Vocational Education and Training

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:19): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Given the government's recent claim that non-governmental training providers should have seen the new WorkReady changes coming, can the minister indicate when her government announced that the competitive funding market launched in June 2012 would only last for three years?

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) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. We made it very clear from the outset of that record spending of new money in our VET sector when we released those once-off, new, additional funds that they were linked to achieving an outcome of 100,000 additional training positions.

The sector expanded and grew rapidly. It took advantage of that new money. We saw businesses expand, we saw new businesses coming into the market, but we made it quite clear from the outset that that was once-off additional money associated with delivering the state government's goal of achieving 100,000 additional training positions.

That was achieved ahead of time; we have achieved that. We have exceeded the 100,000 additional jobs, and we have expended all of that once-off additional money. As I have indicated in this place, we have now returned to levels of funding that are sustainable over the long term. The levels of funding are still slightly above the pre Skills for All level of funding, and our training activity remains above pre Skills for All levels of training activity as well.