Sarah Courtney,Minister for Education
The draft Education Legislation Amendments (Education Regulation) Bill 2021 has been released for consultation today as part of the Tasmanian Liberal Government's Plan to improve education outcomes.
Education is the single most powerful driver for improving economic and social outcomes in Tasmania including health, life expectancy, happiness and productivity.
That's why we committed to a review of the education regulatory framework to ensure it is modern and better meets the needs of children and young people now, and into the future.
The Review of Education Regulation Steering Committee Report notes that legislative change is required to implement 14 of the 24 Recommendations.
The Draft Bill will amend 7 separate pieces of legislation including the Education Act 2016, the Teachers Registration Act 2000 and the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Act 2003.
The Draft Bill makes important amendments such as:
*Broader application of the Education Act 2016 principles to facilitate an approach to regulation that is centred around the learner and achievement of outcomes for learners;
*Providing for a performance framework for the regulators, including the development of outcome-based performance targets; and
*Establishing skills-based boards for TRB, TASC and the NGRSB.
The Teachers Registration Board Tasmania (TRB), the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC), the Registrar Education, and the Non-Government Schools Registration Board (NGRSB) all provide critical regulatory oversight and support services to education in Tasmania.
The Draft Bill has been developed following considerable consultation with stakeholders.
The Government looks forward to receiving further feedback from the community during this next round of consultation to further ensure that our regulatory framework meets the needs of our learners into the future.
The Draft Bill can be viewed at https://www.education.tas.gov.au/about-us/legislation/review-of-education-regulation/
Consultation on the Draft Bill will close on 22 August.
