Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Act 2003 (Tas)

Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Act 2003

An Act to create the Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Board, to provide for the development and management of qualification processes, to abolish certain qualifications bodies, to repeal the Universities Registration Act 1995 and related Acts, to amend certain Acts and for related purposes [Royal Assent 17 November 2003]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Act 2003 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – accredited course means an accredited senior secondary course, accredited higher education course or accredited other education course; accredited education program means an education program that is accredited under section 55ZU ; accredited higher education course means a course that is accredited under section 36 or by a self-accrediting higher education provider; accredited other education course means a course that is accredited under section 55ZI ; accredited senior secondary course means a course that has been accredited under section 26 ; accredited training course has the same meaning as "VET course" in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 of the Commonwealth; amend includes – (a) omit matter; and (b) insert or add matter; and (c) omit matter and substitute other matter; approval certificate means an approval certificate issued under section 55D ; approved overseas higher education course means a higher education course approved under section 55B(5)(b) ; approved overseas higher education provider means an overseas higher education institution approved under section 55B(1)(a) as an approved overseas higher education provider; approved overseas higher education qualification means a qualification approved under section 55B(5)(c) ; approved qualification means – (a) a qualification for an accredited senior secondary course determined under section 26(4)(b) ; or (b) a qualification for an examination or assessment of senior secondary education determined under section 33C(b) ; or (c) a higher education award for an accredited higher education course determined under section 36(3) ; or (d) a qualification for an approved overseas higher education course approved under section 55B(5)(c) ; or (e) a qualification for a higher education course provided by a self-accrediting higher education provider determined by that provider under section 55Z ; or (f) a qualification for an accredited other education course determined under section 55ZI(3) ; or (g) a qualification for an examination or assessment of other education determined under section 55ZR(b) ; or (h) a qualification for an accredited education program determined under section 55ZU(5) ; assessment recommendation means the recommendation made under section 55ZZR by the Board to the Minister as to whether it is appropriate to establish a new university; Australian Accounting Standards means Statements of Accounting Standards issued jointly by the National Councils of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia or their successors; Australian Qualifications Framework means the policy of that name, defining all qualifications recognised nationally in post-compulsory education and training within Australia, endorsed by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs so as to commence on 12 January 1995, as amended from time to time; Australian university has the same meaning as in the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes; authorised officer means a person appointed under section 19 to be an authorised officer; Board means the Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Board established by section 7 ; certificate of self-accrediting status means a certificate of self-accrediting status issued under section 55Q ; committee means a committee established under section 20 ; corresponding law means a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory that provides for the accreditation, registration, licensing, approval or other recognition of any one or more of the following: (a) senior secondary courses; (b) higher education courses; (c) other education courses; (d) education programs; (e) higher education providers; (f) providers of education programs to overseas students; course means – (a) a senior secondary course; or (b) an accredited training course; or (c) a higher education course; or (d) an approved overseas higher education course; or (e) an accredited other education course – which includes one or more subjects, syllabuses or programs of study or training leading to the conferral or issue of a particular qualification; education program means – (a) an accredited course; or (b) an accredited training course; or (c) any other instruction, training or prescribed means of education, whether given as a course of study or otherwise; exempt university means – (a) a university; or (b) another provider of higher education; or (c) another person – referred to in section 5 ; externally provided distance course means a course provided to a student situated in Tasmania if – (a) the course is entirely provided by means that do not include teaching in person; and (b) while the person is providing the course, the person is not present in Tasmania, and does not have any employees or business premises in Tasmania, for the purposes of providing that course; field of study has the same meaning as in the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes; formal education means education that – (a) is delivered in a structured program that if successfully completed will result in the person obtaining a qualification; or (b) will result in the person obtaining a qualification if – (i) the attainment of the education is successfully demonstrated by that person in an examination or other assessment conducted by another person, other than the Office; and (ii) the conduct of such an examination or other assessment by that other person is an ordinary part of the business, functions or activities of that other person; functions includes duties; higher education means education in relation to which a higher education award may be issued; higher education award means – (a) an award of a diploma or advanced diploma; or (b) an award of a graduate diploma or graduate certificate; or (c) an award of an associate degree, bachelor degree, masters degree or doctoral degree; or (d) any other award specified in the Australian Qualifications Framework as a higher education award; or (da) an approved overseas higher education qualification; or (e) a prescribed award – but does not include a qualification that is awarded or issued in respect of vocational education and training or by an exempt university; higher education course means a course of study that entitles a person who satisfies the course requirements to the conferral or issue of a higher education award; interstate higher education course means a higher education course that is – (a) accredited, registered, licensed or otherwise approved under a corresponding law that provides for the accreditation, registration, licensing or other approval of a higher education course; and (b) provided to a student present in Tasmania – but does not include an externally provided distance course; justice of the peace does not include a magistrate; local higher education course means a higher education course, other than an interstate higher education course or overseas higher education course, that – (a) is provided in Tasmania; or (b) is provided in another State, a Territory or another country by a person resident or situated in, or whose principal business premises are situated in, Tasmania; MCEETYA means – (a) the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs created in 1993 by the Council of Australian Governments and which consists of the Ministers from the Commonwealth, States and Territories having responsibility for education, employment, training and youth affairs; or (b) any other Ministerial Council consisting of the Ministers from the Commonwealth, States and Territories having responsibility for senior secondary education and tertiary education, whether created in substitution for, or in addition to, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs referred to in paragraph (a) , or otherwise; National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students means the code of that name approved by MCEETYA on 7 July 2006, as amended or substituted from time to time; National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes means – (a) the set of protocols governing higher education quality assurance processes agreed to by the States and Territories at the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs on 31 March 2000, as amended from time to time; or (b) any set of protocols agreed to in substitution for the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes, as amended from time to time; national standard means a standard relating to the provision of a course, the assessment of a person undertaking a course or the conferral or issue of a qualification in respect of a course to be followed by Commonwealth, State and Territory registering bodies and course accrediting bodies under – (a) (b) the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes; or (c) the National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students; or (d) the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) Standards; other education means education obtained by a person after the completion of those years of schooling that the person is required by law to attend – (a) including but not limited to adult education, community education and education specifically designed for a person with a disability; but (b) excluding senior secondary education, vocational education and training and higher education; other education course means a course of study in other education that entitles a person who satisfies the course requirements to the conferral or issue of an approved qualification; overseas higher education course means a higher education course provided or to be provided by an overseas higher education institution; overseas higher education institution has the same meaning as in the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes; overseas student means a student in relation to whom a fee is paid for a course, but does not include – (a) an Australian citizen or a dependant of an Australian citizen; or (b) a New Zealand citizen or a dependant of a New Zealand citizen; or (c) a permanent resident in Australia or a dependant of such a permanent resident; or (d) a refugee resident in Australia; person includes – (a) a body of persons corporate or unincorporate; and (b) a government department or part of a government department; qualification means the recognition, by any means, that a person has successfully completed a course or course of study or has been successful in an examination or other assessment of an area of his or her education; recognised qualification means a qualification recognised by the Board under section 55ZZM(1) ; registered education (overseas students) provider means a person who is registered as a registered education (overseas students) provider under section 55ZZA ; registered higher education provider means a person who is registered as a registered higher education provider under section 43 , while that registration has effect; registered school has the same meaning as in the Education Act 2016 ; registered student exchange organisation means an organisation or other person that is registered as a registered student exchange organisation under section 33E ; registered training organisation has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 of the Commonwealth; Registrar means the Registrar of the Board appointed under section 16 ; registration certificate means a registration certificate issued under section 45 ; registration (overseas students) certificate means a registration (overseas students) certificate issued under section 55ZZC ; registration (student exchange organisation) certificate means a registration (student exchange organisation) certificate issued under section 33F ; regulations means regulations made and in force under section 72 ; rules means rules made and in force under section 64 ; school has the same meaning as in the Education Act 2016 ; self-accrediting higher education provider means a person who is granted the status of self-accrediting higher education provider under section 55O ; senior secondary accreditation framework means the framework relating to the accreditation of senior secondary courses approved by the Minister under section 24F , as amended or substituted from time to time under that section; senior secondary course means a course of study that is normally undertaken, or intended to be undertaken, during senior secondary education; senior secondary education means secondary education that is usually undertaken by persons following the completion of the fourth year of secondary education, being the year commonly known as Year 10; State school has the same meaning as in the Education Act 2016 ; student exchange program means a program whereby Tasmanian students undertaking senior secondary education, or other secondary education, may undertake a part of their studies in a country other than Australia and in return students from other countries may undertake a part of their studies in Tasmania; Treasurer's Instructions means instructions issued under section 114 of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 or section 51 of the Financial Management Act 2016 ; vocational education and training has the same meaning as in the Training and Workforce Development Act 2013 . (2) For the purposes of this Act – (a) a person may provide a course or education in person, by mail, by means of the internet, radio or television or by any other means; and (b) a person who provides a course or education to a student who is present in Tasmania while undertaking that course or education is taken to provide that course or education in Tasmania unless that course is an externally provided distance course.