Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to be able to speak today about the impact that fee-free TAFE is having in my community in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. Fee-free TAFE is providing so many opportunities to many people in my electorate who had not previously pursued secondary study—they have may have dropped out of school or not taken up other opportunities. Fee-free TAFE is opening the doors of opportunity to so many people.

I recently attended the TAFE campus at Noarlunga to meet with students and a number of their lecturers. I listened to the life-changing experiences of fee-free TAFE and I visited workshops of students completing a Certificate II in Electrotechnology and a Certificate II in Construction Pathways. Many of these students were only able to attend these courses because of fee-free TAFE. I asked students about how fee-free TAFE had benefited them, and the responses were extremely moving. I'll just mention a few. Maya from Sellicks Beach said: 'It has been a relief to not pay for the course and to just get it done. It's been fun.' Lewis from Hackham said: 'It's been a great opportunity for my career change from painting. Fee-free TAFE has made this possible. The course was $8,000, and I wouldn't have considered it otherwise.' I heard so many students talk about how they were taking the opportunity to either try something out of their comfort zone or to have a career change. One young man I met there said he would have been continuing to work in something like fast food, but he wanted to upskill, and this gave him the opportunity. I was really pleased to speak with Kevin, who is a TAFE lecturer. He said: 'This is a stepping stone to getting into industry. This is the most diverse group that we've ever had. It's challenging, but that's the reward of the job.'

But the benefits of fee-free TAFE are not just the life-changing benefits for the students. The Noarlunga TAFE campus was desolate before fee-free TAFE came into play. Many courses were no longer being offered, and that has all changed. We have now seen the Noarlunga TAFE campus come to life. The connections it's making with local industry, giving those pathway opportunities to students, has been life changing. Fee-Free TAFE is changing our community. It's providing more opportunities. Importantly, it's revitalising Noarlunga TAFE campus.