I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Wednesday 9 September 2026 was National TAFE Day and celebrates the contributions of TAFE teachers, staff and students;

(2) thanks Australia's TAFE teachers and staff for their dedication to skilling and training Australians;

(3) emphasises that the Government's investment into Free TAFE removes financial barriers to ensure more Australians can gain the skills needed to work in industries critical to Australia's success;

(4) observes that the Government has partnered with state and territory governments to invest over $1.5 billion in Free TAFE between 2023 and 2026;

(5) recognises the Government has legislated permanent Free TAFE, guaranteeing 100,000 Free TAFE places every year from 2027; and

(6) further recognises that hundreds of thousands of students have continued to embrace Free TAFE by enrolling in and completing courses in areas such as nursing, construction, care and technology.

As a former TAFE teacher, I was so proud to celebrate all our wonderful TAFE teachers, staff and students on National TAFE Day on Wednesday, September 9. Before I came to parliament, I was a TAFE teacher for more than a decade, and, during that time, I saw how TAFE changed so many lives for the better. As an outreach teacher, I helped people of all ages, but particularly women who hadn't worked outside of the home before, come back to TAFE and start on a pathway to meaningful employment. After raising their children, TAFE helped these women into important jobs, including aged care, community services, disability care and early childhood education.

I have seen firsthand how TAFE can change lives and help people gain employment or create a pathway to university and further education, whether it's a school leaver, an apprentice, a mum looking to re-enter the workforce or a mature-age student seeking to upskill and transition into a new career, TAFE opens the door.

I have two chippy sons, one who has completed his apprenticeship and started his own business, and the other is partway through his training. I've proudly watched on as they've gained the skills and confidence to go out and start building the homes we need, all thanks to TAFE. In my region of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast, there's so much work building new homes, and I know our local TAFE campuses are producing homegrown tradies, who get to live, work and raise their families in their local communities. It's also great to see so many local businesses supporting our apprentices and filling the jobs we need.

TAFE is buzzing right now with chippies, sparkies, and people studying aged care, early childhood education and IT. What I saw in New South Wales under those opposite was the absolute decimation of TAFE. To be honest, the carpark at my local TAFE campus in Nowra was just completely empty for so long. But, when we came to government and introduced free TAFE, we brought students back to TAFE. Now, the Nowra TAFE campus is expanding because we've got more and more chippies and more and more sparkies wanting to train there. Free TAFE has been such a wonderful success. It's thriving, and TAFE is so important to my community. I will always champion TAFE. On National TAFE Day, I gave a huge shout-out to our TAFE teachers, who are supporting our young people and helping older people navigate exciting new career opportunities.

Labor has revived TAFE and only Labor is the party of free TAFE. We've delivered 850,000 free TAFE places, delivering cost-of-living relief and opening the doors of opportunity to so many Australians who would otherwise miss out. TAFE is now a permanent feature of the national VET system, with investment of more than $1.6 billion to 2034-35 to support at least 100,000 free TAFE and VET places each year from 2027. Importantly, free TAFE places are offered in high-demand fields and they're prioritised for people who typically face barriers to education and training.

Enrolments in free TAFE have been strong across all priority sectors. We've had over 236,000 care sector enrolments and more than 68,000 enrolments in the early childhood education and care sector. We've seen over 75,000 course enrolments in the technology and digital sector and more than 78,000 course enrolments in the construction sector.

TAFE is delivering the skills and training needed to grow our country's economy, building the homes we need, creating a future made in Australia and ensuring our oldest and youngest loved ones can get quality care when they need it. We're helping Australians to get secure, well-paying jobs. And, despite the efforts of those on the other side, who tried to block free TAFE, we have locked free TAFE into law, guaranteeing 100,000 free TAFE places every year. Only Labor backs free TAFE and only Labor backs Australia's future.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

National TAFE Day was on 9 September. I want to acknowledge every TAFE teacher, every trainer, every staff member and every student across Grey. You are doing the work that skills up regional Australia. You are training the electricians, the diesel mechanics, the nurses and the builders that our towns depend upon. Thank you for your dedication. It does not go unnoticed.

But I have to be honest about what's actually happening under this government. The Albanese Labor government has spent over $1.5 billion on fee-free TAFE between 2023 and 2026. That is a lot of taxpayer money. And now Labor is promising 100,000 fee-free TAFE places every year from 2027, locked in as a permanent guarantee. Now that sounds like a good press release, but it is not delivering in the regions—shock horror. When the coalition left office in 2022, there were 426,000 Australians in apprenticeships and traineeships. Guess what that figure is now? That figure is now 282,000. That is a significant decline—another Labor failure. Trade occupations alone are down 30,000 since Labor came to government. No wonder we have a skills shortage in that sector.

In South Australia, the fee-free TAFE completion rate in 2025 was around 50 per cent. That is not a success story. That is a policy failure. You cannot call a program a win when half of the people who start it don't finish it. Take Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world: a town with a proud history that has been forgotten by the Canberra-bubble bureaucrats. Coober Pedy might have a TAFE building, but the residents there have no real pathway into the industry that built their town. Some of the best opal cutters in the world are right there in Coober Pedy, ready to teach local youth about presentation and about grading. Yet we are told the government has refused to use the local TAFE facility for this, citing outdated machinery. I'll bet my last dollar that the pencil pushers in the city who made that decision have never seen an opal mine in action. The very skills that define Coober Pedy are at risk of being lost. We do not want Coober Pedy to become another Mintabie.

In places like Coober Pedy, we need funding and support tied directly to local relevant training. Instead, we are funding ghost students, enrolments that go nowhere near a real job. You can get your boat licence in Coober Pedy, even though you're about 5½ hours drive from the nearest ocean. Real education outcomes require mutual investment, not empty handouts. Coober Pedy is half the size it was 30 years ago. It shows us plainly what happens when governments treat remote communities as an afterthought. Sadly, it isn't a unique case. Towns right across regional, rural and remote South Australia are living this very same story. Our regions have been forgotten for too long under this government.

This government needs to start backing the engine room of our nation, and it needs to start now. It is no secret that Australia is facing a housing shortage and major infrastructure bottlenecks. Builders are crying out for skilled tradespeople, waiting months to find qualified workers to finish basic jobs. Projects are delayed. Costs are going up. Communities miss out. Labor promised fee-free TAFE would fix this, but the dial has not shifted. It's gone backwards.

Before I finish, I want to thank every Australian currently doing an apprenticeship. You are learning the skills that will build the houses, run the farms and keep the lights on in this country. You are proof of what's possible when training connects to a real job. That's what this government needs to get right—not enrolment numbers but outcomes for people like those in Coober Pedy. TAFE students and other students in Grey deserve a government that backs them properly. Right now, the government is not getting it right.

December the 24th 1903 was a proud day for the people of Lawson. It was the opening of their new mechanics institute, on which there was a gorgeous report in the local newspaper, the Mountaineer. The foundation of TAFE is our mechanics institutes and our schools of arts. The mechanics institutes provided adult education, particularly in technical subjects, and they operated alongside schools of arts right throughout what is now the electorate of Macquarie. Those buildings remain in many towns and villages in the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury. The mechanics institute at Lawson and the schools of arts in Wentworth Falls, East Kurrajong, Wilberforce, Richmond, Freemans Reach and other places still play a really important role in their communities, as they did more than 100 years ago. The foundation they laid continues strongly today, though, in TAFE institutes in Richmond, in the Blue Mountains—in Wentworth Falls and Katoomba—and in neighbouring Penrith and Kingswood.

I had the opportunity to again visit Richmond TAFE in the Hawkesbury very recently and see firsthand some of the horticulture and retail nursery programs and those involved in the landscaping related courses. Students spoke to me, in particular, and I got to see their work with a trial on pansies. They were assessing different fertilisers for their effect in growing the best quality pansies to be sold in commercial nurseries. The classes tested different types of slow-release fertilisers and then judged the sellability of the plants that they helped produce. The sellability was based on how bushy the plants' leaves were, the height and the density. Shorter samples were favoured over taller overgrown samples. I joked with the students that my own garden is overgrown and that they were always welcome to come and try and work their magic at my place.

But what really struck me was that there were students of all ages in that group, and around one-third of the horticultural production and retail students have enrolled for a career change. So they're not just starting out on their careers; they're moving into their next one. It was also great to talk to the parks and gardens class. Many of the students there are already working in a range of roles, including in the private sector, in landscaping related positions. The Blue Mountains TAFE campuses focus on a different part of training. While the horticulture, agriculture and veterinary studies are very much part of the Richmond campus, in the Blue Mountains the TAFE campuses focus on things like hospitality and commercial cookery, visual arts, aged care and disability.

So across Macquarie, across multiple TAFE study streams, we're seeing thousands of students pursuing their interests, expanding their skills and abilities, and building practical qualifications in the industries we really need to build Australia's economy. We know that every day TAFE delivers world-class qualifications that open the door for secure, well-paid careers and create real opportunities for Australians from every walk of life. Through practical, hands-on and specialist training, they're equipping students with skills that employers need, helping people to increase their earning potential, building rewarding careers and, importantly, addressing the skills shortages we know we face.

The Albanese government is focused on growing these opportunities for Australians, including through fee-free TAFE. New program data released last week revealed more than 850,000 students and more than 275,000 course completions were supported by free TAFE from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2026. That's a record we're really proud of. Whether it's building more homes, supporting an ageing population through the care economy or preparing workers for emerging industries and technologies, TAFE is critical to ensuring that Australia has the skilled workforce needed to meet future demand. And free TAFE is now a permanent feature of the national VET system, thanks to our government investing more than $1.6 billion to 2034-35 to support at least 100,000 free TAFE and VET places every year from 2027.

I'd like to begin by echoing the sentiments of the previous coalition speaker, the member for Grey, in thanking everybody in this country who has chosen to undertake an apprenticeship, because we need that now more than ever before. We're seeing significant deficits in our construction sector, with Housing Industry Australia estimating that an additional 83,000 tradies will be required in order to build Labor's housing target. In particular, in my home state of Queensland and on the southern Gold Coast and South-East Queensland more broadly, in the lead-up to the Olympics we are going to need construction workers and we're going to need people from across the apprenticeship and trade sectors.

It is so critical that young people look at apprenticeships, look at the trades and think of them as an incredible opportunity that is there to be seized. So I'd like to thank every person in my electorate, as well as across the country, who has decided to take that important step and take up a trade. And to all the people who support them—the teachers, the staff, and the organisations—I'd like to echo those thanks as well.

I had the opportunity just recently to visit Sharna Bradley, of Gold Coast Trades College. I've previously taken the shadow minister for housing to their Currumbin campus, but I went to see their new Burley Heads campus, and it's pretty incredible to see so many young people so excited about doing the practical element to their education. I was able to sit in at the back of some of the classes and see what they were doing. It's really encouraging and, quite frankly, heartening to see that next generation of tradesmen and tradeswomen, and it's a very good thing. So I'd like to congratulate them on the opening of their new facility.

It's one thing to talk about this and to congratulate all these people, but it's another to actually back them up by our actions here in this parliament. I'm very fortunate to have in my electorate TAFE Queensland's Robina campus, and I'm there very often, because it's become very much a heart and central hub of our community. They host a number of different events for various community organisations and charities. Students are given the opportunity to be very hands on, whether it's through hairdressing, through early childhood education or through other incredible courses that they offer.

But those people want us, in this place, to make sure we're actually backing a system that not only supports that sort of education but actually helps students get into employment afterwards. I know that the government likes to speak about fee-free TAFE, but at the moment it's starting to look very much like 'job-free TAFE' because we've seen a government that's spending $1.5 billion on fee-free TAFE—which is a significant investment, no doubt—but our skills shortages aren't getting any better. In fact, they've actually worsened in terms of our situation as a country. So the government needs to actually consider whether the investment of taxpayer funds is actually getting those students the outcomes and, in doing so, getting our country the outcomes that we need.

I know that, at the end of the day, young Australians are going to university or to TAFE in order to set up their own futures and make that livelihood for themselves, their families and their kids. So it's only right that this government actually reflect on the statistics, on what is happening in terms of employability for people through the TAFE sector and on what is happening after they leave their degree or their certificate.

We're seeing that overall funding for VET activities has dropped since we left office. That's been driven overwhelmingly by one thing, and that's Labor slashing employer incentives from just over $4.01 billion to just $1.54 billion. We saw the government scramble towards the end of last year to extend employer incentives, but that was only to some industries; we left a whole heap of businesses out in the dark. It's one thing to back people and to be out there championing fee-free TAFE, but if we're not actually getting the results for these young people or for the country, we're doing ourselves a disservice. So I say this to the government: instead of just looking at the process, start to turn your mind to the results. If we're not getting the results as a country, something is wrong.

I rise to support the motion and recognise National TAFE Day. I've been to TAFE twice in my life. I think, in both cases, TAFE probably saved me from myself. The first time was because I wanted to go to university. I was not what anyone would describe as an enthusiastic student at school. I had ability, but I lacked any particular interest in demonstrating it. I've also developed a habit in my life that whenever I reach a fork in the road, I rarely choose the easiest path. If one sign says 'nice sealed road, ocean views, good coffee, arrive relaxed' and the other says 'unsealed road, three river crossings, no phone reception, possible livestock', for some reason I'm already indicating right. So, rather than taking a straightforward route into university, I went through TAFE.

TAFE gave me another way in. It gave somebody who had not exactly set the academic world on fire at school another chance to prove themselves. And that is one of the great things about TAFE. It does not spend much time asking how you got there. It asks, 'Where do you want to go next?'

My second trip to TAFE came when I decided to become an electrician. I was 25 and a mature-age apprentice—although 'mature' is probably doing a bit of heavy lifting in this sentence. I started with a preapprenticeship. At that point, I knew virtually nothing about electrical work. I was learning how to strip cable, terminate wires and use basic tools like pliers. I eventually became reasonably competent with them, though some of my former workmates may seek to dissent from that statement.

TAFE helped start a career that completely changed my life. It gave me a trade, it gave me secure work, and it took me into the construction and resources sector. That trade has stayed with me through every job I've had since. And that is what vocational education does: it gives people another door. Sometimes it is a young person leaving school, sometimes it is someone changing careers, sometimes it is a parent returning to work and sometimes it is someone like me—who has looked at the sensible career path, carefully considered it, and then wandered off in the completely opposite direction. That is why TAFE is so important, because opportunity is not really opportunity if people cannot afford to take it.

Since 2023, more than 850,000 free TAFE places have been taken up across Australia, and we have now made free TAFE permanent with at least 100,000 places every year. That means more electricians, more builders, more nurses, more aged-care workers, more early educators and more people getting the skills Australia actually needs.

It matters, because the cost of training is real. When you're an apprentice, particularly in those early years, you are not exactly swimming through piles of cash like Scrooge McDuck. You are paying the rent, buying tools, getting yourself to work and trying to live on apprentice wages. Every extra cost makes finishing that apprenticeship a little harder. Free TAFE removes one of those barriers.

It also helps employers. Taking on an apprentice requires time, patience and money, and for quite a while an apprentice is learning more than they are producing. I can say that with some confidence, because I was one. So, when government reduces the cost of training, that is not only support for the apprentice; it is practical support for the businesses training our future workforce, and that, ultimately, is what TAFE is about. It's not about prestige. It's not about whether one qualification looks better framed on the wall than another. It is about giving people useful skills that lead somewhere. The evidence backs it up. People completing vocational training are more likely to be working afterwards and, on average, earning more.

But I don't need a report to convince me of the value of TAFE. I've lived it twice. The first time, TAFE gave an uninterested school student a pathway into university. The second time, it handed a 25-year-old who could barely use a set of pliers the start of an electrical career, and, remarkably, nobody was seriously shocked in the process. That is why I'm proud that this government backs TAFE, because Australians do not travel along the same road. Some people take the highway, some people take the scenic route and some of us will keep choosing the road with the potholes, the roadworks and the questionable bridge. TAFE makes sure that, whichever road people take, there is still somewhere worth getting to.

I echo a lot of the comments that have been made—certainly those celebrating our TAFE teachers and the students who have enrolled in TAFE. Vocational education is critically important in our country. It should not be seen as second rate compared to a university education—though, in a lot of the rhetoric I hear, including in this place, sometimes it seems that way.

When assessing TAFE as a whole, though—vocational education in Australia and how we're faring with it—we really should be asking some very concise and clear questions. One of those questions is: when a student goes from a TAFE course into a workplace to start using the skills they have learnt in TAFE, what's the employer's view? What does the employer think of the level of competence and education that the TAFE student brings into the workplace? I think that's a really important question to ask. My experience, when asking employers that question, is that it is very mixed. I think we can have a conversation in this country about making sure that we make TAFE—or whatever vocational education system we decide to have—the absolute best it can be in terms of quality of education.

I think what the Labor government likes to do is take what in some cases—not all cases, but some cases—can be a suboptimal system, make it free and say: 'Our cue's in the rack. We're done. Everyone can just enrol. They don't have to pay anything. There's no FEE-HELP, and there's no deferred loan system. They can just enrol in it and do a course—or potentially not even complete a course—and we've done our bit for skills attainment in Australia.' But I don't think that's the case. I think we can make TAFE and apprenticeships a lot better.

I just wanted to mention the parlous state of apprenticeships in this country. I'm very worried about it, as are many of the business owners and people who are going to rely on the pipeline into the future. When the coalition left office in 2022, there were 426,830 apprentices and trainees in training across the country. Today, that number is around 282,000. That is not good enough, and it doesn't bode well for us into the future.

I'd like to finish the time that I've got speaking about this important issue by sharing the experience I had as a result of receiving a Churchill Fellowship. I received it in late 2019 before I came into this place. Because the COVID pandemic hit, I wasn't able to travel through my Churchill Fellowship until I was in this place. But I spent a number of weeks in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Finland looking at the way they approach encouraging young people to go from a high school environment, secondary school, into training and then into the workforce.

What I found startling and incredibly impressive was the experience of Germany, which has a vocational education sector. Whilst it is funded by state governments, the curriculum is set up by the businesses themselves and the chambers of commerce. I think that works really well, and all the German businesses told me that. In addition, the joint apprenticeship—vocational education school system was incredibly impressive in the way that it was complementing the theoretical education in vocational education with the practical. I'll give you an example of that. I was in Stuttgart at Mercedes-Benz. Students who weren't following an academic pathway and were 17 or 18 years old would spend three days a week at a vocational education tech school. It is very high tech—a very high level—and I would argue it is probably better than what we've got here in TAFE in Australia. Then they would spend the other two days of the week at Mercedes-Benz, imparting the knowledge that they had learnt.

I think we should look at something like this in Australia. We should have industry and government and the education sector coming together and working a lot more closely to make sure that the education that young people get in the vocational system, in TAFE, is as beneficial to the workforce and the challenges they will have into the future. The government like to pat themselves on the back with fee-free TAFE. I think we can make TAFE a lot better, and I think we can look overseas to examples of where that has happened. Our skills, requirements and future innovation depend on it.

I understand the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of their speech for incorporation into Hansard in accordance with the resolution of the House agreed to on 6 November 2025.

I would like to support this motion and to acknowledge that Wednesday 9 September 2026 was National TAFE Day—a day to celebrate the contributions of TAFE teachers, staff and students right across our nation. I thank Australia's TAFE teachers and staff for their dedication to skilling and training Australians. Every day, in classrooms, workshops and clinical settings, they are turning ambition into ability and helping school leavers, career changers and upskillers to build real careers in the industries that keep our country moving.

This motion emphasises that the government's investment into free TAFE removes financial barriers to ensure more Australians can gain the skills needed to work in industries critical to Australia's success. Labor is training our future tradies and care workers by prioritising skills investment in the sectors we need workers most—in housing, care and support, clean energy and digital capability. This motion observes that the government has partnered with state and territory governments to invest over $1.5 billion in free TAFE between 2023 and 2026. The latest national data shows there were 851,025 enrolments across the country in that period—from 334,212 in New South Wales to 128,732 here in Western Australia. In Western Australia alone, free TAFE enrolments have smashed targets by almost 400 per cent—87,000 enrolments when the target was just 22,000. This motion recognises that the government has legislated permanent free TAFE, guaranteeing 100,000 free TAFE places every year from 2027. The Free TAFE Act 2025 locks in at least 100,000 free TAFE and VET places every year, backed by more than $1.6 billion in investment to 2034-35.

Free TAFE is delivered in partnership with state and territory governments, with places prioritised for people who face barriers to education and training. That includes First Nations Australians, young people aged 17 to 24, jobseekers, unpaid carers, women facing economic insecurity, women undertaking study in non-traditional fields and people with disability. More than 306,000 young people have enrolled along with more than 209,000 jobseekers, over 76,000 people with disability and more than 53,000 First Nations students. Women make up almost 62 per cent of enrolments—523,600 women are taking on qualifications under this program.

This motion further recognises that hundreds of thousands of students have continued to embrace free TAFE by enrolling in and completing courses in areas such as nursing, construction, care and technology. Enrolments are strong across all priority sectors. Over 236,000 are in care, more than 78,000 in construction, over 75,000 in technology and digital, and more than 68,000 in early childhood education and care. There have already been more than 275,000 completions under free TAFE.

Free TAFE is changing lives. Research from Jobs and Skills Australia shows VET graduates earn a median income increase of $11,800 within a year of completing their course. Eighty-four per cent of graduates are employed after completing their qualification—a 15 per cent increase from before enrolment.

Let me bring this home to Pearce. Our community is one of the largest and fastest-growing in Western Australia. Just this month, I joined Minister Clare at Mindarie Senior College to recognise 19 student volunteers from across Pearce—young people giving their time to Quinns Mindarie Surf Life Saving Club, the Salvation Army, local bush fire brigades and aged care. These are the very students who will be the next nurses, teachers, tradies and digital workers, and free TAFE is their pathway. Across the northern suburbs, families have saved over $7 million in course fees, with the most popular course the Certificate III in early childhood education and care—saving each student about $3,500 and helping fill our childcare centres with qualified workers. Here, in Pearce, that means more local young people can train in nursing, construction, disability support, digital and technology without being priced out. And, because free TAFE is permanent, families can plan with confidence. They know that in 2027, 2028 and beyond, 100,000 places a year will be there, prioritised for people who need them most in the courses that lead to real jobs.

Free TAFE is about more than courses. It is about dignity. It is about opportunity. It is about saying to every Australian in Pearce and beyond that if you have what it takes, you will get a place. Labor backs free TAFE and backs Australia's future. I commend the motion to the House.

Debate adjourned.