Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Paterson for his question and interest in this topic. The Turnbull government's new VET student loan program commenced on 1 January this year. As senators would recall, it replaced Labor's failed VET FEE-HELP program and scheme, which saw vulnerable students targeted, taxpayers ripped off and the reputation of the vocational education and training sector tarnished.

Our new program, happily, is getting off to a very strong start. More than 180 providers have received provisional approval to offer VET student loans under the program. This is reflective of the high standards we have applied for admission, in that it is down from the 270 providers who offered the old VET FEE-HELP scheme. More than 70,000 students have opted in to continue and complete their studies from the old VET FEE-HELP scheme, while around 20,000 students to date have applied for a VET student loan to help them with their important vocational education studies. This is a strong vote of confidence in the VET student loans program, with providers now being thoroughly assessed for permanent admission to that program to commence from 1 July 2017. Aside, of course, from those 40 public providers whom we have guaranteed access into the new scheme.

This program and the adoption of it to date by both providers and students is a vote of confidence in the government's reforms and changes, which are restoring integrity to vocational education and training services; providing, of course, much stronger safeguards and protections for students; and ensuring that taxpayers' loans to students are better protected by guaranteeing they are going to students in cases where there are high prospects of employment outcomes due to the alignment between what they are studying and the job prospects in those sectors. We are very pleased at the start in relation to VET student loans and are confident it will only go from strength to strength.