John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, my question is to the Minister for Education and Training, Senator Birmingham. I should ask him whether he has bought me the lottery ticket he owes me over the Adelaide Crows, but instead I will ask him: how is the government putting in place reforms to the vocational education sector to further protect students and taxpayers?

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Double or nothing!

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

I might have to take Senator Sterle's advice and make it two lottery tickets, now. I thank Senator Williams for his question and for putting it on the Hansard record that, sadly, I lost the bet in standing up for my footy team a little while ago.

The government is very serious about making sure our vocational education and training sector is the best it can be, but, sadly, this government has inherited a number of problems. Today we have yet more evidence of the importance of the reforms that our government has implemented and is implementing in some of the media coverage relating to vocational education and training. What we have done today is to implement a number of reforms to Labor's VET FEE-HELP scheme. On 12 March we announced a suite of eight reforms to fix it up, which are complemented by other measures this government has put in place in providing additional funding to the regulator, ASQA. From 1 April we banned inducements; from 1 July we banned withdrawal fees. We also banned providers and their agents from engaging in misleading marketing claims. We tightened the rules around brokers and we have ensured that providers must have written agreements with those brokers. From 1 January, assuming legislation passes this place, we will be in a position to have even stronger reforms to make sure that VET providers will not be allowed to charge students up-front fees for the entirety of their course, but that in fact the incentive will be for them to progress students through that course.

The providers will have to issue a student with an invoice at least 14 days prior to each census date to give students time to withdraw from that course. There will be a minimum standard in terms of the educational capacity of a student enrolled in a high-level diploma or advanced diploma program and students will have to have the permission of a parent or guardian where they are under 18. You may think many of these reforms seem like common sense, and you may wonder why the Labor Party did not introduce them when they put the scheme in in the first place. You wonder why it is that Senator Carr did not have the foresight to see— (Time expired)

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, what are the ramifications for students if the government's reforms are not supported?

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

The ramifications for students and taxpayers are severe if the government's reforms and legislation that need to pass next week are not supported. We are seeing far too many students being targeted by vulnerable rip-off merchants.

Senator Kim Carr interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr!

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

And that, of course, is affecting those students in taking on a lifetime debt under this Labor Party program and it is affecting taxpayers where that debt is not repaid. So it is urgent that these reforms are passed. Senator Carr and those opposite have publicly acknowledged the failings of the system they put in place. I thank him for acknowledging that they got it wrong. Just like they got it wrong with pink batts, they got it wrong with VET FEE-HELP. I am pleased they acknowledge their mistakes and I hope that they will work with the government to fix these mistakes, to make sure the rorting cannot go on, to make sure that we actually protect vulnerable students and vulnerable Australians and protect the taxpayer from further unnecessary loss of money under this Labor scheme.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Minister, are there any threats to the government's plans to fix the mess left behind by Labor?

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

There do seem to be threats, because I am not sure those opposite understand the urgency of the need to act. It was those opposite who decided that they needed to send this bill off to a committee which has not yet reported, which is why the Senate cannot legislate yet. In fact, in sending it to a committee, those opposite originally wanted it to report on 18 February 2016—signed, Senator Anne Urquhart. That was what the Labor Party wanted. So reforms we want to implement on 1 January next year would not have been possible if it were not for the fact that this government made sure the committee reports earlier so that we can get on with legislating next week. I hope and trust that those opposite will work cooperatively next week to get this legislation passed so we can stop the rorting, stop the shonks and stop the fraudsters that those opposite let in in the first place. (Time expired)

Senator Kim Carr interjecting—

Senator Birmingham interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr and Senator Birmingham, order!