Vocational Education and Training

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Wade.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wade has the floor.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:51): Thank you, Mr President. I seek leave to make a—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wade has the floor.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I seek leave—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I think the Hon. Mr Wade deserves a little bit more respect than this. The Hon. Mr Wade.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question in relation to vocational music courses.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: In August 2014 the University of Adelaide announced that from the start of 2015 it would no longer offer three vocational education and training courses in music, and that its decision to end these courses was due to state government funding cuts. The courses involved were Certificate III in Music, Certificate IV in Music, and the Diploma of Music. Around 80 students were reportedly enrolled in these courses at the University of Adelaide at the time.

Responding to the university's announcement, the minister noted that the three courses were offered by TAFE SA. The minister also said that TAFE SA had agreed to deliver some 'jazz music options' that had been offered by the university. My questions are:

1. What action has the government taken to ensure that the VET courses are re-established at the University of Adelaide?

2. How many additional TAFE SA places have been established in lieu of the three VET music courses since the University of Adelaide's announcement?

3. How many students are currently enrolled in each of these courses and how does that compare with the number enrolled last year, when the courses were available through both TAFE and the university?

4. Does TAFE SA now deliver the jazz music options previously offered by the University of Adelaide? If so, at which TAFE campuses?

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) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for his important questions. As I have said in this place before, TAFE SA is an independent statutory corporation run and managed by its own board. A number of the questions that the honourable member has asked are clearly of a day-to-day operational nature, and I suggest that the honourable member direct the questions asking for details of enrolments and such like to TAFE SA.

However, I can talk generally about the music program. Both TAFE SA and the University of Adelaide are governed by their own boards or councils independent of government, and decisions about the courses offered at those institutions are a matter for them. I can advise that the state government previously offered a Skills for All subsidy to vocational education providers to help cover the costs of certain vocational courses, including certificate III, certificate IV and the Diploma of Music. I can also advise that the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium received this subsidy for its vocational music courses.

For an interim period the government also provided additional funds to assist the university to deliver those courses. If I recall, it was to assist them to establish those courses with a mind to their eventually being sustainable in their own right. So, for an interim period, additional funds were provided. As I have reported in this place previously, in mid-2014, I think, the University of Adelaide made a business decision not to offer vocational music courses in 2015. My understanding is that that decision was made well before any WorkReady funding arrangements for 2015 were released.

With regard to the three Aboriginal music courses listed on the University of Adelaide's website, I have been advised that these qualifications are university accredited courses and are not registered with the vocational education regulator at ASQA. These courses are therefore not eligible for vocational education funding and therefore have not previously been funded under Skills for All.

I understand that students wishing to access vocational education funded music courses can approach TAFE SA, the Salisbury campus, which offers music courses that are funded through Skills for All. Of course, WorkReady will now continue to fund new enrolments in music courses for TAFE SA. My understanding is that that includes certificate III and IV and also the Diploma of Music.

My understanding is that the Uni of Adelaide has completed all training as a vocational education provider and ceased its ASQA registration in December 2014. As I said, that is a business decision that the university has made. The Elder Conservatorium has completed its claims for the 161 vocational students in 2014 and, in total, has received a Skills for All subsidy of $361,000-odd. Its Skills for All contract and supplementary funding deed, I understand, was finalised at the end of June 2015. I am advised that TAFE SA currently has about 148 course enrolments in cert III and IV and the Diploma of Music and that music courses are also available through another registered training provider, Music SA Adelaide, and I understand that is through fee-for-service arrangements. In relation to the other details, as I said, I would encourage the Hon. Stephen Wade to refer those questions regarding detailed operational figures to TAFE directly.