Commonwealth Numbered Acts

STATES GRANTS (TERTIARY EDUCATION ASSISTANCE) ACT 1984 No. 127, 1984 - SECT 3

3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

"Aboriginal" means a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia, and includes
a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands;

"Academic Salaries Tribunal" means the Tribunal established under that name by
section 12B of the Remuneration Tribunals Act 1973;

"affiliated college", in relation to a university or college of advanced
education, means a residential college (not being a student residence)
affiliated with the university or college, as the case may be, and approved by
the Commission, for the purpose of this Act, as an affiliated college;

"approved authority" means-

   (a)  in relation to a non-government teachers college-such person or body
        as the Minister declares to be the approved authority of that college
        for the purposes of this Act; and

   (b)  in relation to a non-government business college-such person or body
        as the Minister declares to be the approved authority of that college
        for the purposes of this Act;

"approved form" means a form approved by the Commission;

"building project" means-

   (a)  the purchase of land, with or without buildings;

   (b)  the designing, erection, alteration or extension of a building or
        other facilities;

   (c)  the development or preparation of land for building or other purposes;
        or

   (d)  the installation of water, electricity or other services;

"business college" means a college or similar institution, whether
incorporated or unincorporated, providing courses of instruction in
secretarial studies, but does not include a particular college or institution
that provides such courses if the Minister-

   (a)  is notified by the State Tertiary Education Minister for a State that
        the college or institution is not recognized by the State Tertiary
        Education Minister as a business college; and

   (b)  does not approve the college or institution as a business college for
        the purposes of this Act;

"business college census date", in relation to a month of the year 1985, means
the date in that month declared by the Minister, by notice published in the
Gazette, to be the business college census date for that month;

"capital expenditure" means expenditure on a building project;

"college of advanced education" means-

   (a)  an institution that is a college of advanced education for the
        purposes of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission Act 1977
        other than such an institution that is situated in a Territory; or

   (b)  an institution (other than an institution referred to in paragraph
        (a)) that is declared by the Minister, after obtaining the view of the
        State in which the institution is situated and the advice of the
        Commission, to be an institution that is to be treated, for the
        purposes of this Act, as a college of advanced education;

"college purposes", in relation to a college of advanced education, means-

   (a)  the general teaching purposes of the college in connection with
        courses of advanced education provided at the college, including
        preparatory work in connection with proposed courses of advanced
        education to be provided at the college;

   (b)  the provision by the college of courses of continuing education in
        accordance with a program of continuing education of the college that
        is approved by the responsible authority for the State in which the
        college is situated; and

   (c)  building projects of the college, not being building projects
        involving the purchase of land, in relation to each of which the total
        expenditure does not exceed $70,000 or an amount equal to 0.25% of the
        amount specified in Schedule 3 in relation to the college and to the
        year in which work on the project was commenced, whichever is the
        lesser amount;

"collegiate accommodation", in relation to a university, college of advanced
education or non-government teachers college, means residential accommodation
(including related facilities) for students of the university or college, as
the case requires, being accommodation that, having regard to the facilities
and services provided for the students, is, in the opinion of the Commission,
of a collegiate nature;

"commencing day" means the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;

"Commission" means the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission referred to
in section 6 of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission Act 1977 ;

"course of advanced education", in relation to a relevant institution, means a
course of study-

   (a)  that is accredited or provisionally accredited by the authority for
        the State in which the relevant institution is situated that is
        responsible for the accreditation of advanced education courses; and

   (b)  that is undertaken for the purpose of obtaining an award of the
        relevant institution, or of another relevant institution, of a kind
        determined by the Minister, on the recommendation of the Commission,
        to be an award to which this definition applies,
and includes a course of instruction provided by the relevant institution to
persons for the purpose of enabling those persons to undertake, at the
relevant institution or another relevant institution, a course of study of a
kind to which paragraph (a) or (b) applies;

"course of instruction in secretarial studies" means a course of instruction
in-

   (a)  shorthand;

   (b)  typing; or

   (c)  shorthand and typing,
together with other subjects suitable for preparing persons to perform
secretarial duties;

"course of study", in relation to a university, includes a course of
instruction provided by the university to persons for the purpose of enabling
those persons to undertake a course of study provided by the university;

"course of teacher education" means a course of instruction that is accredited
or provisionally accredited by the responsible authority for the State as a
course of teacher education and that is provided by way of professional
training for persons intending to become primary school teachers or secondary
school teachers;

"fees", in relation to a relevant institution, means tuition, examination or
other fees payable to the relevant institution by a student enrolled at, or
applying for enrolment at, the relevant institution in connection with a
course of study or attendance at the relevant institution, and includes fees
payable to the relevant institution in respect of the granting of a degree,
diploma or other award (including a qualification relating to a trade,
technical or other skilled occupation) but does not include-

   (a)  fees the payment of which is voluntary;

   (b)  fees payable in respect of an organization of students, or of students
        and other persons, or in respect of the provision to students of
        amenities or services that are not of an academic nature;

   (c)  fees payable in respect of residential accommodation;

   (d)  in a case where the relevant institution is a university, college of
        advanced education or non-government teachers college-fees payable in
        connection with attendance for the purposes of studies (not being a
        course of instruction provided by a university or
        college of advanced education to persons for the purpose of enabling
        those persons to undertake a course of study provided by the
        university or a course of advanced education provided by the college)
        that are not required or permitted to be undertaken for the purpose of
        obtaining a degree, diploma or other award of the relevant
        institution;

   (e)  in a case where the relevant institution is a technical and further
        education institution or a Northern Territory tertiary education
        institution-fees payable in connection with, or in connection with
        attendance for the purposes of-

        (i)    studies that are not, or are not preparatory to, studies for
               the purposes of obtaining a qualification relating to a trade,
               technical or other skilled occupation; or

        (ii)   studies that are not required or permitted to be undertaken in
               relation to a course of advanced education provided by the
               relevant institution; or

   (f)  fees of a kind that are incidental to studies that may be undertaken
        at relevant institutions and that the Minister, by writing signed by
        the Minister and notified to each State Tertiary Education Minister,
        declares to be fees of a kind to which this paragraph applies;

"minor building project" means a building project included in a class of
building projects determined by the Minister to be a class of minor building
projects;

"non-government business college" means a business college in a State that is
not established by the Government of the State or conducted by or on behalf of
the Government of the State, but does not include a business college conducted
for the profit, direct or indirect, of an individual or individuals;

"non-government teachers college" means Avondale College or McAuley College;

"Northern Territory tertiary education institution" means an institution that
is situated in the Northern Territory and at which courses of advanced
education are, or technical and further education is, provided;

"prescribed staff", in relation to a university or college of advanced
education, means-

   (a)  the members of the staff (whether employed on a full-time or part-time
        basis) of the university or college-

        (i)    who are employed by the university or college wholly or
               principally in teaching or research or in both teaching and
               research; or

        (ii)   to whom persons referred to in sub-paragraph (i) are
               responsible in relation to the teaching or research in which
               they are employed,
but does not include members of the staff employed wholly or principally in
support of other members of the staff who are employed in teaching or
research; and

   (b)  those senior officers of the university or college in respect of whom
        the Academic Salaries Tribunal has recommended rates of salaries in a
        report or reports of a kind referred to in paragraph 12D (2) (c) of
        the Remuneration Tribunals Act 1973;

"previous Assistance Act" means the States Grants (Tertiary Education
Assistance) Act 1981;

"qualified accountant" means-

   (a)  a person who is registered as a company auditor or a public accountant
        under a law in force in a State or Territory;

   (b)  a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia or of
        the Australian Society of Accountants; or

   (c)  a person approved by the Commission as a qualified accountant for the
        purposes of this Act;

"qualified auditor" means, in relation to the furnishing of a statement for
the purposes of a condition of a grant of financial assistance to a State
under this Act-

   (a)  the Auditor-General of the State; or

   (b)  a qualified accountant;

"recurrent expenditure" means expenditure that is not capital expenditure;

"relevant institution" means-

   (a)  a university, college of advanced education, technical and further
        education institution or non-government teachers college that is
        situated in a State; or

   (b)  a Northern Territory tertiary education institution;

"State Tertiary Education Minister" means-

   (a)  in relation to a State-the Minister of the Crown for the State who is
        responsible, or principally responsible, for the administration of
        matters relating to tertiary education in that State; and

   (b)  in relation to the Northern Territory-the Minister of the Northern
        Territory who is responsible, or principally responsible, for the
        administration of matters relating to tertiary education in the
        Northern Territory;

"student residence" means-

   (a)  in relation to a university-a hall, college or other establishment at
        which any students of the university reside, being an establishment-

        (i)    administered by the university or by a body corporate
               established by the university; and

        (ii)   approved by the Commission, for the purposes of this Act, as a
               student residence; and

   (b)  in relation to a college of advanced education or non-government
        teachers college-a hall, college or other establishment at which any
        students of the college reside, being an establishment-

        (i)    administered by-

                (A)  the college or the body administering the college; or

                (B)  a body established by the college or by the body
                     administering the college; and

        (ii)   approved by the Commission, for the purposes of this Act, as a
               student residence;

"teaching hospital", in relation to a university, includes a hospital in which
students enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine, or School of Medicine, of the
university receive clinical instruction;

"technical and further education" means education provided by way of a course
of instruction or training-

   (a)  that is, or that is preparatory to, a course of a kind relevant to a
        trade, technical or other skilled occupation; or

   (b)  that otherwise meets the educational needs of persons who are not
        enrolled in a full-time course of primary or secondary education at a
        school,
but does not include education by way of a course of study that is, for the
purposes of this Act, a course of advanced education;

"technical and further education institution" means-

   (a)  an institution (other than a university or school), situated in a
        State, that provides technical and further education, being an
        institution conducted by, or on behalf of, the Government of the
        State; or

   (b)  an institution situated in a State, or a proposed institution to be
        situated in a State, that is specified in a direction for the time
        being in force under section 5 of the Commonwealth
        Tertiary Education Commission Act 1977;

"university" means an institution that is a university for the purposes of the
Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission Act 1977 other than such an
institution that is situated in a Territory;

"university purposes", in relation to a university, means-

   (a)  the general teaching purposes of the university in connection with
        courses of study provided by that university, including preparatory
        work in connection with proposed courses of study to be provided by
        the university;

   (b)  the general research purposes of the university; and

   (c)  building projects of the university, not being building projects that
        involve the purchase of land, in relation to each of which the total
        expenditure does not exceed $70,000 or an amount equal to 0.25% of the
        amount specified in Schedule 1 in relation to the university and to
        the year in which work on the project was commenced, whichever is the
        lesser amount;

"year to which this Act applies" means any one of the years 1985, 1986 and
1987.

(2) Where a building project consists of, or includes, the erection,
alteration or extension of a building, that project shall be deemed to
include-

   (a)  unless paragraph (b) applies-the provision of furnishings for the
        building, or for the altered parts or the extensions of the building,
        as the case may be; or

   (b)  in a case where the building project is a building project of a
        technical and further education institution-the provision of
        furnishings and equipment for the building, or for the altered parts
        or the extensions of the building, as the case may be.

(3) Without limiting the generality of sub-section (2), where a building
project by way of the erection, alteration or extension of a building is
undertaken in connection with the establishment of a library at a technical
and further education institution, the project shall be deemed to include the
provision of books and other library materials required for the establishment
of the library.

(4) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

   (a)  a reference to a report of the Academic Salaries Tribunal shall be
        read as a reference to a report of that Tribunal of a kind referred to
        in paragraph 12C (b), 12D (2) (c), 12DB (2) (b), 12DB (3) (a) or 12DC
        (1) (b) of the Remuneration Tribunals Act 1973; and

   (b)  a reference to a State shall be read as including a reference to the
        Northern Territory.

(5) For the purposes of this Act, the Darwin Community College shall be deemed
to be an institution conducted on behalf of the Government of the Northern
Territory.

(6) For the purposes of this Act-

   (a)  a State shall be deemed to have paid moneys to a college of advanced
        education that is not a body corporate if it has paid those moneys to
        the body administering that college; and

   (b)  a college of advanced education that is not a body corporate shall be
        deemed to have done any act or thing that is required or permitted by
        this Act to be done if the body administering the college has done
        that act or thing.

(7) Where-

   (a)  a State proposes to establish a college of advanced education;

   (b)  the name of the proposed college is specified in a Schedule to this
        Act; and

   (c)  a college under that name has not been established or a body has not
        been established to administer the proposed college, then, for the
        purposes of this Act-

   (d)  there shall be deemed to be in existence a college of advanced
        education under that name;

   (e)  the State shall be deemed to have paid moneys to the college if it has
        paid those moneys to such person or body as the Minister determines to
        be the appropriate authority in relation to the college for the
        purposes of this Act; and

   (f)  the college shall be deemed to have done any act or thing that is
        required or permitted by this Act to be done if the appropriate
        authority in relation to the college has done that act or thing.

(8) Where the Minister is satisfied that an institution, being a university,
college of advanced education or technical and further education institution,
that is known by a name other than a name specified in a Schedule to this Act
is substantially identical with an institution specified in a Schedule to this
Act, the Minister may, in the Minister's discretion and with the approval of
the State in which the first-mentioned institution is situated, declare that
the Minister is so satisfied, and, upon the making of the declaration, the
first-mentioned institution shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to
be the institution so specified in that Schedule.

(9) Where, for university purposes or for college purposes, a university or
college of advanced education makes provision, not inconsistent with actuarial
principles, in the accounts (including the journals and ledgers) of the
university or college for future or contingent liabilities in respect of
superannuation payments or long service leave, the university or college shall
be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to have expended the amount of that
provision for university purposes or college purposes, as the case requires,
in respect of the year in which that provision is made.

(10) Any declaration, approval, determination, direction or notification made
or given by the Minister under, or for the purposes of, this Act shall be made
or given in writing.