Background information

The Education (Tertiary Reforms) Amendment Bill ("the Bill") implements the government's reform of the system for planning, funding and monitoring the provision of tertiary education.

The Bill introduces a more streamlined system by:

• combining the Tertiary Education Strategy and the Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities into a single document called the "Tertiary Education Strategy", to set out the Government's long term strategy and current to medium term priorities for tertiary education;
• introducing a single document, the "plan" to replace Charters and Profiles. Prepared by tertiary education organisations, in consultation with their stakeholders and in collaboration with the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), the Plan will be used for: planning; seeking Government funding for programmes and activities; and monitoring, reporting and auditing purposes;
• introducing new mechanisms to reflect the new three-year Plan cycle and to enable the TEC to manage the controlled funding system. These include legal mechanisms for tertiary education organisations and the TEC to manage change and any performance or relationship issues; and more explicit obligations on the TEC in respect of procedural fairness;

The streamlined system will significantly reduce compliance costs for tertiary education organisations and will also reduce the administrative workload on the TEC and the Minister.

The reforms introduce a new investment system in which planning, funding, and monitoring will be aligned to ensure the system delivers for stakeholders - especially students, employers, local authorities and communities - and produces skilled graduates in needed areas, so that taxpayers get greater value for their investment in tertiary education.