Bill
Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2019
passed, as at 2020-02-26. Education portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Education
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2019-09-18
- second reading — 2019-09-18
- second reading — 2019-11-25
- second reading — 2019-11-26
- second reading — 2019-11-26
- committee — 2019-11-26
- third reading — 2019-11-26
- introduced — 2019-11-27
- second reading — 2019-11-27
- second reading — 2020-02-11
- second reading — 2020-02-11
- committee — 2020-02-11
- third reading — 2020-02-11
- passed — 2020-02-11
- royal assent — 2020-02-26
Divisions
- Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2019 - Second Reading - Research cuts — 2019-11-26, House of Representatives: negative, ayes 66, noes 78
- Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2019 - Consideration in Detail - Anouncement process — 2019-11-26, House of Representatives: negative, ayes 5, noes 78
- The majority voted against an [amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2020-02-11.13.1) introduced by NSW Senator [Mehreen Faruqi](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/nsw/mehreen_faruqi) (Greens), which means it failed. The amendment is an attempt to address the politicisation of the grants process. ### Amendment text > *(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (after line 11), at the end of the Schedule, add:* > > *4 After section 51* > > *Insert:* > > *51A Announcements about approval of expenditure on research programs* > > *(1) The Minister must, within 21 days after making a determination under paragraph 51(2) (b):* > >>*(a) make a public announcement of the determination; and* >> >> *(b) cause a copy of the announcement to be published on the internet.* > > *(2) The Minister must not make an announcement under subsection (1) together with any of the following:* > >> *(a) another member of parliament;* >> >> *(b) a candidate in an election for the Senate or the House of Representatives.* > > *(3) An announcement made under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.* > > *(4) To avoid doubt, subsection (1) applies in addition to subsection 51(3).* > > *(5) In this section, member of parliament means:* > >> *(a) a senator; or* >> >> *(b) a member of the House of Representatives; or* >> >> *(c) a Minister of State who is not a senator or member of the House of Representatives; or* >> >> *(d) a person who is taken to be the President of the Senate under the Parliamentary Presiding Officers Act 1965 and who is not a senator or member of the House of Representatives; or* >> >> *(e) a person who is taken to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives under the Parliamentary Presiding Officers Act 1965 and who is not a senator or member of the House of Representatives.* — 2020-02-11, Senate: negative, ayes 9, noes 52
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2019-09-18.
The bill would increase the money available for research programs run by the Australian Research Council by adding an extra $829.052 million over four years.
It would raise the maximum funding caps in the Australian Research Council Act 2001 by applying standard inflation adjustments to three existing annual figures and adding a new figure for the year starting 1 July 2022.
The changes affect only the special appropriation mechanism and do not change the substance of the Act, and the bill does not engage any human rights.
- Apply indexation rates to existing appropriation amounts for the financial years starting 1 July 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2021.
- Add a new appropriation for the financial year starting 1 July 2022, extending the forward estimate period.
- Increase the total special appropriation by $829.052 million for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2023.
The Australian Research Council and the research programs it administers under the National Competitive Grants Program.
Sources
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frl act