Chapter 1 - Majority Report
1.1
On 15 June
2005, the Senate referred to this committee for report the
provisions of the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2005.
The bill had been introduced in the House of Representatives by the Minister for
Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Brendon
Nelson MP,
on 25 May 2005, passed that
chamber on 2 June, was transmitted to the Senate and introduced on 14 June 2005.
1.2
The purpose of this bill is to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance)
Act 2000 in order to appropriate
additional funding for the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) and to
transfer funding for independent vocational education and training providers to
appropriations under the Skilling Australia’s Workforce Bill 2005.[1]
1.3
Until 2000, Commonwealth assistance to indigenous
education was provided through the Indigenous
Education (Supplementary Assistance) Act 1989. Although this Act was not
repealed, the Indigenous Education
(Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 is now the primary mechanism through which
funding is provided and Government policy implemented. The 2000 Act provides
appropriations for the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme
(IESIP) to assist indigenous students in government and non-government schools,
including small independent indigenous schools. Funding may go to all education
sectors from pre-school to higher education. It includes funding for ABSTUDY
students living away from home to attend compulsory course activities and
funding for special projects. Funding is provided through agreements made with
education systems and with schools. The method through which this funding is
disbursed was the partial subject of an Employment, Workplace Relations and
Education References Committee inquiry, the final report of which was tabled in
June 2005.[2]
1.4
The bill will reduce the appropriation under the Act by
a net $3.7 million over 2006-2008. The transfer will come from funds currently
provided to four independent vocational education and training providers since
1997 under Transitional Project Assistance (TPA). The providers are the
Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD), Tranby
Aboriginal Co-operative
College, Aboriginal Dance Theatre
Redfern and Tauondi Incorporated. The bill transfers $10.9 million to be spent
under the Skilling Australia’s Workforce Bill 2005, so that the four providers
will now be required to compete for funding in a joint funding pool under a
proposed new Commonwealth State funding agreement. Under the agreement, state
and territory governments will be required to match the funding provided by the
Commonwealth, thus boosting the funds available to indigenous vocational
education providers from the current $11.6 million to $23.3 million over
2006-08.[3]
1.5
The bill also includes new spending of $7.2 million to
fund a measure announced in the 2005 budget: the ‘Remote Indigenous Students –
tutorial support for students leaving their communities’, which will cost $8.7
million over the four years to 2008-09, or $7.2 m to 2008. This funding is derived
from efficiencies made in other areas of expenditure in the DEST portfolio, and
represents new money to the indigenous education sector.
1.6
This initiative will provide tutorial support for
mainly secondary indigenous students who move from their remote communities to
undertake schooling. These 2 040 students will receive up to four hours
tuition per week in their first year away from home. It complements two
initiatives – the Indigenous Youth Leadership Programme and the Indigenous
Youth Mobility Programme – funded in the Indigenous Education (Targeted
Assistance) Amendment Bill 2004. This bill continues the Government’s emphasis
on providing a greater weighting of resources towards indigenous students in
remote areas considered by the Government to be at greatest disadvantage.
1.7
Taken together, these measures will see funding for indigenous
education and training over 2006-2008 increase by up to $19.3 million.[4] The bill implements a recommendation of
the EWRE References Committee which called for improved support for indigenous
students studying away from home. This is being funded through efficiencies in
other areas of the portfolio, and not from reclaimed Transitional Project
Assistance (TPA) funding to indigenous VET providers. The TPA assistance which
the bill seeks to redeploy to a joint funding pool was always intended to be
temporary, and the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) have
been in discussions with the organisations involved for a number of years, so
that from their perspective the government's move is not a sudden one.
Supplementary tutorial assistance
1.8
The issue of Commonwealth tutorial assistance being
determined solely through geographical indicators, rather than by student need,
was addressed by the Employment Workplace Relations and Education References
Committee in its reports on indigenous education funding, tabled in March and
June of 2005. In its final report, the committee recommended that the Government
amend its policy to ensure that students who leave remote areas to study at
boarding schools in urban locations remain eligible for tutorial funding
assistance.
1.9
The Government recognises that remote area students
continue to be relatively disadvantaged when they leave home in order to attend
school, and that they require a significant level of support in adapting to
life in larger towns and cities. DEST submitted that students benefiting from
the initiative will be those between school years seven and twelve. The
initiative will provide up to four hours tuition per week for up to 32 weeks in
a student's first year away from home. Tuition assistance will be delivered
through government and non-government schools and each student will have an
individual work plan, to be developed by a tutor in collaboration with the
student's school.
Transfer of TPA assistance
1.10
The other key plank of the bill is the transfer of
funds which from 1997 have been deployed as Temporary Project Assistance (TPA)
for four indigenous VET providers, to a joint Commonwealth-state funding pool.
1.11
Temporary assistance was originally provided to provide
for a transition from project-based funding program, to an outcome-based program
under the Government's Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program
(IESIP). The TPA was designed to bridge the gap between a provider's per capita
entitlement and the previous funding level. Always intended as a temporary
measure, TPA funding was reduced over time as enrolments increased and per
capita entitlements rose. Between 2001 and 2004, TPA assistance was completely
phased out for major government and non-government systemic providers, leaving
a number of independent providers across the pre-school, school and VET sectors
still in receipt of TPA funds. This group of recipients includes the four indigenous
VET providers collectively in receipt of the $3.6 million this bill aims to
transfer.
1.12
It is important to note that, even after the passage of
this bill, some twelve schools and thirty two pre-schools will continue to
receive TPA assistance through to the end of 2006 at the earliest. These
payments total some $2.6 million per year.
1.13
The transfer of TPA assistance from VET providers should
come as no surprise. The department has been working with independent indigenous
VET providers since 2002 to determine appropriate funding arrangements for the
future. The four organisations have identified their need for stable, triennial
funding after an independent review in 2003 recommended that funding for these
providers should be coordinated with other state and Commonwealth mainstream
VET funding.
1.14
As noted in other reports of the committee on education
funding, the Government's policy has been to provide commencement and
transitional funding for post-secondary institutions.[5] Once institutions have been established
on a firm footing, and enrolments assured, Commonwealth funding can be reduced
and may eventually cease. There is no guarantee that funding can be maintained
indefinitely, especially given the competing need for Commonwealth assistance.
1.15
The decision to phase out dedicated assistance for some
established schools and institutions, and to make that funding available to be
drawn on by a broader range of providers, was made on the bases of fairness and
equity. Currently, not all education providers are able to access additional
funding support, highlighting the relative advantage of those which are.
1.16
Currently, the level of assistance is determined with
primary reference to the amount traditionally received by an organisation in
question. In other words, an organisation receives funding because it has
received it in the past. On any logical analysis, such a method of allocation
lacks both rigour and fairness.
The operation of the Joint Funding Pool
1.17
The establishment of a joint fund will offer other
advantages over TPA. Providers will be eligible to apply to the fund when they
serve either a large number or a high proportion of indigenous students, and
they achieve success in developing their skills and potential. Eligibility will
also rest on meeting specific criteria, such as demonstrated community engagement
in the management of the provider's programs. Critically, the fund will tie
continued funding to improved outcomes, rather than the institution being an
historical recipient of assistance. The fund will also be open to application
from community-based providers who can demonstrate an ability to deliver
results.
1.18
A typical process of assessment might involve an open
tender process in each state or territory, with submissions being assessed
jointly by a panel comprising representatives of the state and federal
governments, and with other content expertise imported on an ad hoc basis. In keeping with existing
government policy, more weighting will be given to providers servicing remote
areas.
1.19
A number of submissions have indicated concern that
there is no requirement that institutions competing with Tranby and other
affected institutions need to be indigenous controlled. The committee notes
that there are four criteria on which applications will be judged. Providers
need to demonstrate:
- outcomes for indigenous clients that are higher
than the indigenous national benchmarks (for example, improved module
completion and success rates);
- indigenous community involvement in provider
governance arrangements;
- indigenous staff involvement in training
delivery and support; and
- community support to expand the range of
training offered to indigenous people.
1.20
Indigenous controlled education providers will not be
disadvantaged under these criteria. The committee believes that education
providers need to be well-versed in the cultural needs of indigenous
communities.
1.21
To complement the Indigenous Funding Pool, the
Commonwealth-State agreement for Skilling Australia's
Workforce will require states and territories to increase the number of
training places for indigenous clients, over the life of the agreement through
to 2008.
1.22
This bill seeks to make no momentous changes, other
than to provide generous assistance to indigenous students studying away from
home. It simply fine tunes existing Government policy, and levels the playing
field for institutions seeking to make use of Commonwealth assistance to VET
training. As such, it is a bill based firmly on the principles of fairness and
equity.
Recommendation
The committee commends
the bill to the Senate and recommends its passage without amendment.
Senator Judith Troeth
Chair
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