Question Time

Vocational Education and Training

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about vocational training in agricultural sectors.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Yesterday I asked the minister a series of questions about an exponential increase in the cost of the TAFE SA Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, none of which she was able to answer. The Hon. Robert Brokenshire, recognising the direct linkage between employment and agriculture and the cost of training, asked the minister how she expected people to get trained. On that note, I can now put on the record that I have received advice that 28 students have recently dropped the course, some of whom were in their third year of training, purely due to the fee increases. I can confirm that veterinary practices have been contacted and some are recommending that their staff, who are undergoing the course, take up external studies with Open Colleges Victoria; some practices who have contacted TAFE directly assert they have been told that the fee increase is a response to the cut in Skills for All funding. My questions are:

1. Notwithstanding her explanation yesterday that TAFE fees are an operational matter, has the minister received any advice that the course fees would be increased as a direct response to cuts in Skills for All funding?

2. Has the minister received any advice about the impact the course fee changes have had on the number of veterinary nursing student numbers?

3. Has the minister been advised that the students are leaving TAFE to study at the same or equivalent courses through interstate RTOs?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:21): I thank the honourable member for his questions. I have already answered these questions in full yesterday. I made it quite clear that issues to do with the fee structure for TAFE and, for that matter, other RTOs, are a matter for those businesses. I referred the honourable member to making his inquiries directly. Operational matters are a matter for the TAFE SA board. It is an independent statutory authority and operational matters should be directed there.

I have already put on the record quite openly and categorically information about changes to the funding structures in relation to vet training. I have already indicated that considerable additional money was made available under Skills for All in relation to the funding of 100,000 additional training places and that we have achieved that target .Those funds are spent and we are now resuming pre-Skills for All funding levels. One would absolutely assume that RTOs are adjusting their fee structures accordingly, just as they adjusted them when all of that additional money was made available at the outset. As I said, in terms of any other details, I refer the honourable member to TAFE SA.