Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for Education, Senator Watt. Mandatory unpaid student placements are placing severe financial stress on students. We are seeing to prospective nurses and teachers being told that unless they can live with no income for a few months then they can't do the job. Many students who are working part-time during their studies have to take leave from their paid work to do this unpaid work. That's up to 25 weeks where they're prevented from earning any money to pay the bills. Does the minister agree that the work students do on unpaid placements is valued and should be recognised?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much for that, Senator Tyrrell. I've just been advised that this is an issue you've taken an active interest in, and I appreciate the opportunity to provide a little bit more information to you. I don't know whether you've had the opportunity to discuss these matters directly with Minister Clare, the education minister? I'm sure that he and his office would be very happy to provide you with a briefing about it.

What I can say is that I know this is an issue he's working on. He shares your concern about the current arrangements in this field and, therefore, he has some policy work underway to deal with that. I also understand that this is something which is being considered in the context of the government's employment white paper. That is being led by the Treasurer, but there are a range of portfolios, including mine, for that matter, which have had some input into that employment white paper. It will be looking at a whole range of issues to do with the future employment of Australians and the employment arrangements which should sit around that. The issues that you have raised will also be considered in that context.

So the government has a couple of different pieces of work underway to examine these issues. We're not at a point yet where we have a solution to them, but I'm sure, as I said, that the relevant ministers would be more than happy to involve you in that process and to get your perspectives. If there are local students, workers or businesses who are affected by this then I'd certainly encourage you to put their views forward to those ministers as well so that we can take those views into account in coming up with those policy solutions. I think that the Treasurer is on the record as having said that the employment white paper will be delivered in this calendar year. I imagine that means that there won't be too much longer to wait before there's some concrete information out there. I don't have a time frame for the work that Minister Clare has underway, but I'm sure that it's something he's attending to as a priority as well.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Tyrrell, first supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tasmania currently has a shortfall of approximately 100 teachers. Many of the degrees that require placements, like nursing, teaching and social work, are areas with critical workforce shortages right now. We know that students are dropping out of these degrees because they can't afford to do the required placements. Do you agree that mandatory unpaid placements are contributing to these workforce shortages?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Tyrrell, you've named, I think, some of the sectors where this has been an issue, and, from talking with my colleagues now, there are other sectors as well—I think the aged-care sector and a range of health professions and education sectors. This has been an issue. I guess I'm not really in a position to give you my personal opinion on this, because these are issues that are currently being examined within government, but I think you can take it as an assurance that the fact that these are being looked at by the government indicates that we do recognise there are some problems here. So, as I say, over the coming months, through the couple of different policy processes I've talked about, we do hope to come up with some answers to these problems and, as I said before, I would certainly encourage you to become involved in these processes if you're not already.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Tyrrell, second supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've just got a text; I'm having a meeting with him next week. Students are also required to take on a HELP debt for the cost of their unpaid placement. Basically, the student isn't being paid and their training provider isn't being paid, but the university is being paid. Does the minister believe it's fair that universities get paid a full unit's fee for a course they don't have to actually deliver?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Tyrrell. I'm not personally aware of that, not being the relevant minister, but I'm sure Minister Clare is well and truly on top of those issues. Again, the issues that you're talking about are very much issues not just in the sectors that use university education as their education source but also in the VET sector. I know that that's something that you've taken an interest in before as well—the importance of the VET sector to Tasmania. Again, all I can really say is that this is something that crosses different sectors. It clearly crosses different portfolios. I'm pleased to hear that you've got that meeting with Minister Clare next week. That's prompt service for you, isn't it? I'm hopeful that you'll be able to have a constructive discussion with him.