Document
Index
Budget Paper 2
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Document
Index |
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Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will boost skills and opportunities for young people in rural and regional Australia in particular by providing an additional incentive payment of $1,000 to employers who progress New Apprentices to higher skill levels in trades and occupations experiencing skill shortages, essentially those included in the ‘National Skills Shortage List’ issued by the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.
The measure took effect from 1 January 1999. It will assist in the order of 30,000 New Apprentices and also support around 6,000 New Apprenticeship commencements. The New Apprenticeship incentive is a key element in achieving education and training outcomes.
This measure delivers on the Government’s election commitment in Skilling Australia for Jobs.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government announced in its 1998 election policy statement for schools, Raising Standards, that it would provide support for the continued development of Asian languages and an understanding of Asian cultures in our schools. By providing funding for another three years for the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Strategy, the Government has honoured that commitment.
The Strategy is a collaborative initiative of Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. It supports Asian languages and studies in all school systems in order to improve Australia’s capacity and preparedness to interact internationally, in particular with key Asian economies. In the short to medium term the Strategy targets the languages of our four most significant trading partners – Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Korean and Indonesian.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government has increased the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme basic and additional boarding allowances from 1999. The Government is committed to providing all Australians access to quality education and this increased funding meets the Government’s 1998 education election commitments announced in Raising Standards.
The AIC Scheme helps families of students who are unable to attend an appropriate government school on a daily basis – primarily due to geographic isolation. This increase in allowances recognises the barriers to education faced by many isolated families and the extra costs associated with the schooling of their children. It will affect approximately 7,800 students.
Further Information
The increase in allowances took effect from 1 January 1999. It increases the basic boarding allowance from $2,900 to $3,500, restoring the rate to 55 per cent of the average boarding fee. It also increases the upper limit that can be received under a combination of the basic and additional boarding allowances, bringing it in line with ABSTUDY’s school fees allowance for boarders. The increase means that the maximum amount that can be received under both the AIC boarding allowances is now $4,377. The increased amounts will apply to both primary and secondary students where previously they received different levels of assistance.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide funding to update and improve the skills and professionalism of teachers in both government and non-government schools. This measure meets the Government’s 1998 election commitment in Raising Standards, to strengthen the skills of the teaching profession.
The programme will provide professional development to renew teacher skills and understanding of literacy, numeracy, mathematics, science, information technology and vocational education. The initiative will specifically target teachers who have completed formal training ten or more years ago, casual teachers and teachers who are re-entering the teaching force. Consultations about the initiative will take place from June to December 1999. Programme activities will be initiated in February 2000.
The professional development programme can be provided by government and non-government education authorities, professional associations or suitably qualified consortiums of education providers (including schools or clusters of schools) in identified Commonwealth priority areas.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government has increased the funding for higher education research infrastructure by $93.3 million over the period 1999-2000 to 2001-02. It provides funding to support university facilities such as libraries, computing centres, animal houses, herbaria and experimental farms, salaries of research staff and equipment expenses.
This initiative ensures that funding does not fall below 1996 levels and honours the Government’s election commitment in its Higher Education Policy Statement. The measure takes effect from 1 January 2000.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide funding of $25 million from 1999-2000 to 2001-02, commencing 1 January 2000, to fund university science lectureships. The measure will enable universities to respond quickly and effectively to demand for new undergraduate and post-graduate science courses, which give students the new knowledge and skills necessary to meet the needs of emerging industries and technologies.
The design and delivery of courses will be developed cooperatively by industry and universities. This additional funding honours the election commitment made in Science – A Vision for Excellence to provide new funding to support Australia becoming a knowledge-based economy and to improve the effectiveness of our institutions in developing, transferring and applying knowledge.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government has been able to deliver savings of $4 million per annum to the Budget by focussing remaining programme funding in the Higher Education Innovation Programme on a smaller number of key priority areas including:
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government has decided to phase out the Higher Education Equity Merit Scholarship Scheme from the 2000 academic year. To ensure current scholarship holders are not disadvantaged, the Government has decided that the measure will not affect scholarships already awarded.
Students who may otherwise have received a scholarship are expected to participate in the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). The income-contingent, interest free, deferred payment arrangements available under HECS are an appropriate means of ensuring that disadvantaged students are not discouraged from participating in higher education.
Further Information
The savings from this measure arise from phasing out of the HECS exemption available to scholarship recipients.
See also the related capital and revenue measures under the Education, Training and Youth Affairs portfolio titled Phasing out of the Higher Education Equity Merit Scholarship Scheme.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will continue funding for the existing National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The Strategy, which was due to end in 1999, will now continue until 2002. Funding for the Literacy and Numeracy Programme will provide support to schools to measurably improve the literacy and numeracy skills of students in the early years of school who are not meeting the national benchmarks, including support for Indigenous students as a priority area. This will ensure students do not leave school without the literacy and numeracy skills to enable them to enter work or further training.
This decision honours the Government’s election commitment announced in Raising Standards to provide additional funding to further improve literacy and numeracy in schools.
For further information see the related expense measure under the Education, Training and Youth Affairs portfolio titled Literacy and Numeracy in the Middle Years of Schooling.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will extend the Literacy and Numeracy Programme to the middle years of schooling to ensure that students have the basic literacy and numeracy skills to cope with the demands of the secondary school curriculum.
This funding will support the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan into the middle years of schooling and meets the Government’s 1998 election commitment, announced in Raising Standards. The funding, which will commence on 1 January 2000, will support innovative and nationally significant initiatives to assist students who have progressed to later primary and early secondary school without achieving a minimum acceptable standard of literacy and numeracy.
See also the related expense measure under the Education, Training and Youth Affairs portfolio titled Improvement of School Students' Literacy and Numeracy Skills.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government has endorsed an agreement between the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) and the Department of Finance and Administration which establishes the price of delivering DETYA’s services to the community. This will result in a reduction in price of DETYA’s outputs by $40 million over the budget and forward estimates. The savings will be achieved through efficiencies in DETYA’s operations, which will have no impact on the level of service to the community.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government announced in its 1998 election policy statement, Tough on Drugs – Strengthening the Fight, that, as part of its commitment to the National Illicit Drug Strategy, it would provide additional funding to extend activities under the National School Drug Education Strategy.
This measure honours that commitment. It provides funding for the extension of professional development and pre-service training of teachers, information and education for parents on drug matters and school and community partnership projects. It enhances and builds on existing State and Territory activities and is consistent with Government objectives set out in the National Drug Strategic Framework 1998-99 to 2002-03.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide funding to extend the Young Offender Pilot Programme to assist young offenders in rural and remote locations in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. This meets the election commitment announced in the Law and Justice policy statement – A Safer and Stronger Australia, to deliver additional funding to the programme.
The programme provides intensive support (job search training, career counselling and the development of literacy and numeracy skills) for juvenile offenders about to return to the community. It uses a range of strategies to assist in their integration into mainstream community life, education, training and employment. Intensive support is given to offenders while they are in custody and continues post-release.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide funding in 1999-2000 for the development of nationally recognised training materials and a training programme to enhance management skills for women in small business. These will be made available through Vocational Education and Training providers in a self-paced learning format.
Information on the products will be disseminated through on-line technology, seminars and printed material, linked to broader information initiatives by the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.
This funding will meet the Government’s 1998 election commitment, outlined in Opportunity and Choice, to support women participating effectively in small business, which is vital to generating and maintaining employment, growth and prosperity.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide funding for 60 medical places at James Cook University (JCU) in Queensland commencing at the start of the 2001 academic year.
The increased funding honours an election commitment to support the allocation of $10 million from the Health and Aged Care portfolio for capital works to establish the James Cook University Medical School. This is conditional on matched funding being provided by the Queensland Government.
This measure delivers on the Government’s election commitment in The Best of Health (Rural and Regional Health).
Further Information
Twenty of the 60 medical places will be new places allocated to JCU, while the remaining 40 places will be transferred from existing medical schools. Five of the new student places will be earmarked for indigenous students, and 15 for students from rural or remote areas. Institutions prepared to release places from medical schools will, subject to negotiation, be able to reallocate resources to other purposes.
See related Health and Aged Care portfolio measure entitled Establishing regional medical schools.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide a one-off endowment in 1999-2000, to the Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, University of London. The endowment replaces previous Commonwealth annual grant payments, and gives the Centre long-term security of funding. The Centre promotes Australian studies and individual and institutional linkages through activities such as guest-lectures by eminent Australians, academic and student exchanges, discussion forums and conferences.
This initiative will raise the level of interest in and excellence of Australian studies overseas and will help Australia to win recognition as a world class contributor to education, training and research. It also links to Government priorities for the promotion of Australia’s cultural, economic and social achievements and to broader government-to-government links.
Expense ($m)
Explanation
The Government will provide a one-off endowment in 1999-2000 to the Centre for Australian and New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC. The endowment replaces previous Commonwealth annual grant payments, and gives the Centre long-term security of funding. The Centre promotes Australian studies and individual and institutional linkages through activities such as guest-lectures by eminent Australians, academic and student exchanges, discussion forums and conferences.
This initiative will raise the level of interest in and excellence of Australian studies overseas and will help Australia to win recognition as a world class contributor to education, training and research. It also links to Government priorities for the promotion of Australia’s cultural, economic and social achievements and to broader government-to-government links.
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