Ok .. This is just my interpretation and understanding. I would really appreciate any feedback if people read things differently or know differently for that matter.
And just to let you know I am trying to find a bit of humour in this whole thing so please forgive my colloquiums and know I do take this seriously ...
So Whose the Boss?
It seems to me that collectively the States and Territories ‘relevant’ education type Ministers are the Big Big Big Boss within their role in MCTEE assuming that is the Ministerial Council the Act makes reference to.
Then whoever is the relevant Federal Minister (currently Senator the Hon Chris Evans) is the next Big Big Boss as both the ‘The Minister’ (as referenced in the Act) and Chairperson of the Ministerial Council. He (or in the future She) also has the authority or responsibility to be satisfied that the Commissioners have appropriate qualifications, knowledge or experience to be “appointed by the Governor‑General”. They can also do things but many of them must have the permission of the Council (ie the Big Big Big Boss)
Then comes the 3 Commissioners (Big Bosses) who collectively are the non- Statutory Body NVR and who as a group do not have ‘a legal identity separate from the Commonwealth’.
Does anyone else think they would be better called something else maybe something like ‘Overseers’ or ‘Advisory / Regulatory Panel’ ... maybe the Big Cheeses? (umm only joking)
One of the Commissioners (woops I almost wrote Overlords) will be the Chief Commissioner and by virtue of that position will also be The Boss (ie the CEO) of the Statutory Agency which will be called the NVR (or versions of) and / or ASQA (or in full).
Interestingly, while they will be the CEO (Big Boss) it is actually them ... ‘and their staff’ that make up the “Statutory Agency”. ... ‘according to the Act?) BUT ...
Operational structure
The national regulator will be an independent statutory authority and will consist of a Chief Commissioner and two other Commissioners, who will be appointed by the Governor-General for up to five years.
Together the Commissioners and staff form the Authority.
For the purposes of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the Chief Commissioner is also ASQA’s CEO and is responsible for ASQA’s management and administration. One Commissioner will oversee the Compliance and Regional Operations function and the other will oversee the Risk Analysis and Investigation function.
ASQA will have offices in each state and territory. ASQA staff will support the Commissioners in their regulatory function.
This information doesn’t seem to be in ACT .. but then again maybe it doesn’t need to be?
Names (and some faces) to roles.
What to know more about the people in these roles (or acting in the roles at the moment?)
Here are some links
Members in MCTEE (this doesn’t link to their pages but you can google the member from your State or Territory)
Commissioners 1 2 3 – These do not appear to have been ‘appointed yet’ Which is probably fair enough and I guess scheduled to happen on or around the 1/7/11. BUT we do have:
Has anyone heard (even rumours) on who the other 2 Commissioners are likely to be? I just think it is interesting that with just over a week to go we (well me at least) have no idea who the other 2 will be?
In the next post I plan to write a bit more about ‘who does what’? But for now ... I just want to make this point.
While in the Act there is a whole section on ‘reviewable decisions of the NVR’ I really wish that in creating this brave new world the powers that be also considered making an ‘RTO Island’. Somewhere WE could go that wasn’t ‘Regulating’ us .. like an Ombudsman or an Advocate. Yes in the FAQs it says there will be ‘offices in each State and Territory’ But with just over a week to go it seems like we as RTOs are just being buffered around, not quite sure of much really. Not even what our fees will be to live in this new world. (and I even heard that NVR staff didn’t stay around for a Q&A session because they didn’t have the answers to the questions they knew would be asked)
The world of ‘Education’ in a variety of forms has been my world for really most of my adult life. As I said in an earlier post I honestly LOVE IT. I’m passionate committed and dedicated. And as I read more and more of this ACT (and associated documents) I am left feeling a bit battered and bruised. But maybe that is just me. I don’t feel so excited any more but I’m willing for that to be re-invigorated!
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