Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to make my contribution on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. Now more than ever, we recognise the importance of a strong vocational education and training system. Work shortages across the country have stalled or delayed vital infrastructure and housing, seeing our hospital, aged-care and childcare systems under pressure and seeing other vital sectors struggle across the economy. These have only been exacerbated by the former government's mismanagement of or lack of direction in the VET sector. Under the previous government, apprenticeship rates declined from 220,000 in 2014 to 135,000 in 2019, only increasing after the COVID era wage subsidy support. The emergency support was not sustainable and was to be reduced back to pre-COVID levels. As a result of the Albanese government's investment in apprenticeships and training, trade commencements were up almost 20 per cent in our government's first year compared to June 2019. In my community, the number of those in training increased from 1,415 people in June 2021 to 1,750 people in June 2023.

Now more than ever, the Australian government must ensure Australians and employers have access to a good-quality VET sector that they can trust. It is unfortunate, however, that we know that, whilst they are in the minority, there are registered training organisations out there that have exploited students and undermined the reputation of the sector. The Albanese government is committed to protecting students and ensuring the RTOs in our VET sector can be trusted to continue to provide training to Australians.

The reports of several reviews throughout the years have highlighted concerns with the VET sector, including the recent Rapid review into the exploitation of Australia's visa system, also known as the Nixon review; the 2018 All eyes on quality: Review of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, the Braithwaite review; as well as 'Quality and integritythe quest for sustainable growth':interim report into international education by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. All of these have provided extensive insights from different perspectives into the VET system and provided recommendations as to how we can better the system.

This bill is the Albanese government's first tranche of legislation to implement the integrity measures needed to elevate the status of our VET sector and target that minority of dodgy RTOs. It does this by ensuring that the national VET regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, has the powers it needs to properly police the sector and enforce new penalties established in this legislation.

Under the new rules set out in the legislation, RTOs who have not delivered any training and/or assessments in 12 consecutive months will be automatically deregistered, ensuring that RTOs that are legitimate and committed to delivering training remain in the sector. However, the regulator, to ensure fairness, can grant an extension of a maximum of 12 months, should an RTO demonstrate that it has legitimate reasons as to why it cannot provide training and/or assessment and that these reasons are outside of its control. Extension decisions will be subject to internal and external merit reviews, via the AAT or the proposed Administrative Review Tribunal, ensuring that there is fairness and there are avenues of review for these RTOs.

The bill will strengthen the registration requirement for RTOs, to prevent them from altering the scope of their registration. RTOs will be unable to change the list of the courses they are registered to deliver for two years from registration, in line with recommendations of the Braithwaite review. RTOs will be required to demonstrate they are able to provide high-quality training in the areas that they were originally approved for. If an RTO cannot adequately provide the courses it was originally approved for, how can it then be trusted to expand its offerings or deliver the quality training that students should, rightly, expect? The two-year period allows ASQA to monitor and assess the operations of an RTO before being able to expand their course offerings.

These are reasonable changes that will stop providers that are failing to deliver on proper training outcomes from expanding or shifting their business to other markets. It's simple. In order to expand, you must demonstrate that you are committed to providing quality education to the students that you already have, in the segment of the market you are operating in.

Additional changes that will be made to the regulator's powers relate to increased flexibility during the registration process. The regulator will be able to determine how it prioritises, considers and makes decisions, allowing for it to apply greater scrutiny to complex applications but also to make decisions more efficiently on non-complex applications. It will also be able to take into consideration the broader labour market and those areas that are experiencing training shortages or where there is greater community need for certain skills. The minister, in consultation with the regulator, will be, with the agreement of the Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council, empowered to determine a period of time in which the regulator will not be required to, or must not, accept or process applications. This can be applied broadly or in relation to specific classes of application in instances where the regulator has identified applications that pose a risk to the integrity of the sector. This measure is to ensure that the regulator can manage the VET market and address risks as they arise.

ASQA will also be given additional time in which to conduct an internal review of a decision, should a review application be made by the RTO. The period will increase from 90 to 120 days, to allow the regulator additional time to assess decisions that are complex or require further examination. While the period will be increased, most reviews are still expected to be completed well within the 90-day period.

Expanding the powers of the regulator is a key aspect of ensuring a more robust and quality VET sector, but it's not the only measure that will be introduced with this bill. Enforcement is important, and so are the penalties for engaging in non-genuine and dodgy behaviour. The bill will apply tougher penalties and introduce new provisions to expand and clarify prohibited behaviour that is false and misleading, including false and misleading claims in advertisements, publishing false and misleading descriptions or images of RTO facilities or training locations, falsely claiming an RTO has associations with or endorsements from reputable institutions, fabricating testimonials and misleading potential students to believe that the RTO offers student services that it doesn't deliver. These are just a few examples of prohibited conduct.

The bill will also increase the penalty units for certain provisions. Penalties for bad behaviour should not be seen as a cost of doing business. There should be a clear deterrent for bad behaviour, and punishment, should an RTO engage in these bad practices. Maximum penalties for a breach of such an offence or civil penalty provision will increase fivefold. Penalties will now range from $46,950 to $939,000, increasing from the current range of $9,390 to $187,800. RTOs that encourage disingenuous behaviour and fail to provide quality education to their students should be properly penalised. It has caused constituents in my community great grief and often large debt. These amendments will ensure that those RTOs are penalised.

Additional measures in this bill will assist in more efficient and effective regulation of the VET sector, aligning regulation requirements with the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and aligning internal review processes with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011. The Albanese government understands the importance of the VET sector. That's why we signed the $30 billion National Skills Agreement, the first in a decade, and it's why we've invested $414 million for a further 300,000 fee-free TAFE places in vocational education courses from January this year. No matter where a student trains, they have to be assured that our government is committed to them receiving the quality education they deserve. This bill is the first step in realising that commitment. I commend the bill to the House.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. I am a firm believer in the positive power of education. After school, I went and worked on a farm for a while and then was able to go and complete a Bachelor of Applied Science and Agriculture degree at a university which had a regional campus very close to the place where I was living. Later on, when I wanted to do an MBA, that was available in a regional location too. So university was my pathway to education, but I have a lot of mates in my electorate who went down the apprenticeship and vocational education route, and they have done very well. Some of them went straight out of school and some of them went back to it later on. The local firms, building companies and manufacturers, such as Furphy, have a strong record of shepherding apprentices through, with the assistance of vocational education providers such as GOTAFE in my area.

This bill will amend the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act to give the National VET Regulator stronger powers. It will provide for automatic lapsing of regulated training organisations' registration with the Australian Skills and Quality Agency where the provider has not delivered training or assessments for 12 consecutive months from 1 January 2023. Further, it will prevent RTOs from changing the courses they are registered to deliver to students in the first two years of registration. A new legislative instrument will allow the minister to pause the ASQA registration either for a specific class of applicants or for all applicants. It's not a power we are totally opposed to, but it's a power we think needs greater transparency. The coalition will put forward several amendments to improve that and also restrict the amount of time a pause can be put in force. Any extension would then require further engagement with the ministerial council. We don't want these powers to be used to manipulate the market and drive students to preferred course providers—those provided by the government. This government has a track record of putting government run training providers first, instead of students and their outcomes.

Finally, the bill increases the civil penalties for false and misleading representations by operators. We are supportive of that. We don't want junk VET courses. We've seen junk VET courses out there before. I must say, when Labor were last in government they demonstrated a lack of skill when it came to skills training. Apprenticeship numbers plummeted. When Labor left office, the apprentice and trainee numbers had fallen by 22 per cent.

Then there was the disaster of VET FEE-HELP. This scheme sent the reputation of the Australian skills system to rock bottom. There are much better examples around the world that I'll talk about later. These poor Australians were loaded up with debt for doing courses that were never going to land them a job. The scheme, established by the Labor government in 2008 and expanded in 2012, suffered systemic rorting. Students who wanted nothing more than to improve their knowledge and skills were at the mercy of dodgy providers exploiting loose rules and charging students substantial fees for training they never undertook or benefited from.

I'll give an anecdote. At the time, I was working in a high-tech agricultural firm—I won't mention any names. This high-tech agricultural firm was provided with government funded sales training. This was in the Rudd-Gillard years. We were all sitting around there. This was very high-tech stuff. The sales we had involved explaining the benefits of certain agricultural technology to customers. We had this guy from a sales company that got taxpayer funds come in and talk to us. It was basically a lesson on how to be a telemarketer: 'These are the soothsaying words you should use for a potential customer. "That's the easiest part of my day." "Can I help you with this?" "Would you like fries with that?"' It wasn't really what we were doing. Yet there was no departmental or government oversight to say, 'This is an RTO that should not get government funding to do what they're doing.' The people from the company didn't benefit from that. The RTO got paid, but they weren't delivering something of substantial benefit to the Australian economy. We don't want to see that happen again. I think that in the Rudd-Gillard years things got a bit lost, taxpayers' money was taken for granted and things like that were happening. We don't want to see that again.

I do worry that we are going to have a few problems in the future. Trade apprentices in training hit record highs in the final months of the coalition government. As of June 2022, there were 429,000 apprentices and trainees in training, 20 per cent more than at the same time in 2021. Things had been improving. But, after just one year of the new government, the number has now fallen to 377,645. I'm worried about that because we need more apprentices. In my electorate of Nicholls, the drop in apprentices and trainees under this government is 11.75 per cent. My businesses are struggling to find workers. We need to pump-prime the economy with skilled, trained workers—not with junk VET degrees, diplomas and qualifications but with real skills training.

I identified this as an issue because it has been an issue for a long time. It's not just the current government's fault, although things seem to be getting worse. I identified this as an issue in my electorate a number of years ago, and, before coming to this place, I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study the European approach to vocational education and training and the encouragement of young people in schools to undertake vocational education and training so that they could then land a productive job in the workforce. Because of COVID, I couldn't do it straightaway, so I ended up taking some time during the midwinter break to go to the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Finland to look at how they do vocational education and training.

One of the things that was most stark for me was, firstly, the cultural difference. Here, we have a bit of a 'if you're a smart kid, you go to uni, and everyone else goes and gets an apprenticeship' situation. In Germany, Sweden and Finland particularly, university education and vocational education are held in the same esteem. I think that's something that we all should be working towards, because the students who graduate from the vocational education and training systems are as important, if not more important, to our economy—notwithstanding all the people, whom I much respect, who've got degrees in law or engineering. They're very important, but these electricians, these plumbers, these people with these trades and vocational education are so important to our economy.

I think we've all got work to do to make sure that, when schools talk to young people about careers, we've got vocational education and training and university on the same level. That's something I saw in Germany and Finland. When I was in Germany I was in Stuttgart and I went to Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz go into schools in the Stuttgart and the towns around there. They try to talk to kids in their version of our years 7 and 8, trying to find the kids who've got an aptitude for mechanics and engineering and also the ones who have a bit of a future focus. That's IT. They try to encourage these kids to consider a career at Mercedes-Benz. The German system means that, if that kid says, 'Yes, a career at Mercedes-Benz sounds good to me,' they go to Mercedes-Benz and do what's called dual vocational education and training. They'll probably spend three days a week at Mercedes. I saw these young people working away. They'll spend either two or three days a week at a vocational education and training school or a tech school.

These tech schools in Germany look a lot different from our TAFE schools. They're a lot more high tech, and the companies and the tech schools are working together to make sure that what the kids are learning both practically but also in the theory around, say, mechatronics or electronic engineering is completely relevant to what's going on with Mercedes-Benz's strategic direction. That works really well. When I come back to Australia, I don't see it working as well.

In this discussion, this debate that we're having over vocational education and training, I think we all want the same outcomes. We want high-tech industries with kids coming out of school and finding apprenticeships. We want those apprenticeships and training systems to be completely relevant to what's going on out there in the world of industry. We want those kids to turn into very-high-skilled technicians in industry and we want them to drive the Australian economy forward.

So here's an opportunity. We'll have a bit of a crack at each other over what we did and what you are doing, and I think that's healthy. That's part of the debate. But we want the same outcome, which is a high-tech workforce. I went over and had a look at it. I single out Germany and Finland because that's where I saw an approach that is different from us but I think is working better. I understand that there are cultural differences between, for example, Finland and Australia, but, to give you an example of a place that is perhaps more culturally aligned with us: the United Kingdom is moving in this direction too. They're realising that university is not the be-all and end-all. They're realising that they need to improve the vocational education and training systems. We talk a lot about a green energy or low-emissions-energy future. It's interesting that, when I was in Sweden, they were talking about a future powered by renewables. Now they're talking about a low-emissions future because they've realised that they need to ramp up their nuclear industry to get to where they want to get with their emissions reduction, and I think that's the conversation we've got to have. The UK have decided that they've got to ramp up nuclear as well. The skills and the technicians required to do that mean they need to lift the game from what they had in vocational education and training and perhaps look more at what Finland and Germany are doing. I pose the question: are we training the employees of the future? I think it's a question we've all got to ask ourselves. When Labor's in government or the coalition's in government, we've all got to strive towards making sure that our vocational education and training system is fit for purpose and that that money's not being wasted on RTOs that are just trying to get a bit of government money to go and give some training that doesn't mean anything or on people that are trying to exploit students, who might get some qualifications that are never going to help them land a job. Instead, we need to focus in on what we really need as an economy. Sure, we need lawyers—I've just seen another one come into the room, a great contributor as well—but vocational education and training is critical to our country's future.

I don't think we're doing it as well as we need to. I think we need to be in schools, saying: 'Apprenticeships are just as good, and you can earn just as much if you're a good operator. Here's the pathway for you with a really good RTO that's going to work with industry to deliver relevant training and skills.' That is a partnership. The partnership is between the training organisations, government and industry. I've seen it work well overseas. In small patches, I've seen it work well here in Australia, but I think we've got a long way to go. My commitment, while I've got some time in this place, is to work constructively with all members to see if we can get this one right.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

In my electorate of Corangamite, TAFE is more than good; it's world class. Gordon TAFE serves as a cornerstone of opportunity, a catalyst for personal growth, and testament to the power of VET education to shape a brighter future for the students in my region. Our government recognises this, and we also recognise that we need to do much to help our students. That's why I stand to support the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. This bill is about safeguarding the integrity of the sector. This bill is a significant step towards ensuring the integrity and excellence of our VET sector. This landmark legislation embodies our government's deep commitment to enhancing the regulatory framework governing the VET sector, ensuring that it remains a beacon of quality and opportunity. Instances of noncompliance, fraud and exploitation have cast a shadow over this sector, eroding public trust and undermining the hard-earned achievements of students, educators and industry stakeholders.

It is incumbent upon us to confront these challenges head on to safeguard the integrity of this very vital sector and uphold its reputation as a bastion of quality education and training. Apprentice carpenter Trey McAuley is just one local success story that inspires apprentices and trainees to aim for the stars. Trey's apprenticeship and training led to an opportunity to represent Australia in the 47th WorldSkills International Championships in Lyon, France this year. After his success at the national championships in Melbourne in August, he really is the best in his field. Trey said:

I'm the sole carpentry apprentice in the training squad, so I'm determined to prove myself and represent Australia in my trade … I love my job, and to think it started with a regional competition at The Gordon and led me to where I am now is exciting … I'm grateful for the support surrounding me. I love being a carpenter and having this extra opportunity through trade school. My employer is another reason why working in the trade industry has been a great career choice. I'm committed to giving it my best.

The Albanese government, like the Whitlam government before it, understands the value of education for the public good. Today, the Albanese government is materially reforming our vocation education and training, VET, sector. We're rebuilding a sector wilfully neglected by the previous government, because we understand a strong VET sector is critical. This is why we're committed to building a strong, resilient and dynamic skills and training sector.

The Albanese government understands that we must support quality TAFEs and boost the skilled workforce, and, through a genuine partnership with our state and territory counterparts, our fee-free TAFE program is doing just that. It will be the flagship initiative to help support key industries experiencing skill shortages. It's focused on areas of emerging growth while providing access to priority cohorts, including the most vulnerable in our communities. The numbers speak for themselves. In the first six months we exceeded our target of 180,000 enrolments, with almost 215,000 Australians enrolling in a fee-free TAFE course. That's 215,000 people accessing high-quality training in areas where we need skilled workers. Demographic data also shows that fee-free TAFE is making inroads in supporting disadvantaged and in-need Australians, with enrolments including 50,849 jobseekers, 15,269 people with disability and 6,845 First Nations Australians. And we're not stopping there; we're providing funding for a further 300,000 fee-free TAFE places, starting now.

Put simply, the opportunities of fee-free study can change lives and improve our economy. The Albanese government recognises this. However, among the countless success stories, we can't ignore the scams that threaten the integrity and value of the sector. After many years of inaction, our government is responding to the community's call for change. This bill will empower the Australian Skills Quality Authority, who are tasked with overseeing the registration and quality assurance of VET providers. By providing the skills authority with enhanced powers and resources, we seek to strengthen its capacity to identify and address instances of non-compliant, fraudulent behaviour and substandard practices within the sector.

A cornerstone of this bill is the introduction of robust measures aimed at combating the proliferation of nongenuine or unscrupulous registered training organisations—RTOs—that exploit regulatory loopholes for personal gain. Through targeted amendments to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, we aim to bolster ASQA's authority to take swift and decisive action against RTOs engaging in fraudulent activity, ensuring those who seek to undermine the integrity of this sector are held accountable for their actions.

Furthermore, the bill seeks to enhance the transparency and accountability of RTOs by introducing measures to prevent the abuse of regulation status and the misrepresentation of educational offerings. By imposing stricter penalties for breaches of regulatory requirements and expanding ASQA's powers to conduct internal reviews of decisions, we aim to create a regulatory environment where compliance is not just an option but a fundamental requirement for participation in the VET sector.

In addition to these enforcement measures, the bill includes provisions aimed at strengthening the integrity of the VET sector's registration process. By introducing safeguards to prevent the rapid expansion of newly registered RTOs and imposing restrictions on the addition of new courses to their scope of VET registration, we seek to ensure that providers demonstrate a genuine commitment to quality education and training before being granted broader accreditation.

Moreover, the bill incorporates recommendations from various reviews, including the Nixon review and the Braithwaite review, which highlighted the need for targeted reforms to address integrity and equality issues within the VET sector. By drawing upon the insights and recommendations of these reviews, we will develop a comprehensive legislative framework that reflects the evolving needs and challenges facing the sector.

The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024 represents a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity and quality of Australia's VET sector. By empowering ASQA, imposing tougher penalties and enhancing regulatory efficiency, we lay the groundwork for a future where every individual has access to high-quality vocational education and training opportunities, equipping them with the skills we need to succeed in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

As we delve deeper into the provisions of the bill, it becomes evident that our focus is on equipping ASQA with the necessary tools to address integrity issues within the VET sector effectively. One of the fundamental aspects of this bill is the reinforcement of ASQA's enforcement powers. The proposed amendments enable ASQA to take swift and decisive action against non-genuine or unscrupulous RTOs that undermine the integrity of the sector. The bill introduces measures to prevent the abuse of registration status by dormant RTOs that fail to deliver training and/or assessment for an extended period. This provision addresses the inherent risk associated with RTOs that maintain their registration purely for onselling qualifications without fulfilling their educational obligations. Automatic lapsing of registration after 12 months of inactivity serves as a strong deterrent against such practices while ensuring procedural fairness through provisions for legitimate extensions under exceptional circumstances.

Additionally, the bill imposes restrictions on newly registered RTOs, prohibiting them from expanding their course offerings within the first two years of registration. This measure aims to mitigate quality risk associated with rapid expansion and provides ASQA with an opportunity to assess the operational integrity of new entrants before granting them broader accreditation. By focusing on the quality of education and training delivery from the outset, we are laying the foundation for a stronger and better VET sector. Furthermore, the bill incorporates recommendations from various reviews that I've spoken about: the Nixon and Braithwaite reviews. We've highlighted the need for targeted reforms to enhance the integrity and quality of the VET sector. Drawing upon these insights and recommendations, we will develop a fantastic framework.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Gordon TAFE. It is such an amazing organisation. It started in the 19th century, and it began because there was such a need for skills growth in our growing economy. Now we are facing the same need for skills development so we have a skilled workforce that can meet the needs of Australia and take us into the future as a really strong economy. To do that, we need to empower TAFE to do this job well. That means having the right set of regulations to make sure that reputable TAFES are highly regarded and equip young people to do well. I'd like to give a shout-out to the TAFE because they have about 13,000 students currently, and when they started in the 19th century, I think they first started with 10 students. They've come a long way, and they do an amazing job.

In closing, the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024 represents a significant step forward in our collective effort to strengthen the integrity and quality of Australia's VET sector. By empowering ASQA, imposing tougher penalties and enhancing regulatory efficiency, we do lay the groundwork for a future where every individual has access to high-quality vocational education. We must ensure that this continues. We think about Whitlam and the fact that he sought to significantly widen educational opportunities for all Australians and reform post-school training. The Albanese government is continuing this legacy and ensuring that in the future our young people will be able to choose to go to university or to go to TAFE. They will be able to find the skills that will provide them with rewarding work, and, very importantly, will equip Australia with the skilled workforce we need for the future. I commend the bill.

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. Vocational education and training is an integral part of the Australian workforce. Apprenticeships and traineeships are fuelling our economy to meet changing demands.

I'm pleased to see that the government is taking action to reform and strengthen the quality and integrity of the VET sector. I understand that a review was conducted in January 2018, known as the Braithwaite review of the NVETR Act, with recommendations for change. The review also revealed that students have shared their VET experience as being disappointing and demoralising, with students accumulating significant debt for courses that, ultimately, they did not complete. More concerningly, the report also revealed experiences of abuse and exploitation. This should have set off alarm bells for the government to consider taking immediate action to address the systemic issues. It has been six years since the review, and we now have a bill to adopt some of the recommended changes. I have to ask the government why it took so long.

Fowler has a significant number of students engaging in the VET sector, ranging from hospitality and early childhood to aged care. Approximately 12 per cent of employed people aged 15 and over are currently working in the trade or technician sector. With manufacturing and construction being the largest employers in Fowler, offering our people opportunities to develop skills in these industries is critical. I am committed to ensuring that the government continue to propose measures that not only support the VET sector but also uplift and create better access and opportunity for those engaging in the sector.

I have been vocal about supporting the VET sector in the past year, such as by proposing the reversal of indexation on the trade support loans, which were later rebranded as Australian apprenticeship support loans, back to the 2022 rate of 3.9 per cent. Although it was known as an interest-free loan, it was hard to reconcile this belief when loans were still indexed according to CPI. My plea to the government for this relief was to give more students hope to enter the trades industry without the fear of crippling debt. I am still of the view that the government must address this issue of indexation at a time of cost-of-living crisis for my constituents in Fowler and across Western Sydney. I've spoken often in this House of the struggles and pains of my constituents in Fowler. Due to the low-income status of many families, they are struggling to put food on the table while coming to terms with the soaring costs of electricity, fuel, rent, food and insurance, as well as the general cost of living.

For a sector that is the backbone of the Australian workforce and the future of many young hopefuls, I am disappointed it has taken us this long to holistically review the flaws of the VET sector. The proposed bill is a move by the government to crack down on dodgy registered training organisations, who are engaging in borderline criminal behaviour within the VET sector. I note that the bill makes several amendments to improve the integrity of the vocational education sector and to ensure that only those registered training organisations that demonstrate a genuine commitment to training and education are able to operate. ASQA is to be provided with more discretion in managing and deciding on RTO applications. I welcome these efforts to clean up the VET sector. However, it is important that the government also has mechanisms in place to prevent the misuse of power. Will there be internal guidelines for ASQA to ensure that regulatory duties are in line?

While we focus on the unscrupulous registered training organisations, we also need to ensure that we are relieving the burden on those RTOs that are doing the right thing—that they are not overburdened in dealing with regulations that are constantly changing. Many RTOs that I have spoken to find it difficult to continuously keep up to date with the course and skill set requirements, and there is immense pressure on trainers, assessors and people working in the sector to constantly retrain, which adds burden, cost and time to the sector.

I know that the government invested $37.8 million to support the establishment of the integrity unit within ASQA to upgrade systems and create a tip-off line for the misconduct of RTOs. This is not an insignificant sum. While it is important that systems are constantly up to date, I would like to know whether the funding was also utilised to improve the delivery of VET courses and to support students.

VET is an essential pathway to upskill and re-skill Australia's workforce. As the aged-care and disability-care sector continues to grow, and as we address the shortages in the education sector and in others, we know that VET will play an important role in preparing our workforce to meet these challenges.

I agree that we need regulators in the field of VET that demonstrate a genuine commitment to providing quality education and training. I would like to highlight that as legislators we need to ensure we get the balance right. What are the key benchmarks we are categorising for quality and are we providing too many hurdles to the VET providers that are doing the right thing?

I support the amendment to the bill that expands and strengthens the offence and civil penalty provisions regarding false and misleading representations made by an RTO, offering greater protection for students. This is even more important when the students, like many of those in my community of Fowler, are from a migrant or refugee background and are more vulnerable to being exploited by false and misleading claims made by RTOs. I think we can all agree this is an important provision to include in the legislation. I also agree with the amendment that automatically lapses an RTO's registration when it does not deliver training for a period of 12 consecutive months, as there is also the ability for the RTO to request an extension and provide an explanation as to the reason.

I note that this amendment will be the first piece of legislation among others which are set to reform and elevate the status of VET and TAFE in Australia. I ask the government to ensure that there is constructive consultation with the sector to ensure the experiences of those at the coalface are considered in providing legislation to best meet the needs of both RTOs and students. I acknowledge that this is a step forward. However, there are many things amiss with the VET sector beyond regulatory issues. Vocational education and training is an essential element we must get right to prepare Australia's workforce to drive our economy forward.

In 2023, I conducted a consultation with community stakeholders about the VET sector to understand the key issues that affect students and providers. The emerging theme from the consultation was that there is a lack of support for students and VET teachers due to the constant changes to VET courses as well as workforce shortages. Following my community consultation, I now call on the government to take the following action as the next tranche of reform.

Firstly, implement measures to maintain the course and skill-set requirements for at least three years. A stakeholder has shared that they are dissatisfied that government bodies are constantly changing the course and skill-set requirements. This adds immense pressure to keep up and streamline compliance. In particular, a stakeholder has said the following: 'What has changed in hospitality so much that there is a constant need to send VET teachers to training annually?' It was also shared that VET teachers are often sent to training for at least five to 15 days, which takes them away from school and their ability to connect with their students. Accordingly, students feel like they are not adequately supported whilst undertaking their VET courses.

Secondly, provide VET teachers with wider support within schools. VET teachers have shared with me the struggles of having to constantly upskill and attend training, as I have mentioned above. They are also met with administrative burdens to upload evidence for each student to be assessed. This may also produce burnout and potentially affect how they deliver the courses to students. VET teachers feel like they are being pulled in multiple directions and cannot keep up. While I can appreciate that this may be a matter for state governments to consider, it would be worthwhile to explore conversations about allocating funding to give VET teachers support with student engagement.

Thirdly, implement measures to support students engaging in the VET sector. The Braithwaite review has described some students' VET journeys as being 'demoralising'. I ask the government to consult and engage with providers so that the delivery of VET courses can be enhanced and made meaningful to reduce the number of students discontinuing their courses. Students need more confidence from the government that they can pursue VET courses. In conclusion, I commend the bill to the House.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

It is an amazing pleasure to speak on the importance of this bill before the House, the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. A good education is a ticket to a good life and a good wage. My electorate knows how passionate I am about education. One of the things I'd also highlight is that I agree with some but not all of the comments of the member for Nicholls. Having a look at our society and seeing the importance of university education and vocational education, I think it's important that we place an emphasis on both of these types of education. Particularly in WA there can be comparable wages and comparable job security, and I think that something we need to highlight is the importance of apprenticeships and traineeships in our broader economy.

In the electorate of Swan I'm very lucky because there are a range of registered training providers that provide excellent services. I have two thriving TAFEs. South Metropolitan TAFE has two campuses, Bentley and Carlisle, and they provide amazing opportunities for our community, for young people and adults looking to start or change their careers.

Bentley campus, on Hayman Road, is one of the largest TAFE campuses. It's conveniently located across the road from Curtin University and co-located with the Bentley business precinct, known as Tech Park. It has brilliant facilities that are open to the public, such as the award-winning Bentley Pines Training Restaurant—I'm very lucky my niece has trained to become a pastry chef there! It's a live and interactive training environment for our students preparing for work in the hospitality industry. Hospitality and cookery students serve and prepare food in the restaurant and showcase their skills in planning a menu; budgeting and making purchases; and preparing and serving food and drinks to members of the public. Events students provide menu presentations and advertise when special events or exhibitions are staged in the venue. There are a wide variety of specialist facilities and courses on offer at Bentley TAFE. It's such an awesome facility that on more than one occasion I've had the opportunity to share it firsthand with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Skills and Training. On the most recent occasion, we announced the milestone in fee-free TAFE places that this government has achieved. It's a centrepiece of the Albanese cost-of-living package, helping the community address the skills shortage.

Also in my electorate is the Carlisle campus of South Metropolitan TAFE. It features a range of trades, paraprofessionals and course facilities. It's a purpose-built facility for refrigeration training and automotive refinishing, and it's the only one in Western Australia. Carlisle is also the location for the Adult Migrant English Program—as you can tell, I'm super proud of my electorate and the amazing facilities it has.

Before I get into the important changes this bill makes, I want to take this opportunity to address some of the incorrect assertions made by the member for Farrer in relation to this bill. There was an assertion about the number of apprentices rising under the Liberal government. It's simply not true. The member might like to know that, under the coalition government, the apprentice commencement rates declined. The facts are that there were 220,000 apprenticeships in 2014. By 2019, that number declined by 95,000 places, to 135,000. That's almost a 40 per cent decrease in apprenticeship opportunities under the coalition's watch. That's 95,000 fewer trained workers than we would have had if it weren't for coalition policy. It was only a COVID funding boost that arrested this slide. The member for Farrer once again started throwing accusations before checking the facts, because it was Labor that, after the election, made it a priority to invest in apprenticeships and traineeships, to invest in the areas where the economy needs skills the most. It also means that more money is going into apprenticeships.

Another fact the member for Farrer might like to know is that trade commencements went up by almost 20 per cent in Labor's first year of government—that's very impressive—and the almost 70,000 apprenticeships rose to 84,000 in 2023. That's 14,000 newly trained workers playing valuable roles in our jobs market thanks to Labor.

With a blossoming VET sector thanks to the Albanese government, it's important that we're ensuring integrity of the system. Integrity is vital to our training and education system. That's why this legislation is before us, because when our education sector is strong our economy can be strong. Our government is responsive to the needs of the sector that is serving us so well.

It's also responding to the quality issues that have come to our attention via important reports and reviews that were acted upon by Labor. It was the work of the 2023 Nixon review into the exploitation of the visa system and of the Braithwaite review which highlighted these issues. The joint standing committee report into international education shone a light on these matters that simply need to be addressed when it comes to maintaining quality and integrity while ensuring growth in the sector. The changes put forward by this bill will mean action can be taken against registered training organisations, RTOs, who are not genuine in their purpose. Fraudulent activity will be stamped out. As the Minister for Skills and Training put it: 'What we are simply doing is we're making it tougher for the bottom-feeders, the fraudsters and the cheats who take advantage of students for a quick buck. We're restoring integrity to the sector.' Most importantly, students will benefit.

Exploiting students is a low act. Students are simply aspiring to a better future, with hope and dreams. It is sad that this was fostered under the coalition government. I'm delighted about these key amendments in this bill which will help stamp out behaviour such as exploiting and luring students with false descriptions of training facilities and false testimonials. Tougher penalties will deter those operators who currently see penalties as a risk worth taking or a cost of doing business. Penalties will need to be tougher, and under this bill they will be. Fraud will be stopped, and the whole community will benefit. The message is clear: step up or step out.

The bill will stamp out fraud by empowering the Australian Skills Quality Authority, known as ASQA, to act when it identifies organisations that are not adhering to the requirements set by legislation. Last year the government invested $37.8 million to support the establishment of an integrity unit within ASQA. The funding was also used to upgrade ASQA's digital and data systems. A tip-off line has been established to detect and address unacceptable and dodgy RTO conduct. The bill will strengthen ASQA further. It will empower ASQA to take swift action to deter, and remove, these RTOs and apply greater scrutiny to the RTOs seeking to enter the VET sector. The bill also expands the kinds of false and misleading conduct that ASQA can target. It does this by providing for long-overdue increases to the penalties applicable to dodgy conduct and statutory breaches.

We must remember that this bill supports the majority of providers who are doing the right thing and providing quality education and training. There are genuine providers who are in the sector for genuine reasons and are providing outstanding, quality training for our future workforce. This bill will only benefit them. We are enhancing the quality of the service that they provide by stamping out rogue operators who risk bringing parts of the sector into disrepute. The removal of dodgy providers will make a big difference in securing the future of VET.

The bill will also force an RTO's registration to automatically lapse where an RTO has not delivered training and/or assessment for 12 months and prevent RTOs from expanding their course offering if they've been operating for less than two years. The bill will provide ASQA with greater discretion in prioritising, considering and deciding on RTO applications and empower the minister, with the agreement of state and territory ministers, to determine that ASQA need not, and must not, accept or process new RTO applications. It will expand offence and civil penalty provisions to cover a broader range of false and misleading representations by RTOs about their operations and increase fivefold the maximum penalties for breaches of relevant offences or civil penalties under the act.

These changes build on the Albanese government's investment in integrity and quality in the VET sector. We must respond and act. I know that the genuine RTOs in my community will applaud these changes. They're doing an outstanding job, and I'm excited about the new and flourishing service providers that we're working with in different communities to tailor training to specific needs. They need our support to ensure that we're equipped with the correct regulatory framework to protect their integrity and to make sure that we get great outcomes not just for students but also for our economy. I commend the bill to the House.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I have always seen vocational training as something that can have a real transformative effect on people's lives. It can help kids who might not necessarily be terrific at school find a pathway where the skills they have can really be used. That obviously goes for TAFE, but it also applies to the good-quality private training providers. My experience of good-quality private training providers is that they can help businesses really target the skills they need for their staff. But what brings this sector unstuck and what I've seen for nearly the last decade has been a sense that there are always going to be dodgy providers and there's not much you can do about it. The consequence of that has been terrible outcomes for many students. And these are not just young students; sometimes these are older, mature workers who want to reskill or people who come in from overseas in good faith to do courses and find out that they've been sold a dud.

It's really important that we don't accept that there's nothing that can be done about dodgy providers, and that's what the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024 is about. It's saying that there should be standards and, what's more, those standards should be enforced. We are absolutely committed to protecting students and to ensuring the integrity of our vocational education and training schemes in the whole sector as well as the registered training organisations.

This legislation, which I am very pleased to support, is the first tranche to implement our quality and integrity reforms, including by elevating the status of TAFE and vocational education and training and targeting the minority of unscrupulous and non-genuine providers, who tarnish the reputation of the whole sector. For someone who's been in business, as I have—I was in business for nearly 25 years before I came to this place—your sector gets a bad name not because of the good operators but because a small number of people do the wrong thing. We can fix that. That is in the best interests of all the honest operators who have integrity and who are genuinely running businesses where they do want to help people change their lives.

I really welcome the measures in this bill, which include things that are probably not that exciting as I run through them but are actually the practical things that will make a difference, For instance, there are things to ensure that ASQA, which is the quality-control body—I know I have certainly referred constituents to ASQA and I have certainly raised issues that have been brought to my attention with ASQA in the past—is now going to have the appropriate powers to take swift action to address integrity risks posed by these non-genuine, completely unscrupulous registered training organisations. It'll be able to apply greater scrutiny to new RTOs and promote a quality vocational education and training sector so that students benefit, the industry itself benefits and businesses who rely on skilled workers benefit. That means the whole community benefits.

Other changes include the ability to do a rapid review of whether something is going wrong but also to stop a new provider from being able to keep adding courses in its first two years of operation so it can be established and there can be a demonstrable basis on which to determine that it is meeting the standards that are required. The flexibility that ASQA is going to have will also make a difference. This ensures that ASQA's rules allow it to determine its priorities and to consider and make decisions in relation to applications. This matters because it further enables ASQA to apply the appropriate scrutiny to complex applications or to applications from providers that raise potential integrity issues. So this is about empowering the very body that monitors and enforces the standards, to ensure it can actually do the job that we're asking it to do.

It's worth pointing out that this bill brings together recommendations from various different reviews, including one that happened in 2018. So this isn't new. We've known that this needed to be done, but the previous government just let it drift. It failed miserably to enforce standards and to provide a better framework for the standards. That 2018 review, called the Braithwaite review, was a review of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011. Its recommendations sat, unimplemented by the previous coalition government.

We are a government that identifies a problem and then acts on it, and strengthening the provisions in this bill will enable ASQA to take decisive action, to be able to do what we're asking them to do. As a government, we are encouraging young people and more mature workers to look at vocational education, to see where the skills shortages are and where opportunities for themselves might lie. This is a really key part of it.

Of course, TAFE remains an absolutely central part of what we do. Tens of thousands of students in New South Wales have taken advantage of fee-free TAFE. We have had our first full year of it. There have been tens of thousands in the care sector. The last figures that I pulled out went up to the last financial year, and there were 20,700 care sector workers, 6,400 technical and digital students, 5,800 construction students and 5,200 agriculture students going through fee-free TAFE—and they are figures that go to the last financial year. There have been a lot more in the second half of last year and, obviously, in this new TAFE year.

I would really encourage people: if you want to skill up, check out fee-free TAFE. That is going to provide a pathway to address the skills issues that we have in this nation.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024. This comprehensive bill aims to fortify the integrity and enhance the quality of Australia's vocational education and training sector. It addresses integrity risk prevalent in the VET sector, mitigates the exploitation of vulnerable students by unscrupulous registered training organisations, and promotes a culture of excellence and accountability across the vocational education and training landscape. It also cracks down on the loopholes in our migration system that shameless organisations use to exploit and profit from vulnerable students.

VET serves as a cornerstone of Australia's education system. It offers a pathway for millions of Australians to acquire the skills and qualifications necessary to thrive in the workforce. Like 5,551 others in Holt, I have had the privilege of upskilling and learning a new qualification thanks to our VET sector. I earned a Certificate IV in Patisserie at William Angliss Institute, and I also did a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery at Box Hill TAFE.

Those who finish a diploma earn, on average, $1,300 a week—$312 more than those who only finished high school. This is equal to $16,000 a year more for working-class individuals—a huge boost in income and possible opportunities. For a family, this can represent the difference between living pay cheque to pay cheque and having a sense of financial security.

However, the proliferation of fraudulent RTOs engaging in deceptive practices poses a significant threat to the integrity and reputation of the sector. This jeopardises the aspirations and futures of countless students. At the heart of this bill lies a commitment to safeguard the interests of students and to uphold the quality standards of vocational education.

The spread of so-called ghost colleges in Australia, as highlighted in the recent investigative article by Clay Lucas for the Age, underscores the pressing issue of dodgy education providers exploiting the visa system. These institutions, often hidden within office buildings in Melbourne's CBD, claim to offer education to thousands of international students. There are nearly 300 private vocational institutions operating in Melbourne. At 190 Queen Street, there are 20 different colleges, where students can choose from 200 different courses. Sounds great, right? However, investigations by the Age reveal that many of these classrooms remain empty, with students nowhere to be found. Despite regulatory efforts and changes in visa laws, these ghost colleges persist, exploiting loopholes to profit from students who are primarily seeking work opportunities rather than genuine education.

In light of the spread of fraudulent practices within the vocational education system, it is imperative to uphold the integrity of both our visa system and our education system. The exploitation of loopholes and deceptive practices not only undermine the credibility of our education system but also jeopardise the integrity of our immigration processes by allowing a minority of operators to manipulate the system for personal gain. We risk tarnishing the reputation of Australia as a destination for quality education and skilled migration.

Upholding the integrity of our visa system is essential to ensuring that genuine students and skilled workers have access to opportunities that contribute positively to our society and economy. By enhancing robust measures to address integrity risk and by strengthening funding regulatory oversight, we seek to protect the rights and welfare of students while fostering a VET sector characterised by transparency, accountability and excellence.

This bill introduces a range of measures designed to enhance the efficacy and integrity of the Australian Skills Quality Authority, our national VET regulator. Among its key provisions, the bill empowers ASQA with greater authority to swiftly address integrity risk posed by a minority of non-genuine RTOs. Firstly, it mandates the automatic lapsing of an RTO's registration if it fails to provide training or assessment for 12 consecutive months, addressing concerns raised by the Braithwaite review. To ensure fairness, RTOs can seek extensions for legitimate reasons, such as natural disasters. Secondly, the bill restricts newly registered RTOs from adding new courses for the first two years, allowing ASQA to assess their operations thoroughly. Thirdly, it extends the period of internal review by the regulator, ensuring thorough consideration of complex decisions. Fourthly, ASQA gains greater discretion in prioritising registration applications, enhancing efficiency while maintaining scrutiny. In addition to these, the bill empowers the minister to halt processing of registration applications in consultation with ASQA, targeting non-genuine providers without disrupting the system. This safeguards the reputation of the VET sector and ensures the delivery of high-quality training outcomes for all students.

One of the central objectives of this bill is to prevent fraudulent RTOs taking advantage of vulnerable students through deceptive practices. This bill strengthens student protection by expanding penalties for false representations by RTOs. Tougher penalties are crucial to deter unscrupulous behaviour and safeguard the integrity of the VET sector. Currently, the maximum penalties for affected offences under the act have not changed since 2011. They range from $9,390 to $187,800. These amendments mean that those penalties will now range from $46,950 to $939,000 under the current penalty unit values.

Furthermore, this bill seeks to empower students with a robust system to raise complaints and seek redress against dodgy RTOs. This measure ensures that their voices are heard and their rights are protected. By establishing avenues for students to report instances of misconduct, ASQA can effectively investigate allegations of noncompliance and take firm action to hold offending RTOs accountable for their actions. Through implementing strict registration requirements and imposing harsh penalties for misconduct, the government aims to create a regulatory framework that deters bad actors while promoting the interest of students and the broader community. Drawing from the recommendations dating back to 2018, including through the Nixon and Braithwaite reviews, the bill addresses longstanding concerns to ensure that students have confidence in the standard of education provided. Incorporating insights from the 2023 interim report by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, along with the elements from the lapsed Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill 2022, the bill emphasises its dedication to enhancing regulator efficiency. Incorporating local training providers, such as public TAFEs, into the discourse surrounding this bill underscores the vital role that genuine RTOs play in delivering quality vocational education and training to students across the country.

Through this comprehensive approach, this bill seeks to uphold the reputation and effectiveness of the VET sector, reflecting a concerted effort to address longstanding issues and adapt to the evolving challenges. This bill builds upon the foundation laid by the National Skills Agreement, a landmark initiative led by the Albanese Labor government to revolutionise access to TAFE, enhance training quality and address crucial skills needs across the nation. The National Skills Agreement, backed by a groundbreaking $30 billion investment, reflects our government's steadfast commitment to working collaboratively with states and territories to achieve meaningful reform in the VET sector. This agreement reflects an acknowledgement that partnership cooperation and a long-term agreement are essential to implementing much-needed quality and capacity reforms in the VET sector. In addition, under the leadership of the Albanese Labor government, the introduction of 300,000 fee-free TAFE places stands as a testament to our commitment to accessible and equitable vocational education. This transformative program represents a significant investment in the future of Australia's workforce, providing opportunities for individuals from all walks of life to pursue quality education without the burden of financial constraints.

By removing the barriers to entry and expanding access to TAFE, we are empowering Australians to acquire the skills and qualifications needed to thrive in today's competitive job market, thereby laying the foundation for a more inclusive and prosperous society. The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill represents a comprehensive and forward-looking approach to strengthen and transform Australia's vocational education and training sector. To safeguard the credibility of our education system and maintain Australia's status as a global leader in education and skilled migration, it is imperative to fortify the integrity of our systems. This bill supports those genuine providers doing vital work and takes decisive action against the minority of providers who rort the system. The strength of the vocational education sector is not just about providing individuals with skills and opportunities; it's also about strengthening the foundation of our nation's prosperity and resilience. These initiatives embody our dedication to unlocking the full potential of our skilled workforce, driving economic prosperity and building a brighter future for all Australians.

A robust VET sector ensures that our workforce is equipped with the necessary expertise to drive innovation, productivity and economic growth. Moreover, it fosters social mobility by offering pathways to success for individuals from diverse backgrounds. By safeguarding the integrity and quality of vocational education, we uphold the promise of a brighter future for both our people and our country as a whole. As we strive to overcome challenges and seize opportunities in an ever-evolving global landscape, investing in the strength and integrity of our VET sector remains paramount.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 16:00

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank all members who have contributed to the debate on this important bill, the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Strengthening Quality and Integrity in Vocational Education and Training No. 1) Bill 2024, particularly the members for Farrer, Werriwa, Nicholls, Corangamite, Fowler, Holt, Macquarie and Swan. I'd also like to thank stakeholders and states and territories for their invaluable feedback and insights into how this bill can best protect the reputation and integrity of our vocational education and training sector.

The Albanese government understands that a trustworthy and high-performing VET sector is essential not only to create meaningful and secure career opportunities but to deliver the skills our economy needs. The amendments in the bill will provide the regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, better tools to protect students and tackle the minority of providers that engage in unscrupulous conduct and fail to demonstrate a genuine commitment to education and training delivery. These providers tarnish the reputation of the sector, and the bill reinforces that there is no place for them in the VET sector.

The bill builds on the government's track record in strengthening the integrity and the quality in VET. This includes negotiating a landmark $30 billion five-year national skills agreement, the first of its kind in a decade, investing $37.8 million to increase ASQA's capacity to detect and address unacceptable behaviour by registered training organisations and strengthening the 'fit and proper persons' requirements to apply increased scrutiny on those in management positions within RTOs. The government's track record includes turning around apprenticeships, and the member for Farrer particularly referred to apprentice commencements in her remarks. I remind her that the commencements steadily declined under the coalition, from 220,000 in 2014 to fewer than 135,000 in 2019, a drop of nearly 40 per cent. We're obviously at odds when it comes to the history of this area.

It took a global pandemic and the emergency injection of wage subsidies, costing $7.7 billion, to arrest this decline. Perhaps apprentices expected some sort of direct support from this huge spend, but they should have known better. Those opposite saw fit to funnel every cent of the $7.7 billion directly into employers' pockets. Not one cent went directly to an apprentice or trainee. The coalition knew that the spending was unsustainable, and their last budget, handed down by Josh Frydenberg, the then Treasurer, shows they planned to drop apprenticeship support to below pre-COVID levels. To paraphrase the member for Farrer in her second reading speech on the bill: you can defend this wage subsidy or defund it; you cannot do both.

The biggest users of the coalition wage subsidy were businesses like fast-food giants, retail stores and call centres. The design of the scheme allowed businesses to funnel employees into traineeships in name only to access wage subsidies and pay workers below the standard award wage. I can exemplify that by referring to the Fair Work Ombudsman investigation into the conduct of a fast-food employer, Grill'd, that employed 2,800 employees and placed them on so-called traineeships under this agreement. I have to say, there were was, in many instances, very little training indeed, but it did allow the company to pay these workers below the minimum standards that would be provided to an employee. In some cases, some of these so-called trainees were providing evidence to the Fair Work Ombudsman that they received no more than eight hours of training in 18 months of employment.

We don't really believe that the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program was really an apprenticeship scheme. That's not to say we didn't support wage subsidies; obviously, we supported JobKeeper. We proposed it. It was originally rejected by the member for Cook, the then Prime Minister, but the previous government did finally accept it as a good approach, of course, and Labor supported that. And we do support wage subsidies, particularly at a time of a pandemic, but we do not accept that the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program was an apprenticeship scheme in the way in which traditional apprenticeship schemes are operated. For that reason we disagree with the contentions by the member for Farrer in relation to those issues in her contribution on this bill, but we do appreciate her support overall for the bill as introduced by the government.

To illustrate my point, in media reporting one of the trainees involved in this program was quoted as saying, 'Originally I was told there would be no more than six months to a year, and then, about 18 months into my employment, I finally got off my traineeship, having had two training sessions totalling eight hours'—as I said earlier. We would say we are very different from that approach. The Albanese government is targeting investment to apprentices and employers in areas of the economy where skills are needed the most, and I think it's fair to say it's working. You need only to look at the architecture of the New Energy Apprenticeships scheme to see the difference. It is not front-end loaded. There's payment to employers and apprentices throughout the entire life of the scheme to ensure we increase the likelihood of apprentices completing their apprenticeships, because we need those skills for many sectors of the economy. That's what we will continue to do.

Trade commencements were up almost 20 per cent in Labor's first year of government compared with June 2019, pre COVID and pre emergency stimulus spending. We agree with the coalition that we cannot continue to fund an unsustainable emergency $3.8 billion COVID wage subsidy. The member for Farrer also referred to the VET FEE-HELP program in her remarks. From 2009 to leaving government in 2013, the previous Labor government provided VET FEE-HELP scheme loans of a total of $1.39 billion. Over the next three years to 2016, the coalition allowed VET FEE-HELP loans to skyrocket to over $9 billion total—a more than sixfold increase—overwhelmingly to for-profit providers. Despite being urged to rein the loans in, the coalition sat on their hands for years, taking too long to act. The non-genuine and unscrupulous providers we saw exploit the VET FEE-HELP program are the kind of providers the Albanese government is cracking down on in this bill. This minority of providers continue to tarnish the sector and undermine the majority of genuine providers doing the right thing, whether they are public providers, industry providers or providers for profit who deliver excellent training and education in many respects.

The bill also responds to issues highlighted in reviews related to the VET sector and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011. These include the 2018 review, with its report entitled All eyes on quality: review of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 report, conducted by Professor Valerie Braithwaite; the 2023 rapid review into the exploitation of Australia's visa system, conducted by the former chief commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon; and the inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, with its report entitled 'Quality and integrity - the quest for sustainable growth': interim report into international education.

The measures in this bill increase ASQA's powers to take decisive action against non-genuine and unscrupulous training providers. The bill enables the automatic lapse of the RTO registration where it has not delivered training and/or assessment for 12 consecutive months, as recommended by the Braithwaite review that was commissioned by the previous government. This targets integrity risks posed by dormant RTOs that are not demonstrating a genuine commitment to training delivery. Students will be better protected by measures requiring new RTOs to demonstrate their ability to deliver quality training before being allowed to expand their course offerings. Providing ASQA with greater discretion to prioritise, consider and decide applications for initial registration means that ASQA can better address risks as well as skill shortages and community need.

The bill supports the integrity, health and quality of the VET sector by empowering the minister responsible for VET to determine specific periods where ASQA is not required to accept or must not process initial applications for RTO registration. This will better enable ASQA to address trends in applications by non-genuine providers or manage unsustainable influxes into the VET sector. This ensures risks can be appropriately managed before providers enter the sector, for the benefit of students and the sector as a whole. To maintain appropriate checks and balances, the use of this ministerial power will be time limited and require the minister to consult with ASQA and seek the agreement of state and territory skills ministers prior to the determination being made.

Expanding and increasing offence and civil penalties fivefold will make it clear to RTOs that ASQA is armed to impose tough punishment where RTOs seek to exploit vulnerable students through false and misleading representations or otherwise engage in egregious conduct. Providing ASQA with increased flexibility to expand the period within which it can conduct an internal review of decisions, combined with technical and administrative amendments in the bill, will support ASQA to be a more efficient regulator and make its processes more proportionate, effective and fair.

The bill provides ASQA powers to respond effectively to integrity threats and safeguard the quality and reputation of the Australian VET sector, as well as support the vast majority of genuine registered training organisations. This bill is the next step in this government's plan to ensure the sector has the capacity to deliver quality training outcomes and meet Australia's skills and training workforce needs into the future.

I welcome the opposition's public statements of support for the bill, and I look forward to working constructively with them and crossbench members to facilitate swift passage of the bill. This will allow students, industry and the whole Australian community to benefit from the removal of non-genuine and unscrupulous providers who undermine integrity and trust in vocational education and training. A strong VET sector is vital for a strong economy. Once again, I thank members for their engagement on this bill.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.