Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission

Full description

Prior to the establishment of the Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission (VPSEC) (VA 721) in 1978, there had been four distinct sectors of post-secondary education, each of which was administered by a separate co-ordinating body. While the Minister of Education was responsible for the administration of the legislation establishing each of the universities, each institution had considerable autonomy in the administration of its affairs and independent sources of funding. The universities were subject to the decisions of the Commonwealth Universities Commission, and from 1974, the Commonwealth Government assumed full responsibility for the funding of universities.

The Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission (VPSEC) was set up as a statutory authority under the provisions of the Post-Secondary Education Act 1978 (no. 9145) which was proclaimed on 25 October 1978.

Initially the Commission undertook a review of the recommendations contained in the report of the Committee of Inquiry into Post-Secondary Education (Partridge Committee), regarding the discontinuation of the separate administrations of the Victoria Institute of Colleges (VA 571) and the State College of Victoria (VA 437). Following receipt of submissions in 1979 and discussions with interested bodies, VPSEC recommended to the Minister of Education that the separate administrations of the Victoria Institute of Colleges (VIC) and the State College of Victoria (SCV) be discontinued.

Under the provisions of the Post-Secondary Education (Amendment) Act 1980 (No. 9424), VIC and SCV were abolished and their functions and assets were transferred to VPSEC.

The Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission (VPSEC) was the premier decision making body responsible for the co-ordination of post-secondary education in Victoria. The commission provided:

-advice to the Minister on all matters relating to higher education including funding -recommendations for the establishment of post-secondary education institutions
-accreditation and reaccreditation of courses and the making of awards based on need, desirability and demand for a particular course, geographical location and resource capacity of individual institutions.

It was charged with the responsibility for negotiating these matters with the appropriate agencies, encouraging co-operation between post-secondary education institutions in relation to the offering of courses of study, the use of staff, equipment and facilities and other matters. By 1991 the Office of Higher Education provided assistance to VPSEC.

Office of Higher Education
The Office of Higher Education was established on 8 October 1991 by an Order in Council as a Admininstrative Unit under section 22 of the Public Service Act 1974, to provide administrative assistance to the Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission. It was abolished in October 1992 in one of the many machinery of government changes made by the new government. Its functions were subsequently incorporated into a Higher Education Co-ordination Unit as part of the responsibilities of the Policy and Planning Division in the Office of the Secretary to the Department of Education.

The Tertiary Education Act 1993 repealed the Post-Secondary Education Act 1978, abolished VPSEC (VA 721) and made new arrangements for the promotion, development and co-ordination of higher education in Victoria. The section abolishing VPSEC was proclaimed on 7 June 1993 and the remainder on 1 July 1993.