Belinda Neal (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP and Providers) Bill 2009. Before I address the specific measures contained in the bill, I would like to say a few words about vocational education, particularly in my state of New South Wales. TAFE New South Wales is the largest provider of vocational education and training in the Southern Hemisphere. It enrols more than 500,000 students every year and offers a wide range of courses through 10 institutes, with more than 130 campuses across the state. It teaches over 1,200 qualifications, most of which are nationally accredited under the Australian Qualifications Framework.

There have been big expansions in TAFE New South Wales over the last decade with enrolments increasing by over 76,000 since 1998. TAFE New South Wales currently teaches courses at all vocational education and training levels from certificate I through to graduate diploma. With 1,200 courses, TAFE New South Wales covers almost every industry area, from traditional trades like plumbing, manufacturing and engineering to new and emerging industries like photonics and nanotechnology. TAFE New South Wales also has an extensive program of second-chance education. Almost one-third of enrolees at TAFE NSW pay either a concession fee or no fee at all for their studies.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research found that TAFE NSW has high levels of employer satisfaction. In fact 83.2 per cent of NSW employers were satisfied with the quality of apprentice/traineeship training provided by TAFE NSW, and this compares very favourably with the national average of 78.6 per cent. I want to take the opportunity today to congratulate TAFE NSW and the quality of their education and in particular the quality of their staff, and encourage them to continue providing the high-quality training for vocational education that they have provided to date. It is certainly outstanding, and New South Wales is very proud of it.

The bill before us today aims to give greater consistency and clarity to the VET FEE-HELP Assistance Scheme arrangements that are currently in place in the vocational education and training sector. Courses that are available at NSW TAFE and through other registered training organisations will be impacted by this bill. It seeks to do this by introducing a number of technical amendments into the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The amendments will make the arrangements consistent with those currently in place in the wider higher education sector. In short, this bill will ensure consistency between the VET FEE-HELP system and the existing FEE-HELP system.

The VET FEE-HELP Assistance Scheme provides loans to eligible fee-paying students undertaking certain VET courses of study. The scheme is targeted to certain higher level skills, as access to assistance under the scheme is limited to VET courses of study leading to the award of a VET diploma, VET advanced diploma, VET graduate diploma or VET graduate certificate. The scheme helps pay for all or part of a student’s tuition fees. Under the scheme, students can access training and defer the fees until they are able to pay. It is pretty much similar to that previously—prior 2007—available for university students. I do not mean to suggest that those loans are no longer available in universities; before 2007 they were not available for those in VET courses. These ‘income contingent loans’ have been available in the higher education sector, as I have said, for a very long time, but they were not introduced until quite recently for the VET sector.

Over time there has been an increase in number of VET providers in Australia. VET is currently provided through a national network of over 4,000 public and private registered training organisations. As a result, the number of providers applying for access to VET FEE-HELP has increased over time. But the process of accreditation is very rigorous. The rigour of this accreditation system is evidenced by the fact that as of 20 March 2009 there were just 12 approved VET providers in Australia. There are 15 others currently on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, or FRLI, awaiting the parliamentary disallowance period.

In addition to these developments, the range of study units and courses offered by these providers has also broadened over time. It is now timely that clarity is sought in defining the types of study units, courses and modules that can properly qualify under the assistance scheme. As the VET-FEE HELP Assistance Scheme stands at the moment, there is no specific instrument to limit or control the eligibility of study units or courses that may attract assistance. As a result, it is currently possible for an eligible student to access VET FEE-HELP assistance for VET units of study which are not essential to the relevant VET course of study—in other words, something that they are studying for pleasure rather than to complete their course. One of the major provisions of this bill, therefore, will ensure that a student’s access to assistance under the scheme is limited to those VET units of study that are essential to the completion of their particular course of study. Only those units of study that are essential will be eligible under the scheme. This will ensure that access to the VET FEE-HELP scheme is more appropriately targeted.

This amendment is particularly important because of the Australian government’s decision to support the Victorian government’s VET reform agenda by allowing for the extension of the assistance scheme to subsidised diploma and advanced diploma students in that state. As of 1 July 2009, a greater number of VET providers will be offering access to VET FEE-HELP assistance to their students, increasing the possibility that funding may be used to support students undertaking non-essential VET units of study.

The second set of provisions in the bill streamlines the process by which providers are given approval to offer VET FEE-HELP assistance to their students. Under current arrangements the Higher Education Support Act requires that a notice of approval must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and tabled in both houses of parliament. Fifteen joint sitting days—the disallowance period—must then elapse before the notice of approval can take effect and the higher education or VET provider can begin offering FEE-HELP or VET FEE-HELP assistance to students. That is why at the moment we have such a comparatively small number. But over time of course this will increase. Amendments to the act will now allow notices of approval for both higher education and VET providers to take effect on the day immediately following the day the notice is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. Following the amendments, higher education and VET providers will be able to offer assistance to students immediately following the registration on the federal register. These amendments to the provider approval process will ensure that a greater number of approved higher education and VET providers can operate sooner. This will have the effect of giving eligible students faster access to FEE-HELP or VET FEE-HELP assistance with those providers.

The third set of measures that the bill introduces relates to the minister’s ability to revoke a VET FEE-HELP provider’s approval. Under the new arrangements, the minister will be able revoke the approval as a VET provider of a body corporate if that body corporate: no longer offers VET courses; ceases to be established under a law of the Commonwealth, a state or territory; no longer carries on business in Australia; or no longer has its central management and control in Australia.

These changes to the revocation arrangements will make the VET system consistent with allied changes made to the Higher Education Support Act in 2007. They are largely technical changes but they carry important protections for the minister and the Commonwealth. It should be noted that the changes to the approvals process will in no way disadvantage students. If a notice of approval is disallowed and the provider has already allowed student access to assistance, those students would be able to access whatever rights accrued under the act prior to the relevant notice of approval ceasing to have effect.

The changes contained in this bill will bring consistency to the delivery of student assistance across the higher education sectors. The changes in this bill may seem minor and technical, but it is extremely important that over time adjustments are made to schemes such as this to ensure their integrity and prevent abuse, because ultimately, if this were to occur, the scheme would be undermined and the advantages and assistance given to students undertaking VET courses would be lost. I commend the bill to the House.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in reply—In summing up this debate I would like to take the opportunity to thank the member for Robertson for her contribution to this debate and indeed to thank all of the members who have spoken on the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP and Providers) Bill 2009. I also thank the opposition for their support of this bill, a bill which makes minor clarifications and adjustments to the operation of the FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP assistance schemes under the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

VET FEE-HELP assists students studying diploma, advanced diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma courses by providing a loan for all or part of their tuition costs. The scheme is aimed at encouraging students studying within the vocational education and training sector to pursue pathways to further or higher skill qualifications in the higher education sector. It ensures that students have the opportunity to access higher level skills training without the financial burden that may otherwise prevent them from enrolling in such courses.

This bill clarifies that a student cannot access VET FEE-HELP assistance to undertake a unit of study unless that unit of study is essential to the student’s course of study. In addition, the bill ensures that if a provider of VET FEE-HELP assistance does not maintain certain standards set by the act then it can be required to cease operating as a VET provider. This amendment mirrors that made to the act in 2007 in relation to the operation of higher education providers, ensuring consistency between the FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP assistance schemes. These amendments improve the protections already in place for both students and for the Commonwealth.

The bill also makes minor changes to the higher education and VET provider approval process to allow higher education and VET provider notices of approval to take effect on the day immediately following the day the relevant notice is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The amendments remove unnecessary delays in the approvals process, ensuring that a greater number of approved higher education and VET providers can operate sooner, giving eligible students faster access to VET FEE-HELP assistance with those providers. I commend the bill to the House and urge all members to support this important legislation.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.