP from 1 January 2022 to students who have previously held permanent humanitarian visas. This is a worthwhile change that improves access to Australia's world-class higher education system for visa holders.

The bill also contains a number of other technical amendments.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Acting Deputy President, we can't hear. I don't know if the microphone is on—

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could everyone who is not participating in this debate please clear the chamber, and can we make sure the microphone is working for Senator Brown. Go ahead, Senator Brown.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It remedies the nomenclature of the university funding clusters where Indigenous languages are classified as foreign languages, streamlines the operation of grant funding, clarifies the operation of grandfathering arrangements under the Liberals' increased university fees, and extends the ESOS Act to former registered providers to strengthen the operation of the tuition protection scheme. Labor does not oppose any of these measures.

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

I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.