(a) policies and strategies aimed at addressing the life-long learning needs of an ageing population;

(b) the ways in which technological developments, particularly the Internet, have affected the nature and delivery of life-long learning since 1997;

(c) the adequacy of any structural and policy changes at Commonwealth and state or territory level which have been made in response to these technological developments;

(d) technological barriers to participation in life-long learning and adult and community education, and the ways and means by which these might be overcome;

(e) the extent to which the training, professional development and role of adult educators has kept pace with or been influenced by technological and on-line developments since 1997; and

(f) re-training strategies as an element in life-long learning, especially for those living in rural and regional areas.

(a) the effect of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme on the education and long-term employment outcomes of Indigenous people in rural, remote and urban areas;

(b) the appropriateness of the current framework for the funding and delivery of vocational education and training to meet the requirements of Indigenous com-munities and to prepare Indigenous people for employment, especially in rural and remote settings;

(c) the effectiveness of competency-based training models to deliver an appropriate level or mix of skills necessary for employment of Indigenous people, includ-ing the achievement of the necessary standards of literacy and numeracy;

(d) the effectiveness of Commonwealth, state and territory-based initiatives to engage more Indigenous people in training and to encourage higher level skill acquisition in skilled trades and professions, including health and teaching; and

(e) models for engaging industry and Indigenous communities in partnerships to develop long-term employment oppor-tunities for Indigenous people—in infrastructure development through to the arts—and the limitations and opportunities these confer.

(a) current measures for student income support, including Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy, with reference to:

(i) the adequacy of these payments,

(ii) the age of independence,

(iii) the parental income test threshold, and

(iv) the ineligibility of Austudy recipients for rent assistance;

(b) the effect of these income support measures on students and their families, with reference to:

(i) the increasing costs of higher education,

(ii) students being forced to work longer hours to support themselves, and

(iii) the closure of the Student Financial Supplement Scheme;

(c) the importance of adequate income support measures in achieving equitable access to education, with reference to:

(i) students from disadvantaged back-grounds, and

(ii) improving access to education; and

(d) alternative student income support measures.