(1) A higher education provider must not spend an amount paid to the provider as a * student services and amenities fee to support:
(a) a political party; or
(b) the election of a person as a member of:
(i) the legislature of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or
(ii) a local government body.
(2) If a higher education provider pays a person or organisation an amount paid to the provider as a * student services and amenities fee, the provider must make the payment on the condition that none of the payment is to be spent by the person or organisation to support:
(a) a political party; or
(b) the election of a person as a member of:
(i) the legislature of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or
(ii) a local government body.
(3) A higher education provider must not spend, for a purpose other than that specified in subsection (4), an amount paid to the provider as a * student services and amenities fee.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prohibit expenditure for a purpose that relates to the provision of any of the following services:
(a) providing food or drink to students on a campus of the higher education provider;
(b) supporting a sporting or other recreational activity by students;
(c) supporting the administration of a club most of whose members are students;
(d) caring for children of students;
(e) providing legal services to students;
(f) promoting the health or welfare of students;
(g) helping students secure accommodation;
(h) helping students obtain employment or advice on careers;
(i) helping students with their financial affairs;
(j) helping students obtain insurance against personal accidents;
(k) supporting debating by students;
(l) providing libraries and reading rooms (other than those provided for academic purposes) for students;
(m) supporting an artistic activity by students;
(n) supporting the production and dissemination to students of media whose content is provided by students;
(o) helping students develop skills for study, by means other than undertaking * courses of study or * accelerator program courses in which they are enrolled;
(p) advising on matters arising under the higher education provider's rules (however described);
(q) advocating students' interests in matters arising under the higher education provider's rules (however described);
(r) giving students information to help them in their orientation;
(s) helping meet the specific needs of * overseas students relating to their welfare, accommodation and employment.
Note: Examples of expenditure for a purpose that relates to the provision of a service specified in subsection (4) include:
(a) expenditure by the higher education provider in directly providing the service; and
(b) expenditure by the higher education provider in getting someone else to provide the service or subsidising the provision of the service by someone else; and
(c) expenditure by the higher education provider on infrastructure for the provision of the service.
(5) Without limiting who is a child of a person for the purposes of paragraph (4)(d), someone is the child of a person if he or she is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 .
(6) To avoid doubt, subsections (1), (2) and (3) apply to an advance made to a higher education provider on account of * SA - HELP assistance in the same way as they apply to an amount paid to the provider as a * student services and amenities fee.
Note: An amount of SA - HELP assistance paid to a provider is an amount paid to the provider as a student services and amenities fee because, under section 128 - 1, the SA - HELP assistance is paid to discharge the student's liability to pay the fee.
(7) Subsection (6) does not limit subsection 164 - 10(2).
Note: Subsection 164 - 10(2) applies to an advance on account of an amount the conditions that would apply to payment of the amount.