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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 2580 ..

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (10.53): Mr Speaker, I present the Board of Senior Secondary Studies Bill 1997, together with its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR STEFANIAK: Mr Speaker, I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

This Bill proposes to alter the status of the ACT's Board of Senior Secondary Studies to that of a statutory body in order to maintain the Territory's reputation as an educational leader and innovator in the senior secondary sector. First, let me give a little historical perspective of the progress of the board so as to put this proposal into perspective. The ACT Schools Accrediting Agency was established in 1975 to administer the functions of accreditation, assessment and certification of ACT government and non-government senior colleges. In February 1991 the name of the agency was changed to the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies.

The current administrative arrangements for the board are based on the Schools Authority Act 1976. This legislation refers to neither a board nor the functions of accreditation, assessment or certification. The proposal for a change to the board's status, Mr Speaker, is clearly overdue. Interim arrangements for the formation of a statutory body have been documented in the document "Protocol about Accreditation, Assessment and Certification for year 11 and 12 students in the ACT", which was signed by the chief executive of the department, the board chair and me as Minister.

Mr Speaker, the driving rationale for placing the board on a statutory basis is to provide for the separation of the functions of accreditation, assessment and certification from both the Minister and the department. This separation will serve two important purposes. Firstly, it removes the possibility of the Minister being placed in the invidious position of being asked to intervene in decisions on the assessment and certification of individual students. The existing arrangements could see the assessment being raised and debated in the political arena. I am sure members would agree that this is entirely inappropriate and to be avoided. Secondly, giving the board statutory status bestows on it a significant degree of neutrality. The Department of Education and Training is only one provider of education in the Territory, and the non-government sector issues will be much better handled by a statutory Board of Senior Secondary Studies that is clearly separated from the Department of Education and Training.

A further, pressing reason to place the board on a statutory basis is the matter of national uniformity. Every other State and Territory jurisdiction in Australia has a statutory body to carry out the functions of accreditation, assessment and certification; and it is extremely important. It is most appropriate, not the least in terms of transparency, that the ACT follow suit. Since Cabinet approved the preparation of draft legislation, Mr Speaker, it has become clear that there is a need to rationalise the function of accreditation of, and approval to deliver, vocational courses in schools.

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