Bill

Education Legislation Amendment (2020 Measures No. 1) Bill 2020

passed, as at 2020-06-19. Education, Skills and Employment portfolio.

Sponsor: Not recorded
Portfolio: Education, Skills and Employment

Recorded stages

introduced — 2020-06-11
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second reading — 2020-06-11
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second reading — 2020-06-17
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second reading — 2020-06-17
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third reading — 2020-06-17
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introduced — 2020-06-18
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second reading — 2020-06-18
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second reading — 2020-06-18
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second reading — 2020-06-18
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third reading — 2020-06-18
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passed — 2020-06-18
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royal assent — 2020-06-19
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Divisions

The majority voted in favour of a motion to keep the wording of the original second reading motion unchanged. In parliamentary jargon, they voted "*that the words proposed to be omitted stand as part of the question.*" The usual second reading is "*that the bill be read a [second time](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/)*," which is the same as agreeing with the main idea of the bill. This vote was put after the MP for Sydney [Tanya Plibersek](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/sydney/tanya_plibersek) (Labor) introduced the following amendment to the usual second reading motion: > *That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:* > > *"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that the Government has damaged the quality of Australia's world-class post-secondary education system by:* > > *(1) cutting billions from universities, slashing research funding and locking students out of tertiary education;* > > *(2) cutting billions from TAFEs and training, presiding over a dramatic decline in students undertaking vocational education; and* > > *(3) failing to develop a long-term policy for the Australian post-secondary education system".* — 2020-06-17, House of Representatives: affirmative, ayes 61, noes 47
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Plain-language summary

Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2020-06-11.

This bill would change several rules for university and vocational student loans.

It would require new students from 2021 and all students from 2023 to have a unique student identifier to get Commonwealth help.

The bill would also temporarily waive the 25% loan fee for undergraduate FEE-HELP students with census dates between 1 April and 30 September 2020.

Extends the unique student identifier requirement to all higher education students.
Gives the department secretary power to identify students with multiple CHESSNs who have exceeded the HELP loan limit and let them repay excess debt through the tax system.
Clarifies that a student's HELP balance is reduced right after the census date for HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP, and after the census day for VSL.
Exempts undergraduate students from the 25% loan fee for FEE-HELP loans with census dates from 1 April to 30 September 2020.
Amends the definition of 'course of study in aviation' to include approved VET courses, so the higher HELP loan limit applies to VET aviation courses as well.

Higher education students, vocational education students, and higher education providers.

Sources

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