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

I remember standing in this place in 2023 and speaking about what fee-free TAFE could mean—the doors that it might open and the lives it very well might change. I have to say it is an absolute pleasure to stand here now not to talk about potential but to talk about what has already been delivered for Australia and for communities like mine across the northern suburbs of Adelaide. This reform has moved quickly, and it has landed powerfully.

Across the country, more than 742,000 Australians have enrolled in free TAFE, and over 245,000 have already completed their courses. In South Australia, there have been 26,725 enrolments and more than 6,100 completions. Free TAFE is about removing that upfront hurdle and replacing it with opportunity. In Adelaide's north, that opportunity has been seized. Free courses are offered in areas that lead directly into jobs in our economy—aged-care and disability services, community and family services and women's education. These are sectors built on care, compassion and connection, and they are crying out for skilled workers. At the same time, we are seeing strong uptake in industries shaping our economic future—workplace training, hospitality and cookery, cybersecurity, IT support, networking, programming, website development and automotive servicing. These are modern skills and practical skills, and they are opening pathways to secure, well-paid employment. Free TAFE is about building the workforce we need to construct homes, to care for our ageing population, to drive clean energy and to strengthen our digital capability. That is why only Labor is backing free TAFE, because only Labor is making the choice to invest in people—to train the tradies, the carers and the technicians our country needs.

This is practical support, not theory, not slogans and not ideas but real investment in real Australians. Importantly, this is not temporary. Free TAFE has been made permanent, giving certainty to students, to providers and to industries that rely on skilled workforces, because, if we are serious about building Australia's future, we have to be serious about skills. We have to recognise that talent exists everywhere but that opportunity does not always follow. That is why free TAFE is targeted, supporting young people, job seekers, women, First Nations Australians and those facing barriers to education. It's about making sure no-one is left behind, and, when people are given that chance, they take it.

The results speak for themselves. VET graduates are more likely to be employed and earning more within a year of completing their qualifications, on average earning around $11,800 more. That is meaningful change, not just in wages but in confidence, in stability and in future planning, because when someone gains a qualification, it does not just change their job prospects; it changes the way they see themselves and what they believe to be possible. In the north, I see that first hand. TAFE Elizabeth and TAFE Salisbury allow apprentices to start in trades, parents to return to study after years out of the workforce and young people to choose a pathway that leads somewhere tangible. That is what good policy should do. It should not just sit on paper. It should move through communities, lifting people up as it goes. That is exactly what free TAFE is doing.

This government understands that education is not just an individual benefit; it's a national asset. We have the responsibility to help people now and a duty to the next generation to build an economy that rewards effort and unlocks potential. That is why investing in skills is not optional. It is essential, and it is why supporting TAFE is in Labor's DNA. We are rebuilding a system that was neglected, restoring confidence and ensuring public training institutions are strong and accessible. Through the National Skills Agreement, through long-term investment and through making free TAFE permanent, we are laying the foundations for sustained growth, because this is about the kind of country we want to be, only where opportunity is real, where skills are valued and where your future is not limited by your circumstances. In communities like mine across the north, that matters deeply because, when opportunity reaches places that have been overlooked, it does not change individuals; it transforms communities. That is what free TAFE is delivering. That is why it is worth backing now and into the future.

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