Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. That might sound technical in nature, but it is in fact deeply grounded in fairness, integrity and opportunity. This bill goes to the heart of something deeply important to the people of Barton and to communities right across our wonderful country: ensuring that vocational education remains accessible, accountable and very much trusted.

In my electorate, families know the value of vocational education and training. Our nurses, aged-care workers, tradespeople, early-childhood educators, hospitality staff and emerging innovators are the backbone of our local economy and the backbone of our nation. When we invest in VET, we invest in our future workforce, in economic growth and in giving Australians—particularly young Australians, career changers and parents re-entering the workforce—a genuine pathway to skills and dignity through secure work. That is exactly what this Albanese Labor government is doing. But with investment comes responsibility to ensure our VET system is fair, transparent, modern and worthy of public trust. That's why this bill matters.

Let me be very clear about what this legislation does and why it's absolutely necessary. During a review of the administration of VET student loans, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations identified that VET student loan providers had historically handled students' tax file numbers, even though that authority was not clearly set out in the VET Student Loans Act 2016. Now, I want to be absolutely clear—for the public, for students, for parents and for institutions—this was not misused. This was not misconduct. There were no student complaints, no privacy breaches and no adverse impacts on students or repayments. Providers acted in good faith, in line with practice and administrative expectations. The handling of tax file numbers was necessary to verify students and ensure loans and repayments could occur through the tax system. However, the legislative authorisation for that handling was not explicit.

Our government believes in doing things properly. We do not sweep things—particularly administrative gaps—under the rug; we work towards fixing them. This bill does three simple but very important things. One, it retrospectively authorises the handling of tax file numbers by VET student loan providers from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2025. That gives providers and government offices legal certainty that their actions were valid and lawful. Two, it ensures that, from 1 October 2025, VET providers will no longer need to handle tax file numbers, because the government has now modernised the system, investing in secure digital automation to protect personal information. Three, it strengthens alignment between IT systems and legislation to safeguard privacy, improve modernisation and enhance trust in the VET student loans program. This is responsible, transparent and very considered policy-making. It fixes a gap, protects students, respects providers and strengthens public confidence.

This bill sits within a broader, principled Labor approach to vocational training that is grounded in restoring integrity to a system that was badly damaged by the previous coalition government. It was the former coalition government that oversaw the explosion of crooked private operators, the exploitation of vulnerable students, billions of dollars wasted and dodgy schemes targeting people hoping to build a better life. Students who were just looking to learn and prepare themselves for their careers were taken for an absolute ride. According to the Senate standing committee's report on VET student loans, a number of registered training organisations and their agents aggressively marketed courses to vulnerable people using high-pressure tactics including free laptops, claims of free training and guaranteed jobs. In turn, providers enrolled students into large loans for courses that were unnecessary for employment, had low completion rates or were of questionable relevance to the labour market. Not only did this create a huge liability for the Commonwealth but it damaged the reputation of the VET sector more broadly. And no wonder—it was dodgy, bad policy that hurt the most vulnerable in our community. Labor came in and cleaned it up through the VET Student Loans program. We are now continuing that work to make sure that the VET system remains trusted and strong. This bill reflects our approach: steady, responsible, student focused and forward looking.

For a loans system to function, trust matters. When taxpayers help fund a student's education, they deserve confidence that the system is fair, that repayments are handled accurately, that data is protected and that regulation keeps up with technology. This bill ensures that. It authorises, retrospectively and transparently, past handling of tax file numbers by approved providers, including TAFE and reputable registered training organisations. It also ensures that, from October this year, automated secure systems—not training providers—will handle tax file number transfers. This strikes the right balance, protecting students, maintaining loan integrity, supporting providers, complying with privacy rules and ensuring seamless loan administration. This is government doing its job, safeguarding integrity and modernising public systems responsibly.

The bill applies to current and former VET student loans providers, their staff—who handled tax file numbers in good faith—the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Commissioner of Taxation, and relevant Commonwealth officers involved in administration. This does not give blanket immunity for wrongdoing. It validates legitimate administrative actions taken in good faith to support students. Strong privacy protections, security obligations, oversight mechanisms and criminal penalties for unauthorised disclosure remain in place.

VET is an economic imperative for our nation. Our workforce is rapidly evolving. We face skills shortages in nursing, aged care and disability support; shortages in construction, electrical trades, cybersecurity and tech; new industries emerging in advanced manufacturing, renewables and clean energy; and the growing need for retaining and upskilling as careers change. VET is the bridge between economic need and opportunity. VET student loans are a lifeline for thousands of Australians chasing skills and a better future.

In my electorate, the St George Kogarah TAFE campus and the administrative and teaching staff have been doing amazing work to upskill the next generation across various occupations. I must also highlight that I had the privilege of having the Treasurer and member for Rankin, Jim Chalmers, and the Minister for Skills and Training and member for Scullin, Andrew Giles, visiting the St George Kogarah TAFE campus, which has specialised facilities, such as simulated hospital settings. We had the opportunity to meet a number of students and teaching staff and learn more about their collaboration with local public hospitals, like the St George Hospital, to ensure we have the best-trained students to participate in our health sector.

Since July 2023, this government has invested $42.2 million to modernise the VET student loan system. This bill ensures that those investments land on a strong legislative foundation. It reminds me that TAFE campuses, like the St George TAFE in Kogarah and many more, are important assets in all of our communities. It ensures our students, our providers and our economy have stability and certainty.

This bill may be technical in nature, like I said earlier, but it has a purpose, a very clear purpose, and it is quite principled. It gives certainty and legal clarity to students, providers and governments to safeguard personal information and strengthen privacy, to modernise the VET loan system and to uphold integrity in education, which is one of the great enablers of Australia's prosperity and aspiration.

To every student in Barton and across this nation: we are building an education system worthy of your dreams. We will always defend your right to learn, to grow and to build a future with dignity and purpose. I commend the bill to the House.

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