Supplementary Order Paper No 428

This Supplementary Order Paper makes various changes to the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill (the Bill), which amends the Education Act 1989 (the Act). Generally, these changes include minor and technical amendments to improve clarity, remove duplication, and promote consistency, and to update the numbering in Schedule 1 of the Bill (which contains transitional and savings provisions to be inserted into the Act) following the passage of the Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Act 2019.

The more significant changes, include—

• inserting new clauses 21A and 21B to amend sections 167 and 167A of the Act, which relate to the common seal and methods of contracting by tertiary education institutions, so that the provisions do not apply to NZIST and the corresponding provisions in the Crown Entities Act 2003 relating to these matters apply instead:

• amending clause 49: new section 222K(2) to allow staff and students of NZIST subsidiaries to be members of the academic board of NZIST:

• inserting new clause 49A to amend section 223(1) of the Act, which provides that the council of each institution may determine the programmes of study and training to be provided at the institution, so that the provision covers NZIST:

• amending Schedule 1 to replace new clause 37, which provides that existing funding approvals granted by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to an existing polytechnic before the commencement of the Bill continue in force as if they were granted to the polytechnic’s corresponding subsidiary with new clause 43 to better align the provision with sections 159YA and 159ZC of the principal Act:

• amending Schedule 1 to insert new clause 48, which authorises NZIST’s council to appoint an interim chief executive for NZIST for the period beginning on 1 April 2020 and ending on the close of 4 June 2020 (being the date on which the permanent chief executive takes up that position):

• amending Schedule 1 to omit new clauses 56 and 56C, which restrict employees of a transitional ITO and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority from receiving compensation for technical redundancy, as the substance of these provisions is covered in new clauses 68(5) and 69(5):

• amending Schedule 1: new clause 67(2), which relates to the allocation of assets of a transitional ITO under its transition plan, to enable the assets to be transferred to a workforce development council or another transitional ITO if the activities of the transitional ITO have been transferred to the workforce development council or the other transitional ITO:

• amending Schedule 1: new clause 68 which restricts employees of a transitional ITO from receiving compensation for technical redundancy if they are offered equivalent employment by NZIST, an NZIST subsidiary, a wananga, or a workforce development council, to also cover any employees who are offered equivalent employment by another transitional ITO:

• amending Schedule 1 to insert new clause 70, which prevents providers from charging trainees a compulsory student services fee (as provided for under section 227 and 235D of the Act) during the period of 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2021:

• amending Schedule 6, which makes consequential amendments to other enactments, to update section 52(5) of the Electoral Act 1993 (which relates to the candidacy and election of State servants) and Schedule 2 of the Legislation Act 2012 and Schedule 4 of Legislation Act 2019 (which both contain a list of confirmable instruments) to reflect the changes made by the Bill.