Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am speaking in continuance on this legislation, the Trade Support Loans Amendment Bill 2023 and the Student Loans (Overseas Debtors Repayment Levy) Amendment Bill 2023. I want those who are listening to this debate to have no doubt that professions of economic and social importance will be reflected in these measures. This is because the skills priority list will be constantly updated by Minister O'Connor, based on industry-leading information about the skills most needed in Australia currently and emerging needs in our labour markets. Previous Liberal-National governments left this country with a skills shortage. We know that they didn't do anything about ensuring workforces, particularly in the care economy. But the Albanese Labor government is taking action to address critical shortages in the care economy, including in aged care, child care and disability. This is a major step to ensuring that we have the workforce that we're going to need in the care sector going forward.

These amendments, which I have spoken about previously, will make things so much easier by enabling apprentices and trainees to access financial support to continue on their path of sustaining their training and will ensure that they are able to find good, well-paying jobs while at the same time reinforcing Australia's economy against foreign dangers by addressing systemic skills shortages in critical domestic workforce sectors. Our bold reforms to the existing trade support loan program only represent a chapter in our comprehensive and multilayered agenda to uplift Australian apprentices on their inspiring journeys through life. In that vein, these amendments fully integrate into the Albanese Labor government's wider Australian apprenticeship incentive system, which came into effect on 1 July, further supporting apprentices and trainees in their central goal to finalise their qualifications by renewing a blanket 20 per cent discount from their loan upon completion. By making it easier for apprentices to access the government's support during their training, these ambitious amendments to the trade support loan program add a fundamental pillar to the Albanese Labor government's transformative endeavours to upskill our Australian workforce.

Following a decade of economic neglect, industrial decay and damaging incompetence from the previous coalition government, the Albanese government is firmly back on the side of recognising the importance of the vocational education and training sector to the Australian economy and jobs. These amendments are just another stage in delivering on our commitment to the VET sector, along with a shared consensus between government, employees and unions on their need to achieve a transformation in our employment going forward to ensure that we have a highly skilled Australian workforce. With those stakeholders all working together to build a resilient domestic economy, we're also collaborating with every level of government in a very robust way to support emerging sectors through Jobs and Skills Australia in tandem with our amendments to the trade support loan program.

As I said, after a decade of shameful negligence from those opposite, the federal government now has a commitment to work at a local level to expand transformational opportunities for apprentices and trainees in female dominated care industries. This will mean so much for local communities, including my local community in Tasmania. Our cities rely on vital assistance from essential services, including from childcare centres and from disability carers in places like St Giles, which is well-regarded in Tasmania. We know our communities also rely on assistance from their aged-care providers. What we know from the aged-care sector is that in Tasmania alone over the coming five years we are going to need an increase in the aged-care workforce of some 5,000-plus people. That is without taking into account the requirements in disability support and early childhood education.

It couldn't be any clearer that we need to make sure that we fund TAFE to establish courses in emerging industries so that the jobs of the future will benefit those individuals. It is also really important to recognise what those jobs will add to our economy. In addition to these wide-ranging benefits, this will ensure that we have highly skilled, highly trained apprentices. We will be supporting trainees and we will be supporting those sectors that predominantly employ women, to make sure that they have the opportunity to access loans to help them continue with their training. Hopefully many of those that are doing their traineeships or apprenticeships may consider going on to tertiary education or higher education. This is foundation for our amendments.

We know, too, that in other parts of the country it's going to be very important to ensure our First Nations people have access to this support through their apprenticeships and their traineeships. We know the challenges in regional and rural places throughout this country of attracting people to live out there. We know our population is ageing. We need to attract the right people to aged care and disability, and do anything we can that's going to assist those doing an apprenticeship and those in a traineeship to upskill, to make sure we have the workforces that we need going forward.

As I said, we're an ageing population. We are doing more with the NDIS to deliver those services and to not just deliver aged care in residential homes but, just as importantly, provide that workforce to care for people in their own homes and to keep people in their own home as long as possible. Whether it's aged care, whether it's people living with disability, this government has listened to the concerns that have been raised by the business community and particular sectors. We know this is good for our economy and good for upskilling Australians, and it is a stark contrast to those opposite when they were in government, who did nothing about wages, didn't support a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers and have done nothing over the last decade to ensure we have a workforce going forward in aged care and disability or to recognise and respect those who are working in early education.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank all senators for their contributions to this debate on these bills. The Trade Support Loans Amendment Bill 2023 is part of the Albanese government's work to ensure Australians from all backgrounds are supported to achieve their full potential. The changes in this bill facilitate the expansion of the trade support loan program, providing cost-of-living relief to Australian apprentices and trainees. Trade support loans are interest free government loans available to support apprentices in occupations of high skill needs with everyday living expenses. Currently the Trade Support Loans Act 2014 restricts access to these loans to apprentices in trade occupations on the trade support loans priority list. The existing list of occupations has not been updated for many years. It is not responsive and no longer aligns with current or future skill needs.

The amendments in this bill will replace the existing priority list with a new Australian apprenticeships priority list. The new priority list will be responsive to Australia's skills needs and will include key in-demand occupations that can be pursued through an apprenticeship or a traineeship. Occupations with current, emerging or future demand will be determined with regard to advice from Jobs and Skills Australia, ensuring a rigorous evidence base. These changes mean we will be able to support Australians training in priority non-trade occupations, such as aged care, child care and disability care, with an income contingent loan to help them meet the cost of living while they train. By extending eligibility the bill will assist many women, as women predominately take up non-trade apprenticeships and traineeships and currently lack the support for these loans. To reflect the expanded eligibility this bill will rename trade support loans 'Australian apprenticeship support loans'. The bill will also make the program fairer by enabling flexibility to provide immediate support to apprentices who miss payments due to issues outside their controls such as administrative error.

In response to the second reading amendment moved by Senator Faruqi and the Australian Greens: trade support loans are a small element of the program of student and training loans offered by government, all of which are repaid on the same income contingent basis. It would not be appropriate to treat trade support loans differently to other loans. As a result, this bill is not the appropriate forum to make broad changes to the approach to student debt. Any changes to the current system of indexation should be considered in their whole and in the context of the Universities Accord, the National Skills Agreement and a wider reform agenda so that the cost brought in a policy context and long-term effects and consequences can be taken into consideration for such a change.

With the expanded Australian apprenticeship support loan program, the government is boosting access to the support available to apprentices and trainees to complete their qualifications. It is also better targeting that support towards occupations of greater skill needs.

Once again, I thank senators for their engagement and commend these bills to the chamber.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Faruqi on behalf of the Australian Greens be agreed to.