Education Legislation Amendment (Startup Year and Other Measures) Bill 2023

The majority voted against amendments (4) and (5) introduced by Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson (Liberal), which means they failed.

What do the amendments do?

Senator Henderson explained that:

Amendments (4) and (5) on sheet 1937 concern the ability of students to access a refund. We think this is critically important. So this provision provides that the debt for an accelerator program course with a higher education provider can be reversed if the secretary is satisfied that the course has not met its stated objectives. We propose these particular amendments because there is such high risk involved with these accelerator courses because they are full-fee-paying courses.

Amendment text

(4) Schedule 1, item 25, page 22 (after line 25), at the end of Subdivision 128E-B, add:

128E-40 Reversal of STARTUP-HELP assistance: accelerator program course objectives not met

*(1) An amount of *STARTUP-HELP assistance that a person received for an *accelerator program course with a higher education provider is reversed if the Secretary is satisfied that the course has not met its stated objectives.

Note 1: For example, a course may not have met its stated objectives if the course has not developed a person's skills, capabilities and connections for the purposes of startup businesses: see paragraph 128B-25(1)(a).

Note 2: For the consequences if an amount of assistance is reversed, see sections 128D-5, 128D-10 and 137-17. See also paragraph 128B-1(1)(c).

(2) Without limiting the matters that may be included in the STARTUP-HELP guidelines, those guidelines must set out:

(a) principles and procedures that the Secretary must follow in deciding whether the stated objectives of an accelerator program course have been met; and

(b) procedures for a person who is, or has been, enrolled in an accelerator program course to make an application to the Secretary for an amount of STARTUP-HELP assistance to be reversed under subsection (1).

(5) Schedule 1, item 73, page 34 (line 5), at the end of the definition of reversed in subclause 1(1) of Schedule 1, add:

; (f) section 128E-40 (accelerator program course objectives not met).