Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to address the House on the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025, a bill that strengthens our vocational education system, ensures the integrity of student loan administration and delivers certainty for students, providers and the Commonwealth alike. This bill is not a headline-grabbing measure but is one that matters deeply to those who trust our system to work as it should. It's a technical bill with a very human purpose—to make sure that every student who relied on the VET student loan program since its commencement in 2017 can do so with confidence in the law and confidence in their privacy.

Our government is taking steps to fix a problem identified during a review conducted in the previous term of government, a problem that goes to the heart of how VET student loans were administered and how tax file numbers were handled under the 2016 act. That review revealed that the VET Student Loans Act 2016 did not explicitly authorise loan providers to handle student tax file numbers for the purpose of administering those loans. While the practice had been long established and no evidence of misuse ever arose, the legislation itself has not kept pace with the system it was designed to govern. That is why the Albanese Labor government has brought forward this bill—to make sure that alignment between our IT systems and our law is restored and to provide certainty where uncertainty once stood. This bill retrospectively authorises the handling of students' tax file numbers by VET student loan providers for the purpose of administering the program from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2025. In doing so, it ensures that providers and Commonwealth officers alike can be confident that their past actions were lawful and necessary in the delivery of a program that has helped hundreds of thousands of Australians gain a qualification and build a career.

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has, since early 2025, made the technical changes required to modernise the system. The tax file numbers are now masked from providers and transferred automatically between relevant Commonwealth systems. That means, from 1 October 2025, providers will no longer need to handle TFNs at all. This is a simple but significant change, one that closes the loop between legislation, technology and practice. It is also a demonstration of what good governance looks like—identifying an administrative gap, consulting with providers, building a solution and enshrining it in law. A tax file number is not a small piece of information. It is the key that connects a student's loan to their future earnings and their repayment through the tax system. Without it, the integrity of the entire loan repayment framework could be compromised. So this bill recognises that reality—that a TFN is for accurate tracking, for fairness to taxpayers and for confidence in the system. At the same time, it ensures that personal data is handled with the utmost care and respect for privacy law and community expectation.

It is important to note there's never been a student complaint about the handling of TFNs in the VET Student Loans program since its commencement in 2017. That is not by accident. It is because providers have been operating under strict security controls and integrity safeguards from the outset. Those safeguards include compliance with use and disclosure provisions under the VET Student Loans Act, rigorous approval processes to become an approved provider and mandatory notification of any data breach involving student information. The bill before us does not remove or weaken these safeguards; it cements them and confirms that they were lawfully applied from the beginning. It will apply to all current and former VET student loan providers and their officers who handled students' TFNs in good faith to administer loan applications and repayments prior to 1 October 2025. It will also cover the Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Commissioner of Taxation and other Commonwealth officers involved in the process. In other words, this bill draws a clear line under the past and sets a clear standard for the future.

The department has communicated with providers throughout this process, keeping them informed about the IT changes, about the policy intent and about this legislation. This has been an example of good-faith collaboration between government and industry, the kind of practical problem-solving that is too often overlooked but which keeps our systems running smoothly. Behind every technical fix like this are real students, real trainers and real providers trying to get on with the job of building skills and careers.

For those listening who might not be familiar with what a VET Student Loans provider is, they are registered training organisations approved by the Australian government to deliver VSL-approved courses. That includes our TAFEs, the bedrock of Australian skills and training, and also private colleges that meet the standards set by the Commonwealth. Together, they make up the network that trained electricians, nurses, childcare workers, fitters, technicians and hundreds of other skilled Australians who keep this country running. These are the people training the next generation of workers for the renewable energy sector, for aged care, for construction and manufacturing—industries that define the economy of tomorrow. The bill before us commences the day after it receives royal assent, but its provisions will apply retrospectively from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2025, a clear and comprehensive window covering the life of the program to date.

The department at first learned of this problem through its routine review of how VET student loans were administered. Officials identified that the legislation did not clearly authorise the handling of tax file numbers by providers, despite the fact that the practice was necessary and well-controlled. The review recommended stronger alignment between relevant IT systems and the law, and that is precisely what we are now delivering. It is a measure of good administration that when issues are identified, they are addressed promptly and openly, and that is exactly what this government is doing.

The bill also formally authorises the department's past disclosure of TFNs to providers for the same lawful purpose. After 1 October 2025, no VET student loans provider will be authorised to handle a student tax file numbers, because the system will have fully transitioned to automated data transfer between Commonwealth agencies. That is a positive evolution. It protects privacy, simplifies administration and reduces risks for all involved. Since early 2025, the department has rolled out these updates to its IT systems, a modern approach to data security that meets the expectations of students today. This has been backed by a $42.2 million investment over four years to build a modernised VET student loans IT system, one that will be fully operational from 2026 and will strengthen every aspect of the program's administration. That new system will underpin faster assessments, smarter payments and stronger integrity, ensuring that public funds are well spent and students are well served.

For students, the impact of this bill is simple—continuity, certainty, confidence. The way students apply for a VET student loan will not change. They will continue to use the electronic Commonwealth assistance form, just as they do now. Their tax file number will continue to be required because it is the link between their loan and their tax record but they can be assured that is protected by modern IT architecture and clear legislative authority. If any student does have a concern about the use of their tax file number, they can contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, but I reiterate: such misuse has never been reported.

The VET Student Loans program is a cornerstone of our training system. It enables Australians to undertake vocational education and training without the immediate burden of upfront fees through an income contingent loan that is fair, accessible and sustainable. It means that a student in my electorate can enrol in a Elizabeth or Salisbury TAFE course today, gain a qualification, find a secure job and repay their loans through the tax system once they are earning a good income. That is how a fair society builds its skill base, by removing barriers to education and backing people to succeed.

The program also supports national priorities, addressing skills shortages and engineering, construction, health care and occupational licensing trades that are vital to our economic growth. It aligns training supply with industry demand, a practical example of how policy can serve both people and productivity. It ensures opportunities not just those for those who can afford it upfront but for everyone willing to work hard to build a career. Without programs like VET Student Loans, tens of thousands of Australians would never have had the chance to study a trade, a technical qualification or a diploma that changed their lives. And without those graduates, Australian businesses would be facing even greater skills shortages than they do today. That is why this bill is so important. It protects the integrity of a program that is central to our future.

Now, it would be fair to ask why VET student loans require such careful handling of tax file numbers when students in the higher education sector provide theirs routinely. The answer is that the VET Student Loans program and the Higher Education Loan Program are governed by different legislation, the VET Student Loans Act 2016 and the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Each framework has its own data-handling arrangements, and this bill ensures that the VSL framework is now as clear and as comprehensive as its counterpart in higher education. It brings consistency and certainty, both vital to the confidence of students and providers alike. In a broader sense, it also reflects the values of this government that integrity in public administration is non-negotiable and that every student has the right to know that their personal information is safe and their loan is secure.

There is nothing more fundamental to good government than accountability and trust. When people hand over their personal information, especially something as sensitive as a tax file number, they are placing their trust in a system that serves them. They trust that their data will be handled lawfully, used only for the purpose for which it was given and protected against misuse. They also trust that, if something goes wrong, their government will not hide from it but will act to put it right. That is precisely what this bill does. It acknowledges an administrative gap that should never have existed and closes its transparently, decisively and permanently. It ensures that neither providers nor students are left exposed because of a technical oversight in the original act.

This sends a clear message that, when issues arise, the Albanese Labor government deals with them head on, with honesty, integrity and action, and that, importantly, it does so without disruption to students, without cost to providers and without undermining the stability of the system. It restores confidence that, when you apply for a VET student loan, your data is protected and your loan is administered under clear, lawful authority. It also restores confidence to providers, who can continue to focus on what they do best: deliver quality education and training to the Australian workforce.

Vocational education and training is at the heart of the Future Made in Australia agenda. It is how we equip our people with the skills to fill the jobs of the future in the clean energy, advanced manufacturing, defence industry and care sectors. Programs like VET Student Loans make that possible by ensuring that cost is not a barrier to opportunity. This is particularly true for communities like those in Adelaide's north. In the electorate of Spence, where access to affordable training means access to local jobs and lifelong security, it means that a young person who starts welding at TAFE SA in Elizabeth can take up work in one of the growing defence and manufacturing facilities across northern Adelaide. It means that mature-age workers can reskill into emerging industries like renewable technologies or advanced manufacturing without being deterred by upfront fees. It means that our regional training providers can continue to deliver high-quality, industry-relevant courses, knowing that the student loan framework supporting them is sound.

I commend the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 to the House as a bill that strengthens our education system, protects our students and upholds the integrity of public administration in Australia. When we build trust in our systems, we build confidence in our institutions, and when we build confidence in our institutions, we build a stronger, fairer and more skilled nation. In closing, I have been the very good benefactor of a VET provided course. It gave me a 10-year career at sea that I loved, and I know, Deputy Speaker Small, that you are a man of the sea as well.

To all those young people out there who are considering what they do next after their year 12 exams over the coming weeks: there is nothing wrong with taking the pathway towards a trade. It is an honest job. It gives you a great sense of purpose. You'll be able to put a roof over your head and provide for your family. There's nothing shameful about that. There's only honour to be found in pursuing a trade, so get to it, everybody out there.

See this speech in context