Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP Reform) Bill 2015. This is a very important bill as we have all seen a whole series of scandals in this area over the past two years. These scandals have been detrimental to students. We have seen so many reports about it that it is very much the case that now is the time to get tough on all of those very dodgy providers who have been exploiting so many vulnerable students. Speakers on this side have stated that, whilst we do support this bill, it does need to go further and the amendments moved by the shadow minister move to strengthen the protection for students.

Labor is calling on the government to appoint an industry-funded National VET Ombudsman and calls on the Auditor-General to conduct an audit on the use of VET FEE-HELP. The shadow minister has also put forward amendments which require the department to write to prospective students with a clear statement on the amount of debt that they are about to undertake and then it requires a student to reply to the department before the debt is in place. This is a very important measure to protect students so that they then know exactly what they are signing up for. Also, Labor will move to refer the legislation to a Senate committee to look at options to cap tuition fee levels for courses covered by VET FEE-HELP and lower the lifetime limit of VET FEE-HELP student loans.

The fact is that, over two years and three different ministers, the Abbott-Turnbull government have really just tinkered at the edges when it comes to the VET FEE-HELP loans. Indeed, they have skyrocketed from $699 million in 2013 to $1.7 billion in 2014. In this time, so many vulnerable students have been ripped off and exploited, and this really does need to stop. This government should stop playing the blame game and be willing to take some action. Labor is calling on the Turnbull government to agree to our amendments and put these stronger measures in place to stop the exploitation of vulnerable students.

The bill seeks to prevent some inappropriate enrolments and debts through a number of ways: firstly, with the introduction of the two-day cooling-off period between enrolment and the application for a VET FEE-HELP loan, so that the course enrolment is no longer confused with the loan application process; secondly, by introducing minimum prerequisites, such as literacy and numeracy, to ensure students can complete the higher level VET courses; and thirdly, requiring a parent or guardian signature before a student under 18 can a request VET FEE-HELP loan. The new requirements for VET FEE-HELP require approved training providers to develop and apply appropriate student entry procedure requirements. As I mentioned, it certainly would make a difference having those in place.

As we have said, there are so many disturbing reports of the very unscrupulous behaviour by some registered training organisations who have essentially preyed on vulnerable students, sometimes signing them up for very large VET FEE-HELP debts. We see it on many TV shows and right throughout the media, and it is very disturbing. In many cases, these organisations have been quite deceptive and manipulative in their dealings on this matter. As recently as yesterday, one of my local papers, the Echonetdailyonline, had this story titled: 'Scammers targeting Neighbourhood Centre users'. This related to some people who were behaving rather unscrupulously near the Mullumbimby and District Neighbourhood Centre. In this story, the Echonetdaily said:

At least two men have been loitering around the Mullumbimby & District Neighbourhood Centre (MDNC) touting a dodgy online course they claim will 'help people get a qualification and improve their standard of living,' according to centre manager Julie Williams.

Ms Williams, to her credit, contacted the paper so that they could make people aware of what was happening and urge them not to take up these dodgy offers. They said:

These guys aim to get people signed up to a course, assuring them that the costs are covered through the commonwealth government's VET FEE-HELP assistance scheme, and offering a free laptop computer.

The fact is that, no matter what the government might say, this is exactly what is happening on the ground; it was happening yesterday in Mullumbimby in my area. So there are a lot of concerns and we have seen some distressed students sometimes being completely unaware that they have actually even signed up for a particular course. Further adding to their distress is that they often find they have been saddled with a really significant debt. It is particularly unfair and that is why we need to have more action in place than just what the government has put forward.

In these reports we have often seen identified a real problem with people also being misled about the actual debt they will be incurring with the Commonwealth government through the use of VET FEE-HELP. Many of these stories have identified people with debts of sometimes over $20,000 without even finishing a course or even getting a qualification, yet they are saddled with this massive debt. That is why the amendment put forward by the shadow minister is so important: it requires the department to write to these prospective students with a clear statement on exactly what they are going to be signing up for and undertaking so that they know that it will really protect them, because it seems there are so many people who have signed up completely unaware of what they have actually committed to. We keep seeing that exploitation of people. These are people who want to get out there, want to improve themselves, want to get qualifications and want to get a job; but, unfortunately, we have seen too many instances of them being exploited in this situations. So we need to see some action taken to make sure that does not happen.

In looking at the bill, we see that it will further protect students and taxpayers by making it easier for a student who has been signed up for a loan inappropriately to have their debt cancelled and for the government to recoup some of the cost from providers. We also see the introduction of a minimum registration. The trading history requirements ensures that new VET FEE-HELP provider applicants have a proven history of delivering quality training. It is very important in terms of the integrity of the scheme overall and the reputation of the sector to have in place measures like that.

Under VET FEE-HELP students are able to access more than $97,000 in total for most courses offered by eligible registered training organisations. This becomes a bit of a double-edged sword in that it provides access to education and training but can then become a very large incentive or large carrot for some of the dodgy or unscrupulous providers. In fact, some registered training organisations have further confused and compounded the situation through the use of brokers, and sometimes these brokers have embellished or exaggerated the products to sell them. The use of brokers currently allows registered training organisations to sometimes distance themselves from particular brokers who are behaving in such an unscrupulous way. Some of the amendments in this bill take steps to make RTOs accountable for the actions of the brokers that they encourage and engage to sell their products. But, indeed, as we have said, more needs to be done than what the government is proposing in this bill. With the Grattan Institute warning that almost half of all vocational loans will never be repaid, the financial burden on the Commonwealth continues to grow.

The bill will introduce infringement notices and financial penalties for breaches of the VET FEE-HELP guidelines, and the infringement and civil penalties scheme will support the enhanced compliance regime. Since the 2007 extension of FEE-HELP to include the VET sector for approved diploma and advanced diploma courses, many thousands of people have accessed higher education for the first time. At the same time we have also seen an explosion of dubious providers and exploitative practices, like some of those I referred to before, and very large debts, and this has exposed so many shocking and distressing tales.

In addition to the effect of these shonky providers is the concern for the overall reputation of the sector and making sure there are quality providers out there. It is important for all of us to know that there are many outstanding providers in this sector who do a great job. That is why the quality of the sector must be improved, because we are only seeing media reports of the dodgy or unscrupulous providers, and we know there are many good ones out there as well. That is why it is important to clean up this whole sector and make sure we have even greater action and more enhanced roles in terms of safety.

Despite the government introducing new national standards that came into effect in April 2015, the problems with the system are still occurring, as I talked about just yesterday in relation to Mullumbimby in my electorate. Whilst this legislation seeks to address some of the issues around VET FEE-HELP, it does not really go far enough. We need more action. Labor has consistently called for the government to crack down on the problems relating to VET FEE-HELP. The government has taken almost two years to propose legislation that might actually address some of these issues. Labor has also previously called for the Auditor-General to conduct an inquiry into the use of VET FEE-HELP. Over two years and three different ministers, we have seen some tinkering around the edges, but we really need to see some firm and solid action in this area.

Whilst we are talking about training and skills—and it is very important to have a focus on that in terms of younger people gaining opportunities into the future—I want to raise this government's dismal record when it comes to their lack of providing training and skills. In my state of New South Wales, the state government has an equally dismal record. We have seen many harsh cuts by the Abbott-Turnbull government when it comes to cutting programs in training and skills. We have seen $2 billion in cuts to skills funding, including $1 billion in cuts to apprenticeship programs. At both state and federal levels, the cuts that have been made to TAFE have been extremely harsh. We especially see that in regional and rural areas. We see how it impacts younger people and really devastates their opportunities to get decent training. Only recently it was reported that leaked cabinet documents from the New South Wales Liberal-National government showed they wanted to sell off 27 TAFE sites. The document showed that in 21 regional towns TAFE will be closed or reduced through a partial sale. This is really a disgrace when we look at how important TAFE is, especially in our regional areas.

In my electorate of Richmond on the New South Wales North Coast, this included the full sale of Murwillumbah TAFE, and the government have now admitted that is exactly what they intend to do—sell off the Murwillumbah TAFE. In nearby Ballina, soon to be within my electorate, there is the partial sale of the Ballina campus. There has been a huge community outcry in relation to this. The community do not want to see this happening. They know how important our TAFE is. I would especially like to condemn the North Coast National Party for these closures. It shows yet again in regional and rural areas that the National Party just cannot be trusted. As I constantly say, National Party choices hurt. In this case, their decision to sell of the Murwillumbah TAFE and parts of the Ballina TAFE will really hurt our community. TAFE plays an important role in our towns and TAFE means that so many local students can access the education and skills they need. It is especially important in regional areas, where we consistently see high levels of youth unemployment.

In contrast to the action that we see with the National Party and their choices that are hurting regional areas, we see Labor committed to supporting TAFE. We absolutely support TAFE and understand how important it is in providing necessary training. We have said that we will make skills and training a national priority, and we will do that because we acknowledge that young people should be able to access it. A Labor government will back TAFE by guaranteeing that a portion of government funding for vocational education is dedicated to TAFE. We are committed to that because we know it is so important.

When we are talking about skills and training, again for regional and rural areas, one of the cruellest actions of this government is their plans for $100,000 university degrees. It means that younger kids in regional areas just cannot go to university. They cannot afford to get there or to pay these high fees. That is the reality. That is what parents and students tell me all the time. Whilst $100,000 degrees are unfair right across the country, they are particularly unfair when it comes to regional areas and to universities like mine, Southern Cross University. Their funding cuts are massive over a 10-year period and make it very difficult for them to sustain the provision of services without introducing very high fees. The reality under this government is that people will be paying $100,000 for university degrees.

We are seeing these cuts right across the board, whether in terms of university, TAFE or other apprenticeships. We see cuts to many areas of skills and training and to many youth programs as well. I have mentioned before the cuts to Youth Connections, which is a fantastic program. Many young people in my area have used that program. Wherever we turn, we are seeing cuts from this government when it comes to training. We on this side of the House want to see Australian students be able to start training and to finish their training with a quality accreditation. We believe that everyone should be able to access the training, jobs and opportunities of the future. As I have said many times, I do condemn this government for their cuts when it comes to training and I particularly condemn the National Party for their ongoing cuts to education in regional and rural areas. It is devastating.

In conclusion, in terms of this bill, it has taken a number of years for the government to actually take some action and we just have seen so many reports over that time about the shonky and dodgy providers out there and it is time to get tough on them. Whilst there are some measures that I have acknowledged in this bill, certainly the amendments moved by the shadow minister are vitally important, particularly for the future, or potential students as well, and making sure they have certainty and security around their needs in accessing training. We just have to get tough on these dodgy providers. I think it is important to be supporting our amendments to make sure we can take that extra action. Only yesterday, we have seen in my area some very shonky people trying to sign people up. It is only through harsh action and making sure that we have got a very strict regime in place that that will stop. We need to do that—from a number of perspectives—obviously from the perspective of Commonwealth expenditure in this area; first and foremost, it is about protecting our students and that is what we need to be focused on.

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