Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Today I am pleased to second the amendment moved by the member for Fowler and to speak to the Trade Support Loans Amendment Bill. Trade support loans were introduced in July 2014 to encourage more young people to take up and complete a trade qualification. I'm pleased to say that members of my own family have done so.

The trade support loan provides loans to people completing their apprenticeships. The program aims to support apprentices to meet the everyday costs they encounter while undertaking their training. It currently provides up to $22,890 to an apprentice in loans contingent upon the apprentice's income. Essentially, the amount of the loan is higher in the early years of the apprenticeship and reduces overtime as apprentice wages increase. Once an apprentice completes their apprenticeship, they receive a 20 per cent discount on their loan repayment amount. Loans are repaid through the Australian Taxation Office once an apprentice earns above a minimum repayment threshold, which is $48,361 for the 2022-23 income year. This is the same amount that applies to all study and training loans. To minimise the risk of a person accruing large debts unintentionally, apprentices are required to reapply or opt in every six months to receive a further six instalments of loans.

Last year, more than 50,000 apprentices across a variety of industries received a trade support loan payment. In addition, nearly 17,000 applications were received, and a completion discount was paid to more than 12,000 apprentices. But, currently, only apprentices in trade related apprenticeships are eligible to receive these trade support loans. Therefore, I welcome the change in this bill to expand the Australian apprenticeships priority list to include a wider range of critical non-trade apprentices and trainees in priority occupation areas. These areas include childhood educators, and aged-care and disability workers. As we know, these sectors are experiencing incredibly extreme staff shortfalls nationally. In relation to the early childhood sector, I've been hearing from staff, parents and owners, especially those who are trying to open, and keep open, early learning centres and kindergartens. The calls I'm receiving tell of calls to parents because rooms can't be staffed, while parents are trying to get themselves to work and their older children to school. They tell how the illness of just a few staff can reduce staff ratios to unmanageable and unsafe levels, and how parents are distressed over yet another call to their employer to say that they're unable to come to work because of childcare shortages. So I'm really pleased to see that there is multiparty support for the trade support loans amendments today.

Expanding this program to include traineeships in the care sector is expected to primarily benefit female apprentices and trainees. Given the workforce shortages with which we're all familiar, this is a really welcome development. Australia is experiencing serious skill shortages, and measures must be implemented to support these in-demand occupations, so I suggest that the amendment proposed by the member for Fowler is a very sensible one. The unprecedented high indexation on loans applicable under the Australian apprenticeships priority list almost certainly is a deterrent for disadvantaged individuals pursuing these really high-demand occupations. I reiterate the member for Fowler's call on the government to place a temporary freeze on trade support loan indexation at the 2022 rate of 3.9 per cent to allow Australian apprentices to work full time, pay down their loans and meet their cost-of-living needs.

I commend the bills to the House.

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