David Moncrieff (Hughes, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On this side of the House we believe in technical education. We believe in equipping Australians with the skills they need to succeed in their futures. Those opposite don't believe in TAFE; they don't believe in the skills sector. On this side of the House we believe in making TAFE more affordable. That's why we've drastically expanded access to fee-free TAFE right across the country.

Those opposite say that if you don't pay for something you don't value it. Well, in May, Australians showed that they disagree. They elected a government that believes that Australians value bulk-billing, even when they don't pay for it, because it keeps Australians healthy and working. They elected a government that believes that Australians value getting 20 per cent off their student loans because it lessens financial burdens that keep young people out of homeownership. They elected a government that believes that Australians value investments in TAFE and investments in Australian skills because of the value that skills add to the Australian economy.

The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 represents additional recognition of the value of the skills sector. It's a bill that represents real certainty to students, training providers and the government alike. This legislation is about fixing a gap. It ensures that the Vocational Education and Training Student Loans Program—the system that helps tens of thousands of Australians train for essential jobs—continues to operate on firm and lawful footing. It matters to people right across my electorate of Hughes, from Liverpool to Menai to Ingleburn to Macquarie Fields. It matters to apprentices studying at the Loftus campus of TAFE Sutherland or TAFE Liverpool. It matters to the next generation of builders in Macquarie Fields and to parents returning to work after a break who rely on flexible vocational education to get ahead. It was fantastic to visit Macquarie Fields TAFE with Minister Giles, the Minister for Skills, and see all the members of our community who are learning new skills to help them get to the careers they want to achieve.

The VET Student Loans Program replaced the old VET FEE-HELP scheme in 2017. That change was necessary after widespread rorting of the old system. But during a review of how VET student loans were being administered it became clear that the 2016 legislation did not explicitly authorise providers to handle students' tax file numbers. The tax file numbers needed to match student loans to their tax account. That created a technical inconsistency between what the system was required to do to function and what the law actually said providers could do. Training providers had to collect TFNs to process loans, but the law had never given them the power to do so. This bill fixes that inconsistency and retrospectively authorises VET providers' handling of TFNs from the time the program commenced on 1 January 2017 through to 30 September 2025 when the IT systems of the department were able to remove the need for providers to handle TFNs altogether. This is not an additional loophole. It's not an additional power grab. This is just an alignment between the law and the technology that supports the vocational education system. It provides certainty to students, training providers and government officers who have done the right thing administering these loans in good faith.

With regard to why is this retrospective and privacy, this change has no impact on students' privacy rights. Since 2017, VET providers have been required to meet strict information security and integrity standards. They must notify the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations if there is any data breach. They face civil and criminal penalties for any misuse of personal information.

During a review of how VET student loans are administered, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations identified that there was no clear role in the VSL act for VSL providers to handle TFNs and that stronger alignment between relevant IT systems and legislation was required for handling TFNs. Our government is taking steps to fix a problem identified during the review in the last term of government—that of how VET student loans, VSLs, were administered. We've taken action to ensure that this issue is resolved and that there is certainty for students and providers.

The bill is a fix for the issue of VSL providers handling tax file numbers when the VSL act of 2016 did not authorise it. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations identified that there is no clear role for VSL providers to handle tax file numbers in the VET Student Loans Act 2016. A stronger alignment between relevant IT systems and legislation was required, and that's why this Albanese Labor government is bringing forward the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 to ensure that this alignment is fixed and this problem is resolved.

This bill will retrospectively authorise VET student loan providers handling of students' tax file numbers for administering the VET Student Loans program. This bill will also provide certainty to providers and government officers that their past handling of student TFNs, for administering the VET Student Loans program from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2025, was lawful. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has, since early 2025, made updates to relevant IT systems to mask tax file numbers from VSL providers and automate the transfer of tax file numbers between relevant systems, meaning that VSL providers no longer need to handle tax file numbers.

A tax file number is information that is essential for administering a loans program of this kind. This is because tax file numbers enable accurate tracking and repayment of VET student loans through the tax system. There will be no change to the way students apply for a VET student loan using electronic systems. There have been no VSL student complaints as a result of past tax file number handling practices for the purposes of the VSL program since it commenced. Providers have also been subject to security controls in the relevant IT systems and integrity safeguards to protect students' personal information. These safeguards include requirements for providers to comply with strict use and disclosure provisions that apply to vet information under the VSL Act, to undergo extensive approval processes to become an approved provider and to notify the department of any student related data breaches. These protections that have previously applied to VSL providers' handling of tax file numbers will continue to do so after the bill's commencement.

This bill will apply to all current and former VSL providers and their officers who have handled students' tax file numbers to administer their VSL loan applications and their VET student loans themselves prior to 1 October 2025. It also extends to other relevant persons, including the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations secretary, the Commissioner of Taxation and Commonwealth officers. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has communicated with VSL providers about the IT changes throughout the year and continues to communicate with providers about this bill.

This government is ensuring that there is certainty in this system and that no-one else will be affected by a problem of this kind in the future. This government is determined to ensure that TAFE has a future in this country. VET student-loan providers are registered training organisations approved by the Australian government to deliver VSL approved courses, including TAFE institutions and private colleges. This bill will be applied retrospectively to be in effect from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2025. This is a government that believes in the skills sector and, importantly, this is a government that is investing in the skills sector. I see the scepticism from the member for Goldstein. We know that they don't value things that they don't pay for, but we know that Australians do. And Australians voted for a government that wants to invest in TAFE, that wants to invest in skills, and that's what this bill is part of. This bill modernises the skills sector to ensure that it fits the situation as it exists, and it's another way that the Albanese Labor government is delivering for Australians and delivering for the future of our skills sector. I commend the bill to the House.

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