Bills Digest No. 37, 2022–23
PDF Version [404KB]
Matthew Keene
Social Policy Section
17 November 2022
Key points
The Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022 (the Bill) amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) to enact two measures:
- Amend the definition of a ‘grandfathered student’ to cover honours degree students so they are eligible for discounted course fees when enrolling in courses in areas of job growth (Schedule 1).
- Introduce new provisions to partially or completely reduce HELP debts for eligible health practitioners working in rural, remote, or very remote areas. This measure also allows for HELP debt indexation to be waived for the period eligible health practitioners are undertaking eligible work in rural, remote, or very remote areas (Schedule 2).
- The two measures contained in this Bill were first introduced by the previous Government as part of its Job Ready Graduates Package. These Bills lapsed on dissolution of the 46th Parliament. They are the:
- Bills Digests were created for these lapsed Bills and this Bills Digest is a collation and update of those two publications by Dr Hazel Ferguson.
|
Contents
Purpose of the Bill
Background
Committee consideration
Policy position of non-government
parties/independents
Position of major interest groups
Financial implications
Statement of Compatibility with Human
Rights
Key issues and provisions
Concluding comments
Date introduced: 10
November 2022
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Education
Commencement: the
day after Royal Assent
Links: The links to the Bill,
its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the
Bill’s home page, or through the Australian
Parliament website.
When Bills have been passed and have received Royal Assent,
they become Acts, which can be found at the Federal Register of Legislation
website.
All hyperlinks in this Bills Digest are correct as
at November 2022.
Purpose of
the Bill
The purpose of the Higher
Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022 is to amend the
Higher Education
Support Act 2003 (HESA):
-
extend the Job-ready
Graduates Package grandfathering arrangements to honours students who
commenced, but did not complete, their related undergraduate degree prior to 1 January 2021
and
-
introduce new provisions to reduce HELP debts partially or
completely for eligible health practitioners working in rural, remote, or very
remote areas. This measure also provides for HELP debt indexation to be waived
for the period approved health practitioners are undertaking eligible work in
rural, remote, or very remote areas.
Background
Higher
education funding
HESA is the Act under which Australian Government
support for higher education teaching, and some research, is funded, via:
-
the Commonwealth
Grant Scheme (CGS), which provides a Commonwealth contribution to course
fees to reduce the cost to eligible students, predominantly domestic
undergraduates
-
the Higher Education
Loan Program (HELP), which through various sub-schemes allows eligible
students to defer their course costs until their earnings reach a minimum
threshold
-
the Indigenous
Student Success Program, which provides supplementary funding to
universities to support Indigenous students through scholarships, tutorial
assistance, mentoring, safe cultural spaces and other personal support services
and
-
various Other Grants made to providers to support specified
priorities, such as the Disability
Support Program, which provides funding to support students with
disabilities, and the Higher
Education Superannuation Program, which provides support for certain
superannuation expenses.[1]
Provider
approval to access to higher education funding
Access to funding under HESA is only available to approved
providers, which can be either:
- Table
A providers, listed in section 16–15, which are eligible to access all funding
programs
-
Table B providers, listed in section 16–20, which are eligible to
access a limited range of funding programs
-
Table C providers, listed in section 16–22, which are explicitly
excluded from most funding, but can offer some HELP loans or
-
providers approved by the Minister under section 16–25—these are
not listed in HESA, but can offer some HELP loans, and are sometimes
eligible for other funding programs, subject to Ministerial approval.[2]
Higher
Education Loan Program (HELP)
HELP provides loans to higher education students through
four sub-schemes:
-
HECS-HELP
enables students in CSPs (predominantly undergraduate university students) to defer
the cost of their student contribution amounts
-
FEE-HELP
enables full fee-paying students (predominantly postgraduate university
students and students studying at non-university higher education providers) to
defer their fees
-
SA-HELP
enables students to defer the cost of the student
services and amenities fee (SSAF), which covers certain student services
and amenities of a non-academic nature
-
OS-HELP
enables students in CSPs to defer the cost of certain overseas study expenses.[3]
Generally, these loans are only available to Australian
citizens, New Zealand Special Category Visa holders who reside in Australia for
the duration of their studies, and permanent humanitarian visa holders who meet
residency requirements.[4]
Eligible students can borrow up to the HELP
loan limit, which in 2022 is $156,847 for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary
Science courses leading to initial registration, or eligible Aviation courses,
and $109,206 for all other courses.
Once a person’s repayment income reaches a minimum
threshold, they are required to make repayments through the Australian
Taxation Office.[5]
In 2022–23, the minimum repayment threshold is $48,361, and repayment rates
range from 1.0% (at $48,361 to $ 55,836) to 10% at $141,848 and above.[6]
Each year on 1 June, any debt that has been outstanding
for at least 11 months is indexed using the HELP debt indexation factor,
which uses changes in the consumer price index (CPI) to calculate HELP debt
increases.[7]
Although students can pay for courses up front rather than
using HELP, very few do—in 2020, 90.7% of students liable to pay a student
contribution used HECS-HELP, and 73.4% liable to pay a course fee used FEE-HELP
(measured in equivalent full-time students).[8]
Uptake of each sub-scheme is provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1:
HELP uptake by sub-scheme, 2020
| HELP sub scheme |
Number of students |
| HECS-HELP |
852,960 |
| FEE-HELP |
153,906 |
| SA-HELP |
522,673 |
| OS-HELP |
2,160 |
Source: ‘2020 Section 5 Liability status
categories’, DESE, 14 February 2022, Table 7.
Note: Student numbers in this table should not be summed. Students
often use more than one sub-scheme in a year.
Committee
consideration
Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills has
not yet considered the Bill. It did examine the Higher
Education Support Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021, where the
grandfathering arrangements were first proposed, however, the Committee made no
comment on that Bill.[9]
The Committee also examined the Education
Legislation Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022. Here it expressed
concerns about certain criteria for health practitioners wishing to have their
HELP debt and indexation reduced being dealt with in Guidelines, rather than
being addressed in the Bill.[10]
This use of Guidelines to set parameters for eligibility is the same in this
Bill.[11]
At the time, the Committee sought more detailed advice from the Minister as to:
-
why it is considered necessary and appropriate for key details of
who will be a location-preferred HELP debtor to be included in delegated
legislation and
-
whether at least high-level guidance can be included regarding
these matters on the face of the primary legislation.[12]
A response from the Minister was not published by the
Committee before the dissolution of the 46th Parliament.
Policy
position of non-government parties/independents
At the time of writing, no comments on the Bill from
non-government parties/independents were located, however, as this Bill
contains measures first introduced by the previous Government, any commentary
by the Coalition is likely to be favourable.
Position of
major interest groups
Comments about the Bill and its previous incarnations have
been mostly positive. However, some major interest groups have identified that
health workforce issues are likely to persist despite the measure in Schedule 2
to the Bill.
The President of the Australian College of Nurse
Practitioners (ACNP) Leanne Boase has released a statement saying:
The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) is
delighted to learn on the 10 November, legislation was passed [sic] by the
Federal Government that will ensure Nurse Practitioners or Doctors who live and
work in the most remote parts of Australia will have their HELP debt wiped. For
Nurse Practitioners this means, ‘the legislation will go towards covering a master’s
degree in Commonwealth supported study, a full fee-paying place, or a
combination of both.’[13]
In a statement on the lapsed Bill containing the same
measure, peak nursing organisations, including the ACNP said:
Despite the recognised incentive that funding for education
would create, there are numerous barriers to practice for Nurse Practitioners
in all areas of Australia. However, in rural and remote Australia, these are
significantly exacerbated. Whilst we fully support the plan to address university
debt, without removing the existing government-constructed barriers to
practice, it will still not be possible to attract more Nurse Practitioners in
any significant numbers. These barriers and their solutions were already
identified addressed [sic] as part of the MBS review by the Nurse Practitioner
Reference Group and supported by the KPMG report commissioned as part of the
process. However, none of these recommendations were accepted or implemented by
government, and it seems there is still no intention to do so.[14]
Also commenting on the lapsed Bill, the Australian Medical
Association welcomed the program but cautioned the initiative must be coupled
with a ‘strong rural training pathway’ and employment model.[15]
At the time of the introduction of the earlier Bill, Peta
Rutherford, CEO of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, was reported as
saying the initiative will make regional, rural and remote areas more
attractive places to work for junior doctors, but:
It really is about ensuring that the government's strategies
recognise the full scope of practice of rural GPs and rural generalists and
ensuring that they get a fair remuneration package … But also looking at some
of the social elements that go with working in a rural community as a doctor.
Often that has impacts in relation to children's education or partner
employment.[16]
Megan Belot, president of the same association, was also
reported as saying one strength of the program is that doctors with exposure to
non-metropolitan locations often choose to stay longer than they initially
intended, once exposed to the work. However, she cautioned that the program
also has the potential to create unintended incentives for doctors to leave
remote locations in favour of rural towns.[17]
Universities
Australia has come out in support of the current Bill, welcoming the provision of greater financial support
to university students. Universities Australia’s Chief Executive Catriona
Jackson said:
Universities back the government’s focus on helping more
people to get a world-class university education. Skill shortages are biting
hard right across the country and the economy, which is why we must do more to
get as many university graduates into the workforce as we can. Rural and remote
parts of Australia are particularly susceptible to these shortages, so any move
to get more doctors and nurses out to these areas to keep locals healthy is a
good thing. We also support the certainty this legislation provides for honours
students who have been unfairly subjected to fee increases since the Job-ready
Graduates package took effect.
Financial
implications
The financial implications of the Bill are cited by the
Government as being ‘moderate’.[18]
The grandfathering amendments in Schedule 1 will result in
a negligible cost as the vast majority of students were covered under HESA,
and costed for, already.
The measure in Schedule 2 to reduced HELP debts for
medical practitioners is estimated to have an underlying cash impact of $27.2
million over the period 2021–22 to 2025–26.[19]
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), the Government has assessed the
Bill’s compatibility with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared
in the international instruments listed in section 3 of that Act. The
Government considers that the Bill is compatible.[20]
Parliamentary
Joint Committee on Human Rights
At the time of writing this Digest, the Parliamentary
Joint Committee on Human Rights has not considered the Bill.
Key issues
and provisions
Schedule 1
– Grandfathered students
The Job-ready
Graduates Package (JRG) was a large package of interacting changes to
higher education funding, legislated in late 2020.[21]
As part of JRG, new Commonwealth and student contribution amounts for a range
of study areas commenced on 1 January 2021—while students’ costs for studying
in priority fields such as teaching and nursing were reduced, student
contributions for other fields such as society and culture were increased.[22]
Grandfathering arrangements were included in the package
in an effort to ensure continuing students were not disadvantaged by the
changes. These arrangements hinge on a definition of grandfathered
student which was inserted into the dictionary at Schedule 1 of HESA.
The definition specifies a range of circumstances where grandfathering applies.
The extension of eligibility to receive discounted course
fees to honours students who commenced, but did not complete, their related
undergraduate degree prior to 1 January 2021 ensures that those students
intended to be covered by the measure introduced under the Higher Education
Support Amendment (Job-ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote
Students) Act 2020 are covered.
Under the current definition, Commonwealth supported
students who completed a course at the bachelor level after 1 January 2021 do
not fall within the definition of ‘grandfathered student’ when they commence a
subsequent related honours course. The current definition of a ‘grandfathered
student’ only applies where a student completed the bachelor level course prior
to 1 January 2021. Where a student commences or transfers to a new related
honours course after 1 January 2021, they are also not covered by the
definition.[23]
Item 1 inserts subparagraph (ia) to the definition
of grandfathered student, which would extend the definition to include such
students in grandfathering arrangements.
Item 5 specifies that the amendment is to apply
from 1 January 2021. As such, any student who has paid a higher student
contribution because of being excluded from the grandfathering arrangements
will become retrospectively eligible to pay the lower amount. Arrangements for
the refund of resulting overpayments by the Commonwealth or students are dealt
with in Items 7 to 9. Item 10 provides that the Secretary
may act in place of the higher education provider to re-credit an affected
student’s HELP balance, if the provider is unable to do so. (Note that it appears that the references to subitems 6(4) and 7(3)
within Item 10 are in error. It appears that the relevant subitems are
8(4) and 9(3).)
Item 12 provides that the Minister may, by
legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters of a transitional nature
in relation to any of the amendments made by the Bill. Subitem 12(2) is
a ‘Henry VIII clause’, under which delegated legislation is able to modify the
operation of a primary Act.[24]
Schedule 2
– HELP debt arrangements for certain rural, remote or very remote health
practitioners
Access to
health practitioners
Unequal access to health practitioners in non-metropolitan
areas is a long-running issue in Australia. Analysis of health workforce data
by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows consistent disparities
in the number of full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 people in
regional and remote areas, versus major cities.[25]
In 2020 (the latest year covered by this analysis), for every 100,000 people
living in an inner regional area, the equivalent of 303 full-time medical practitioners,
and 1,061 full-time nurses and midwives were practicing, compared with 403 full-time
medical practitioners, and 1,069 full-time nurses and midwives in major cities.[26]
The Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand survey finds
that of final year students wishing for a future career working in Australia,
just under 35% preferred work outside of capital cities.[27]
Similarly, around 30% of nurse practitioners work in rural or remote locations.[28]
HELP debt
forgiveness
HELP debt forgiveness for doctors and nurse practitioners
who practice in rural, remote or very remote areas was announced
as part of a package of rural health workforce measures in December 2021.[29]
The initiative builds on the Stronger
Rural Health Strategy, which included a number of other measures to
increase supply of rural health practitioners, including the Murray-Darling
Medical Schools Network and the Bonded
Medical Program.[30]
The program reflects the regime currently in place for teachers
in very remote areas, which was introduced in 2019.[31]
While it is too early to assess the success of the program for teachers,
historically, similar initiatives do not appear to have significantly shifted
workers’ preferences. Instead, such programs have resulted in a windfall gain
for individuals whose circumstances and preferences already align with policy
goals.[32]
Health
practitioner course costs and HELP repayments
Under current arrangements, HELP forgiveness could equate
to a benefit of approximately $45,604 to $68,406 for students who studied
medicine, and $7,970 for the nurse practitioners, based on 2022 student
contribution amounts for CSPs.[33]
Students who study on a full fee-paying basis usually pay higher fees.
In 2018–19, those who had studied medicine were estimated
to take an average of 10.5 years to repay their HELP debt (the longest
repayment time of any field), while those who had studied nursing repaid in an
average of 7.7 years (the shortest repayment time).[34]
Broadly, these repayment times correspond with the size of
the debts, with medical students incurring the largest amount per year of any
field, and nursing students the smallest.[35]
However, those who study courses with a clear vocational outcome, such as
medicine or nursing, also have the best repayment track records, with 82.5% of
people who studied medicine and 67.8% of people who studied nursing having
fully or partly repaid their HELP debt in 2018–19.[36]
This contrasts with 40.0% of those who studied creative arts, who have the
lowest likelihood of repayment.[37]
Proposed
legislative amendments
The proposed legislative amendments create a new Division
144 in HESA which allows for the partial or complete reduction of
accumulated HELP debt, or the waiver of indexation of that debt, to eligible
health practitioners working in rural, remote or very remote areas.
Proposed section 144-1 in Division 144 provides
that a person is a location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) if
they satisfy all the below conditions:
-
they have completed a course of study in medicine, or a course of
study allowing registration as a nurse practitioner, as specified by the HELP
Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners), or another course of study specified
in the Guidelines[38]
- they
incurred a HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP debt in relation to the course[39]
- they
are registered or accredited and carry out work as provided in the Guidelines[40]
-
the work they carry out is in an area specified by the Guidelines
by reference to the ABS Remoteness Structure, as rural, remote, or very remote[41]
- the
number of hours carried out is at least as much as specified in the Guidelines[42] and
- they
satisfy any other conditions specified in the Guidelines.[43]
The Guidelines are anticipated to cover the scope of
work, geographical location, and time periods relevant to the program.[44] They are to be
made by the Minister, following consultation with the Treasurer.[45] As discussed
earlier in this Digest, in relation to the earlier introduction of these
amendments in the Education
Legislation Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee raised concerns
about these significant issues being dealt with in the Guidelines, and asked if
it would be possible to include high-level guidance on these matters in HESA.[46] In this context,
it is also notable that item 36 amends section 238-10 to allow the
Guidelines to may make provision in relation to a matter by applying, adopting
or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in any
other instrument or other writing as in force or existing from time to time.
The Scrutiny of Bills Committee has previously raised general concerns about
incorporation provisions, citing, for example, the potential for changes being
made without Parliamentary scrutiny, uncertainty in the law, and limited access
to incorporated documents.[47]
The Secretary is to be the decision-maker for applications
to the program.[48]
If a person makes an application and meets the
requirements above for periods totalling at least the minimum time specified in
the Guidelines, the Secretary will be required to determine that their
accumulated HELP debt be reduced.[49]
The reduction is to be for the relevant course of study only, up to an amount
for the course type to be specified in the Guidelines.[50] It will be possible for the
debt to be reduced to less than zero, in which case the extra amount must be
refunded.[51]
The Secretary will also be required to determine that the
indexation of a person’s HELP debt is reduced if the person:
- is
a location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) at any time in the
calendar year
- has
an outstanding HELP debt at 1 June (this is the date indexation is applied each
year) and
- has
met any other requirements specified in the Guidelines.[52]
The reduction (if any) will be in proportion to the number
of days in the calendar year that the person was a location-preferred HELP
debtor (health practitioner), as determined by the Secretary.[53]
An application form will be specified for both HELP
reduction and indexation, and applications may not be considered if they do not
meet the specified requirements.[54]
An applicant is entitled to a written response outlining the decision within 60
days, or up to six months if determined by the Secretary in writing, but the
application is taken to be rejected if the person is not notified of an outcome
within the required timeframe.[55]
Additional program information
The Department
of Health has provided additional information about the program, which
includes some of the details likely to be specified in the Guidelines.
According to this information, health practitioners will be able to apply for:
- a
pause on all HELP indexation for the duration of the time they are working in
an eligible location and
- forgiveness
of 50% to 100% of eligible outstanding HELP debt, based on a combination of
remoteness and time worked.[56]
Eligibility commenced from 1 January 2022, with applicants
required to work at least 24 hours per week.[57]
In order to have 100% of the relevant HELP debt forgiven, those in a Modified
Monash Model 6 to 7 location (remote and very remote communities) are
required to work for half the length of course, and those in a 3 to 5 location
(small, medium, and large rural towns) are required to work for the full length
of the course.[58]
Concluding comments
The Job Ready
Graduates Package measures covered off by this Bill will no doubt be
welcomed by students and graduates. Unfortunately, though there remain
questions as to their efficacy. Financially incentivising course selection has
not necessarily played out as expected.[59]
For example, since its introduction demand for humanities courses remains high
despite large fee increases.[60]
The other issue facing this measure is that producing more graduates will not
necessarily solve skills shortage issues. In health, for example, the problem
is arguably more about distribution than it is about true shortages i.e., most
graduates want to work in cities rather than out bush, and as outlined above,
those who go on to work out bush would likely have done so without the
incentives.
The Jobs and Skills Summit Employment White Paper
process will provide some further clarity on the new Government’s approach to
higher education post-JRG including the ways in which it proposes to address correlations
between university degrees and market forces. This clarity is to be thrashed
out under the Universities
Accord process, where the Government will reveal its hand and the influence
of the sector will be measured in the quality of this new accord.
[1]. Hazel
Ferguson, ‘Higher
Education Support Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021’, Bills Digest,
40, 2021–22, (Canberra: Parliamentary Library, 2022), 2; 'Commonwealth
Grant Scheme (CGS)’, Department of Education, 26 March 2021; ‘Higher Education
Loan Program (HELP)’, Department of Education, 28 January 2021; ‘Indigenous
Student Success Program’, National Indigenous Australians Agency; ‘Higher
Education Disability Support Program’, Department of Education, 26 November
2020; ‘Higher
Education Superannuation Program’, Department of Education, 16 November
2020. A more detailed explanation of higher education funding arrangements is
available in Hazel Ferguson, A
Guide to Australian Government Funding for Higher Education Learning and
Teaching, Research paper series, 2020–21, (Canberra: Parliamentary
Library, 2021).
[2]. HESA
funding is only available to higher education providers, defined
in section 16–1 as those providers approved under Division 16. Division 16
includes those providers listed in HESA, or those approved by the
Minister under section 16–25. A list of approved providers is available from ‘Providers
that offer Commonwealth assistance’, Department of Education, n.d.
[3]. ‘HELP loans’, Department of
Education, Skills and Employment (DESE).
[4]. Certain
other permanent visa holders are eligible for FEE-HELP for bridging study. See
‘Bridging
study’, Department of Education, n.d.
[5]. ‘Study
and training loan repayment thresholds and rates’, Australian Taxation
Office (ATO), 14 July 2022.
[6]. ‘Study
and training loan repayment thresholds and rates’, ATO.
[7]. Higher Education
Support Act 2003 (HESA), section 140–10.
[8]. ‘2020
Section 5 Liability status categories’, Department of Education, 14
February 2022, Table 1.
[9]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
Digest, 1, 2022, 4 February 2022, 23.
[10]. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
Digest, 2, 2022, 18 March 2022, 35–37.
[11]. Higher Education Support
Amendment (2022 Measure No.1) Bill 2022, Schedule
2—HELP Debt Arrangements for Certain Rural, Remote or very Remote Health
Practitioners, Items 1–40.
[12]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
Digest, 2, 2022, 18 March 2022, 36–37.
[13]. ACNP,
‘New
Legislation for Nurse Practitioners to Wipe University Debt Working in
Rural/Remote Areas’, media release, 11 November 2022.
[14]. ACNP,
‘Government
to Lure Doctors and Nurses to Rural Regional and Remote Areas by Slashing
University Debt’, media release, 10 December 2021.
[15]. Australian
Medical Association (AMA), ‘HELP
Relief for Doctors Wanting to Work Outside Metro Australia Welcomed’, media
release, 9 December 2021.
[16]. Stephanie
Dalzell and Claudia Long, ‘Government
to Lure Doctors and Nurses to Rural, Regional and Remote Areas by Slashing
University Debt’, ABC News, 8 Dec 2021.
[17]. ‘Government
to pay HELP debt to entice new local doctors’, The Border Watch, 26
December 2021.
[18]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill
2022, 5–6.
[19]. Explanatory
Memorandum, 6.
[20]. The
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights can be found at page 8 of the
Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill.
[21]. Higher Education
Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote
Students) Act 2020; ‘Job-Ready
Graduates Package’, Department of Education, 23 August 2022.
[22]. ‘Improving
higher education for students’, Department of Education, last updated 20
December 2021; Hazel Ferguson, ‘Higher
Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and
Remote Students) Bill 2020’, Bills Digest, 12, 2020–21, (Canberra:
Parliamentary Library, 2020).
[23]. Explanatory
Memorandum, 4.
[24]. Legislation
Act Review Committee, Legislation
Act 2003—Report on the operation of the Act for 2021-22, 46.
[25]. ‘Health
workforce’, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 23 July
2020.
[26]. AIHW,
‘Health
workforce’. This analysis and its underlying data does not include a
further breakdown of nurses to isolate numbers of nurse practitioners.
[27]. ‘Medical
Schools Outcomes Database Reports’, Medical Deans Australia and New
Zealand, September 2021, 23.
[28]. ACNP,
Nurse
Practitioner: Rural and Remote, fact sheet, (Melbourne: ACNP, January
2022).
[29]. David
Gillespie (Minister for Regional Health), ‘More
GPs for Local Clinics to Recruit, New Package to Attract Doctors to Rural’,
media release, 10 December 2021.
[30]. ‘Stronger
Rural Health Strategy’, Department of Health, 14 December 2021.
[31]. ‘Reduction
of Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts for teachers in very remote areas’,
Department of Education, 9 December 2021.
[32]. Hazel
Ferguson, ‘Education
Legislation Amendment (2019 Measures No. 1) Bill 2019’, Bills Digest,
51, 2019–20, (Canberra: Parliamentary Library, 2019), 13–14.
[33]. In
2022, Commonwealth supported degrees leading to initial registration as a
medical practitioner cost students $11,401 per year, while Nurse Practitioners
complete additional study at Master’s degree level following initial
qualification as a Registered Nurse, with each year of nursing study costing
$3,985. See ‘Accredited
medical schools’, Australian Medical Council, n.d.; ‘What is a Nurse
Practitioner?’, ACNP, n. d.; ‘Student
contribution amounts’, Department of Education, n.d. These student
contribution amounts are for a full-time year of study at 2022, for
non-grandfathered students. Amounts usually increase each year due to
indexation.
[34]. ‘HELP
Debt and Repayments Report 2018–19’, Repayment time, DESE, This compares to
an average repayment time of 9.4 years according to the latest data. See Hazel
Ferguson, ‘Updated
Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt statistics— 2020–21’, FlagPost
(Canberra: Parliamentary Library, 10 November 2021).
[35]. ‘HELP
Debt and Repayments Report 2018–19’, Debt incurred, DESE.
[36]. ‘HELP
Debt and Repayments Report 2018–19’, Repayments by FoE, DESE.
[37]. HELP
Debt and Repayments Report 2018–19, Repayments by FoE, DESE.
[38]. Proposed
subsection 144-1(2) and paragraphs 144-1(1)(a) and (b).
[39]. Proposed
paragraph 144-1(1)(c).
[40]. Proposed
paragraphs 144-1(1)(d) and (e).
[41]. Proposed
paragraph 144-1(1)(f).
[42]. Proposed
paragraph 144-1(1)(g).
[43]. Proposed
paragraph 144-1(1)(h).
[44]. Proposed
subsection 144-1(3).
[45]. Proposed
subsections 238-10(4) and (5), at item 36 of Schedule 2.
[46]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
Digest, 2, 2022, 36–37.
[47]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
Digest, 2, 2022. 1–2. These comments are in relation to the Agriculture
Biodiversity Stewardship Market Bill 2022.
[48]. Proposed
sections 144-5, 144-10, and 144-15.
[49]. Proposed
subsection 144-10(1).
[50]. Proposed
subsection 144-10(2).
[51]. Proposed
subsection 144-10(3) and section 144-15.
[52]. Proposed
subsection 144-5(1).
[53]. Proposed
subsection 144-5(2).
[54]. Proposed
subsections 144-5(7) and 144-10(8).
[55]. Proposed
subsection 144-5(3), (4), (6) and (7) in relation to indexation, and 144-10(4)
and (5) in relation to accumulated debt reduction.
[56]. Department
of Health (DoH), HELP
for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners, fact sheet, (Canberra:
DoH, [last updated 15 November 2022]), 2.
[57]. DoH, HELP
for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners, fact sheet,
(Canberra: DoH, [last updated 15 November 2022]).
[58]. DoH, HELP
for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners; DoH, Modified
Monash Model, fact sheet, (Canberra: DoH, [14 July 2020]).
[59]. ‘Improving
higher education for students’, Department of Education, 20 September 2022.
[60]. Naaman
Zhou, ‘Demand
for arts and humanities still high despite Coalition university fee increases’,
Guardian, 8 February 2021.
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