Portfolio Budget Statements - Part B - Portfolio Overview

• The Education, Training and Youth Affairs Portfolio
• Strategic Priorities for the Education, Training and Youth Affairs Portfolio
• Achieving better outcomes in Education and Training
• Improving the educational outcomes for Indigenous students
• Regulating Provisions for Overseas Students
• Structure of the Portfolio's Outcomes (Graphic)
• Educations, Training and Youth Affairs Portfolio Minister (Graphic)

The Portfolio comprises the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA), the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA), the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board (AATB), the Australian National University (ANU) and the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Both DETYA and ANTA are financial entities "controlled" by the Commonwealth, are in the general government sector and are therefore treated as agencies within the Portfolio’s Outcome framework. Both agencies are required to produce Agency Budget Statements (Part C of this document).

The AATB, ANU and the ARC are not regarded as agencies for the purposes of the Outcome/output framework.

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Strategic Priorities for the Education, Training and Youth Affairs Portfolio

The strategic priorities for the Portfolio continue to focus on those reported in the 1999-2000 Portfolio Budget Statements. The Portfolio will continue to work with other jurisdictions to create a flexible education and training system which promotes informed choice, encourages investment in the upgrading of skills, expands and improves the pathways available to individuals and the capacity of institutions to meet changing needs. The Portfolio has an important role in helping each of the sectors (schools; vocational education and training; and higher education) to advance the quality of learning and the options available to individual students in accordance with national priorities. Over the coming twelve months the Portfolio will be seeking to advance national priorities in each of the sectors but in particular will focus on the following key priorities:

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Achieving better outcomes in education and training

The Portfolio remains committed to supporting improved standards and improved accountability for outcomes in the education and training sectors. Australia’s future depends on each student having the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills and values for a productive and fulfilling life. Common and agreed national goals for schooling establish a foundation for action among State and Territory governments to seek the best possible outcomes for young Australians. The revised "National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century" released in April 1999 provide a unique opportunity for improving the outcomes of Australian schooling within a framework of national collaboration. The Portfolio will be working with States and Territories to develop performance benchmarks so that progress in meeting the goals can be monitored and reported. Moreover, a particular priority for the coming year is actions to support the early intervention and assessment of students at risk of not achieving minimum standards of literacy and numeracy, including indigenous students, and reforms to the funding of non-government schools for the 2001-2004 quadrennium.

Advancing the quality of Australia’s higher education sector will also be an important priority for the Portfolio in the coming months. A new quality assurance system for the higher education sector, which is being developed in conjunction with the States and Territories, was announced in late 1999. The Portfolio will be working to implement the new arrangements in the coming year and will be focusing on the negotiation of the administrative structures, funding processes and expected outcomes. The year ahead will also see the implementation and monitoring of significant changes to the framework for higher education research funding. These new arrangements will provide stronger incentives for industry collaboration, introduce a new quality assurance system, encourage a higher quality of research training and improve completion times for postgraduate research students.

Further reform and improvement in the performance of the vocational education and training sector will also remain a priority.

In addition, to the Portfolio’s efforts to improve the quality, range and relevance of education and training opportunities available to young people, over the coming twelve months, the Portfolio will be seeking to strengthen support for young people in a number of key areas. A significant initiative will be the development with State and Territory Governments of a unique national career information system, to become operational in 2001, which will deliver high quality career, occupational and labour market information to help people make the informed decisions about education, training and job preparation. Moreover, the National Youth Development Strategy endorsed by the Ministerial Council for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), aims to build stronger links between Commonwealth and State/Territory programs through the coordination and facilitation of a broad range of youth development activities.

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Improving the educational outcomes for Indigenous students

A key challenge for the Portfolio is to achieve greater educational equality for Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Achieving this will be an essential step towards securing a stronger, more united and cohesive Australian society. A set of key performance measures has been agreed by all Ministers for Education through the MCEETYA and performance improvement targets are being set for funding agreements for 2001-2004.

The Commonwealth’s National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy was launched in March 2000. Its aim is to achieve English literacy and numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students at levels comparable to those achieved by other young Australians. This objective will be achieved by education providers making more effective use of the significant resources available under State, Territory and Commonwealth general recurrent education funding and specific supplementary funding programmes, to implement the following six key elements:

Implementation Plans for the new Strategy will detail the range of specific initiatives to be adopted in each State and Territory and in particular rural, remote and urban areas of greatest need.

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Regulating Provision for Overseas Students

In 1999 the number of international students at Australian institutions grew by 7% to 158,000. Their presence on our campuses broadens the experience of Australian students and strengthens bonds with our neighbours in Asia and elsewhere. Export earnings from overseas students in 1999 amounted to over $3.1 billion, one-ninth of Australia’s service exports.

Regulation of the industry is proposed to be tightened in order to give overseas students better safeguards for the fees they pre-pay, to enhance the integrity of the student visa regime, and to bring pressure to bear on a small minority of poor quality providers to improve or leave the industry. The Government will legislate this year to improve the regulatory framework, in partnership with the States and the industry.