Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will be very brief. I am going to say a few words on the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP Assistance) Bill 2008 only because of the debate regarding the Skills Australia Bill yesterday. In a sense, I feel provoked to say a few words. There was much discussion yesterday about what the coalition did in office to help with the skill shortage and to train people in vocational and educational training. As you will know, Mr Acting Deputy President Watson, what the substantive act originally did was extend FEE-HELP to students in vocational and educational training. So when the government yesterday were talking on the Skills Australia Bill about the fact that the coalition government was asleep at the wheel, how wrong they were, because the act extended substantively FEE-HELP to students in vocational and educational training. This is non-controversial legislation and this is a technical amendment, in a sense, to bring rigour back to the act. I know there are some amendments that have to be made to streamline the process. I understand that. I just wanted to make the point about how much the Howard government did to reskill Australia and that the substantive act, by extending FEE-HELP to students in vocational and educational training, is a very good example of that.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In summing up the debate on the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP Assistance) Bill 2008 I thank Senator Mason for his contribution and reiterate that this amendment was necessary to change the legislative guidelines which sit under the VET FEE-HELP legislation. These guidelines allow for the extension of the higher education FEE-HELP arrangements to the vocational education sector. Specifically, and importantly, the amendment ensures that the VET FEE-HELP is restricted to full-fee-paying students in diploma, advanced diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma courses. It also ensures that VET providers will have credit transfer arrangements with a higher education provider for each diploma and advanced diploma qualification.

VET FEE-HELP is expected to assist more than 6,000 students over the next four years to obtain high-level vocational qualifications. It is critical to Australia’s long-term prosperity that we lift the skills base of Australian workers so that Australian business can compete in international markets. By improving movement of students between vocational education and higher education sectors we will be increasing skill levels and assisting in increasing productivity. Of course, VET FEE-HELP is consistent with our social inclusion policy. It allows students who may otherwise not have pursued training at these levels because of financial pressures to gain access to training for the first time or to upgrade lower level qualifications. Higher level VET qualifications are a centrepiece of the Skilling Australia for the Future policy. This amendment will allow VET FEE-HELP to be introduced during 2008. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.