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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-07-10 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

TAFE FEES

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:12): Today we asked a series of questions of the acting minister for skills on the sudden increase in TAFE fees due to Skills for All. It is interesting that the acting minister was not able to confirm or answer questions, considering that he was the minister that was involved in the setting up of the Skills for All program in the first instance, yet was not aware of the extra income that his government achieved through increasing fees for diploma courses in particular in South Australian TAFEs.

How do we know that that has happened? I want to read into Hansard a couple of emails that my office received just yesterday in regard to increasing fees in TAFE. The first was from a Jessica Parkin, a former Unley High School student, who signed up for a visual merchandising course at the beginning of the year. On the first day of TAFE she received a lot of documents from her course teacher, one of which told her about the fees capping. In particular, the course that she was participating in was capped at $2,275 for 2012. Her father agreed to pay those fees up-front in order for her to have a full 12 months of diploma training in visual merchandising. As 1 July came around, TAFE changed the way that it does its fees, and this is explained in a letter from TAFE that I will refer to later. Jessica was not the only one to be concerned about the government's approach, tactics and management of TAFE.

I have a letter from another parent concerned about the fact that his daughter had $1,200 added to her TAFE course. When they signed up they were under the impression that they had paid at the beginning of the year, that it was capped and that, therefore, they would not be required to make any further payments for the year. Yet they received another letter, which stated that, because of Skills for All, students who had enrolled for semester one in 2012 were advised that new fees would take effect from July 2012. The facts are that, when both of those students enrolled for their diploma at the beginning of the year, they were given a letter confirming their enrolment which contained the line, 'Fees are capped to $2,275 for 2012'—not for the first half of 2012 but for 2012.

Why has that changed? Minister Kenyon was quoted in the press as saying that fees would not increase because of Skills for All, yet we have TAFE SA writing to students just this month telling them, as follows:

From 1 July 2012, TAFE SA Fees Policy would take effect. Students who enrolled in Semester 1, 2012 were advised that new fee structures would take effect from 1 July 2012.

There are no Fee-Capping arrangements between TAFE SA and Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology...from July 1 2012, with the exception of a Maximum $7,000 cap for most qualifications.

The letter then goes on to tell students that they can apply for VET FEE-HELP, which is an accredited program provided through the federal government, which enables students to borrow the money to pay TAFE fees and to pay it back when they are earning money.

What the government has decided to do halfway through these training contracts is to jack up the fees and then tell students, 'If you are having trouble paying the fees, don't worry about it.' They are told that they can apply for the HECS-style funding, which VET students are now able to access, and to just put it on the Bankcard—that was the advice.

Of course, we know that the Treasurer has been doing it for years here in South Australia, and now this advice is being given to students here in South Australia. Why has that advice been given? That advice has been given because TAFE has been constantly using money year after year. There has been a bailout of $8.4 million over the last five years, and more money will be handed over when TAFE eventually leaves the DFEEST nest here in South Australia.

What surprises me is that Elaine Bensted told the media this morning that the government would no longer put up those fees that were capped at the beginning of the year, yet she did not bother briefing the minister, or the minister was not at the top of his game today and was not aware that this decision, which was made by cabinet, I imagine, was then rolled back by the exiting manager for TAFE here in South Australia when she said that those fees would no longer be charged to those students who had been told their fees would be capped. We will be holding the CEO to her word on this issue.

Time expired.

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