Vocational Education and Training

In reply to the Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17 March 2015).

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): The Minister for Education and Child Development has received this advice:

It recently came to the attention of the Department for Education and Child Development that the practice of offering incentives to schools to enrol students in training courses had occurred in one South Australian school.

On 12 March 2015, the Australian Government released its VET Fee-Help Reform Factsheet. This factsheet recognises that nationally some training providers or their brokers have been operating unethically by offering inducements such as cash, meals, prizes and laptops to encourage vulnerable students to sign up for VET Fee-Help loans. As of 1 April 2015 this practice has been banned.

As a precautionary measure, the Chief Education Officer of the Department for Education and Child Development has written to all school Principals to advise them of this situation.