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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-30 Daily Xml
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Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clauses 1 to 6 passed.

Clause 7.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 1 [Maher–1]—

Page 5, lines 4 to 19 [clause 7, inserted section 9(1) and (2)]—Delete inserted subsections (1) and (2) and substitute:

(1) The Teachers Registration Board consists of not less than 10 and not more than 14 members appointed by the Governor of whom—

(a) at least 5 must be practising teachers, of whom—

(i) at least 4 must be nominated by the Australian Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(ii) at least 1 must be nominated by the Independent Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(b) at least 1 must be a person nominated jointly by the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia Incorporated and Catholic Education SA; and

(c) at least 1 must be a person employed in the field of teacher education nominated jointly by the universities in the State; and

(d) at least 1 must be a person nominated by the Chief Executive of the Department; and

(e) the remaining members are members nominated by the Minister, of whom—

(i) at least 1 must be a legal practitioner; and

(ii) 1 must be a parent of a school student appointed to represent the community interest.

(2) At least half of the members appointed under subsection (1) must be registered teachers.

This amendment changes the composition of the board to ensure teachers remain represented at similar numbers to the current act and that unions are required to nominate those appointed to ensure a balance in decision-making and protection against a majority of direct ministerial appointments to the board, reinstating appointment by the universities jointly and the three education sectors.

I can indicate that we have a range of amendments that are moved to this bill. I also note that the Hon. Connie Bonaros has amendments that will be moved by the Hon. Frank Pangallo that effectively amend the opposition amendments, and I can indicate that the three amendments filed in the name of the Hon. Connie Bonaros will be supported by the opposition.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes the amendment. This amendment seeks to modify the government's proposed changes to the composition of the Teachers Registration Board. It seeks to retain the current situation whereby members of the board are appointed by the Governor on the nomination of various stakeholders. These include relevant unions, non-government and Catholic school sectors, universities, the chief executive and the minister. The government opposes this amendment.

The bill introduces changes to ensure that members of the board are appointed based on the knowledge, skills and experience required for the board to carry out its functions effectively. It is seeking to move away from board membership based solely on the nominations of representative bodies. Clause 7 of the bill ensures that membership of the board will include practising teachers in the areas of early childhood education, primary education and secondary education. It further ensures that a legal practitioner or a parent of a school student is appointed to the board and that the board will have knowledge, skills and experience in the areas of teacher education and matters affecting employers of practising teachers.

In opposing this, depending on how the actual amendments are put, the government, whilst recognising as I understand it that it is unlikely to have the numbers to successfully oppose these amendments, will divide on one of these particular amendments to clause 7 just to put our flag in the sand so to speak. But in the interests of expediting passage through the committee stage, we will not divide on the remaining amendments to the clauses, even though our passionate opposition to all of them will be recorded verbally on each occasion but not by way of division.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I move:

Amendment No 1 [Bonaros–1]—

Page 5, lines 4 to 19 [clause 7, inserted section 9(1)]—Delete '10' and substitute '11'

Amendment No 2 [Bonaros–1]—

Page 5, lines 4 to 19 [clause 7, inserted section 9(1)(a)]—Delete '5' and substitute '6'

Amendment No 3 [Bonaros–1]—

Page 5, lines 4 to 19 [clause 7, inserted section 9(1)(a)(ii)]—Delete '1' and substitute '2'

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: I rise to indicate that the Greens will be supporting both the opposition's and SA-Best's amendments to this bill. We oppose moves by the government to enable the minister to hand-pick members of this board. We oppose the ongoing ideological warfare and campaign that this government wages against organised labour and their representatives. This government seems to want disorganised labour, to paraphrase something from a TV program. It seems to want a weakened voice rather than an organised voice and an expert voice when decisions are made and when representation is conducted.

We will not let the government get away with this ongoing ideological opposition to the word 'union' and, as they often say, 'union bosses'. Completely disregarding the expertise and the representation that unions provide in a workplace is to the detriment of good governance, not to the benefit of good governance.

We also applaud SA-Best for ensuring not only the AEU but also the IEU will retain their particular positions and note that the Greens stand strongly in support of keeping these unions on the board of the Teachers Registration Board. The petition that is coming to the parliament of some 10,000-plus signatures shows that the community is quite passionate about this issue. We note that because of the work of the member for Florey that was passed in both chambers and those 10,000-plus voices in that petition, that will ensure that debate is not silenced in this place and that it supports the opposition and SA-Best amendments to this government bill.

The CHAIR: I put the question that the amendments moved by the Hon. Mr Pangallo to the Hon. Mr Maher's amendment be agreed to.

The Hon. F. Pangallo's amendments carried.

The CHAIR: The question is that the amendment moved by the Hon. K.J. Maher, as amended by the Hon. Mr Pangallo, be agreed to.

The committee divided on the Hon. K.J. Maher's amendment as amended:

Ayes 11

Noes 8

Majority 3

AYES
Bourke, E.S. Franks, T.A. Hanson, J.E.
Hunter, I.K. Maher, K.J. (teller) Ngo, T.T.
Pangallo, F. Parnell, M.C. Pnevmatikos, I.
Scriven, C.M. Wortley, R.P.
NOES
Centofanti, N.J. Dawkins, J.S.L. Hood, D.G.E.
Lee, J.S. Lensink, J.M.A. Lucas, R.I. (teller)
Ridgway, D.W. Wade, S.G.
PAIRS
Bonaros, C. Darley, J.A.

Amendment as amended thus carried.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 2 [Maher–1]—

Page 5, after line 34 [clause 7, inserted section 9]—Insert:

(5a) The Minister must ensure, as far as practicable, that the persons appointed under subsection (1) consist of equal numbers of women and men.

This amendment reinstates the requirement of the board to consist of, so far as is practicable, equal numbers of men and women.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes the amendment that seeks to modify clause 7 to insert a provision requiring the minister to ensure a gender balance on the Teachers Registration Board. Current section 9(2) of the act sets out an equivalent provision; however, this current requirement for a gender balance is not met by the board and has not been met for some time. There is significantly more women on the board than men and this broadly reflects the gender composition of the profession.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: SA-Best supports the amendment by the honourable Leader of the Opposition.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: For the sake of the record, I thought I had already indicated that the Greens will support the opposition and SA-Best amendments.

Amendment carried; clause as amended passed.

Clause 8.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 3 [Maher–1]—

Page 6, lines 10 to 27 [clause 8(2)]—Delete subclause (2)

This relates to the passage of amendment No. 1.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes this amendment. The amendment seeks to remove subclause (2) from clause 8, which sets out that the Governor may appoint a person to be the deputy of one of four specified members appointed to the board under clause 7 of the bill. The amendment will retain existing provisions for deputies to be appointed by the Governor.

It is important that the provision be retained for a small number of deputy members to be appointed to the board to ensure the board is availed of the expertise of practising teachers and a legal practitioner in the temporary absence of relevant board members with that expertise. The government does not see the need for the appointment of a deputy for every member of the board, as is the practice under current arrangements.

Amendment carried; clause as amended passed.

Clauses 9 to 14 passed.

Clause 15.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 4 [Maher–1]—

Page 8, after line 24 [clause 15, inserted Part 3A]—Insert:

19B—Teachers Registration Board to survey teachers

(1) The Teachers Registration Board must, at least once in every 5 year period and in accordance with any requirements set out in the regulations, conduct a survey of registered teachers in this State to ascertain their views on—

(a) the curriculum for initial teacher education in this State; and

(b) the quality and effectiveness of initial teacher education in this State generally.

(2) On completion of a survey under this section, the Teachers Registration Board must prepare a report on the results of the survey and provide a copy of the report to the Minister.

(3) The Minister must, within 12 sitting days after receiving a report under subsection (2), have copies of the report laid before both Houses of Parliament.

(4) Nothing in this section requires a teacher to take part in a survey conducted under this section (and, to avoid doubt, a teacher cannot be compelled to do so).

This amendment requires the Teachers Registration Board to survey teachers once every five years on the quality of initial teacher education—as I said in my second reading contribution, that is generally teaching courses offered by universities—and have it tabled in parliament.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes the amendment. The proposed amendment would require the TRB to conduct a survey of registered teachers on the curriculum for initial teacher education in this state, and the quality and effectiveness of initial teacher education in this state generally. The survey would have to be completed at least once every five years and a report on the results would have to be provided to the minister and tabled in both houses of parliament.

The bill already provides the board the function to undertake research relating to the teaching profession, and this could extend to seeking the views of registered teachers on the quality and effectiveness of initial teacher education. The board accredits initial teacher education in accordance with the nationally agreed standards and procedures. The accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia, standards and procedures are agreed through the Education Council and published by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. The institute reports to the Education Council annually on the performance of the accreditation system, including analysis of data on the impact of initial teacher education programs across the country.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: The Greens rise to support this amendment by the opposition and find it extraordinary that the government does not wish to ensure that we are getting feedback from those in the profession about how to improve the profession and whether or not the training and education that we are providing is serving the profession as it should. I think it is only 24 hours since the government actually listened to feedback on the bus stop debacle. Having a voice from teachers in an organised way about what is working and what is not working for their profession in terms of the education, every five years, would be something that might be valuable to those who were behind the debacle that was the most recent bus stop change campaign.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I rise to say that we support this amendment by the Hon. Kyam Maher and echo the words of the Hon. Tammy Franks in relation to the government finding some reason to oppose this. To give a recent example of why this is actually needed, we saw a survey that found that many graduates failed to meet some basic qualifications when it came to numeracy, for instance. I think what this amendment will try to do is lift the standard of the teaching profession by having this review every five years. If we can improve the standard, all well and good for our students and also for graduates, so we wholeheartedly support the amendment.

Amendment carried; clause as amended passed.

Clauses 16 to 19 passed.

Clause 20.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 5 [Maher–1]—

Page 9, after line 37 [clause 20, inserted section 26A]—Insert:

(2a) Without limiting any other circumstances in which the Teachers Registration Board may reduce or waive an annual fee under this section, if a teacher pays the annual fee in advance in relation to the full term of their registration period, the Teachers Registration Board must cause the amount payable to be reduced by at least 5%.

This amendment requires the Teachers Registration Board to offer a discount of not less than 5 per cent for teachers who elect to pay for the full five years of registration, as opposed to paying annually, to encourage that to happen.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes the amendment. The amendment seeks to provide that, if a teacher pays their annual fee for registration in advance for the full term of registration, the board must reduce the amount payable by at least 5 per cent. The setting of the annual fee for registration and provision for it to be paid up-front will be set out in the regulations.

The board has yet to advise the government of its recommended annual fee and any associated arrangements. The government is not inclined to fix a discount on a fee not yet recommended or prescribed. A clear benefit of paying the annual registration fee up-front would be that a registered teacher would not be subject to any adjustment to the annual fee that may occur over the course of the registration period, such as an adjustment in line with CPI, for example.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I am just rising to say that we support this amendment.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: The Greens also support this amendment.

Amendment carried; clause as amended passed.

Clauses 21 to 25 passed.

Clause 26.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I move:

Amendment No 6 [Maher–1]—

Page 12, lines 21 and 22 [clause 26, inserted section 31B(1)]—

Delete 'or adopt codes of conduct and professional standards (or both)' and substitute:

codes of conduct

Amendment No 7 [Maher–1]—

Page 12, after line 22 [clause 26, inserted section 31B]—Insert:

(1a) Sections 10 (other than subsection (1)) and 10A of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1978 apply in relation to a code of conduct published under this section (and a reference in those provisions to a regulation will be taken to be a reference to the code of conduct).

Note—

These provisions allow Parliament to disallow a code of conduct.

Amendment No 8 [Maher–1]—

Page 12, line 25 [clause 26, inserted section 31B(2)]—Delete 'or adopted'

Amendment No 9 [Maher–1]—

Page 12, after line 25 [clause 26, inserted section 31B]—Insert:

(2a) Before publishing a code of conduct under this section, the Teachers Registration Board—

(a) must call for submissions from—

(i) registered teachers; and

(ii) the Australian Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(iii) the Independent Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(iv) the Chief Executive of the Department; and

(v) Catholic Education SA; and

(vi) the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia Incorporated; and

(b) must have regard to any submissions made by a person or body referred to in paragraph (a) during the period specified by the Teachers Registration Board (being a period not less than 1 month); and

(c) must consult with—

(i) the Australian Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(ii) the Independent Education Union (S.A. Branch); and

(iii) the Chief Executive of the Department; and

(iv) Catholic Education SA; and

(v) the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia Incorporated,

and may consult with any other person or body the Teachers Registration Board thinks fit.

Amendment No 10 [Maher–1]—

Page 12, line 26 [clause 26, inserted section 31B(3)]—Delete 'or adopted'

These amendments to clause 26 make any code of conduct published by the board disallowable by either house of parliament, similar to as set out in the Subordinate Legislation Act 1978. They also ensure the board must consult with unions before adopting such a code of practice or professional standards. I commend the amendments to the chamber.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The government opposes the amendments. In relation to amendment No. 6, the amendment seeks to remove reference to adopting codes of conduct or publishing or adopting professional standards from the new section 31B that is to be inserted by clause 26. The government opposes the amendment.

New section 31B provides for the board to publish or adopt codes of conduct and professional standards. If the board, following consultation with teachers and other relevant stakeholders, determines that it should adopt an existing code of conduct or professional standard under the act rather than developing and publishing one itself, it should be able to do so.

The board already in effect adopts the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in South Australia. New section 31B will formally recognise the board's role in adopting those standards. The national standards detail what teachers are expected to know and be able to do at different stages of their professional career.

The board uses the standards to guide its assessment of initial teacher education programs to ensure that students who complete a qualification will meet the graduate standards and to ensure that teachers only progress to full registration once they meet the standards expected of a proficient teacher.

The standards were developed following extensive research, expert knowledge and analysis and review of standards in use by teacher registration authorities, employers and professional associations across Australia. Their development was also the subject of extensive consultation. The standards were agreed by all Australian education ministers in 2011 as part of the national framework for teacher registration and are published and maintained by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

The government also opposes amendment No. 7. The amendment seeks to provide for any code of conduct published by the board under new section 31B to be subject to sections 10 and 10A of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1978. Under these sections, the code of conduct would have to be laid before the parliament, considered by the Legislative Review Committee and could be disallowed by resolution of either house of parliament. It is not clear what benefit would arise from allowing the parliament to disallow a code of conduct published by the board after consultation with the profession and other relevant stakeholders.

The government opposes amendment No. 8 because it is consequential to amendment No. 6. The government opposes amendment No. 9. This amendment seeks to modify clause 26 to include a requirement for the TRB to undertake consultation with specified stakeholders prior to publishing a code of conduct. The government supports the notion that the board should undertake consultation in relation to publishing and adopting new codes of conduct or professional standards, and the presiding member and registrar of the board have indicated it would be their intention to do that.

However, the process proposed under the amendment is unlikely to be practicable in all circumstances, particularly as there are no exceptions to the requirements to consult in relation to any minor amendments or corrections to a code or standard that may be needed from time to time. The government opposes amendment No. 10 because it is consequential to amendment No. 6.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I rise to say that SA-Best will support the amendments.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: The Greens will support them.

Amendments carried; clause as amended passed.

Remaining clauses (27 to 39), schedule and title passed.

Bill reported with amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (17:22): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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