Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes. The Labor Party has a policy to direct 70 per cent of VET funding to TAFE. When a student enrols in TAFE, they are enrolling in a quality course. The courses are conducted by teachers, not trainers. The teachers have qualifications. They are accountable. They have a requirement to provide assistance to the students who are enrolled in their courses, unlike what we have seen with these shonky providers. In New South Wales the Baird government has introduced its Smart and Skilled program, which makes every VET program contestable. Put that alongside what we have had happen federally. It is a terrible situation for young people. In New South Wales that is also coupled with the fact that the Baird government is actually selling off TAFE sites. It is in the process or had identified a TAFE site in the Shortland electorate that it intends to sell off. My message to them is that, instead of selling off TAFE sites and putting training out to private providers, they would be much better served by ensuring that all students have access to a quality education through TAFE.

Eighty per cent of private profits come from government funds. If public funding is stopped and it does not go to the RTOs that are providing such poor-quality training but goes to TAFE instead, with that 80 per cent funding that comes from the private sector the TAFE sector will be strengthened even further.

In the few moments I have remaining I would like to talk to the amendment and give my wholehearted support to it. We definitely need to appoint a national VET ombudsman with the power to investigate consumer complaints. I was at a meeting yesterday where this very issue was raised with me. A person said to me: 'Has the opposition thought about an ombudsman? Wouldn't this address some of the problems that are happening in the VET system?' Of course the answer is yes. The shadow minister has drafted an amendment, and this national VET ombudsman would investigate consumer complaints—there are so many at the moment—and hold those private providers accountable for their actions and accountable to the students that they enrol. The amendment also includes ordering RTOs which have been found to have acted unscrupulously to refund course fees to students and orders RTOs to refund course fees to the government and help the students with VET HELP.

This is a good amendment. I hope the government accepts it, because it will make a real difference to students undertaking vocational education.

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