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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-16 Daily Xml
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TAFE SA

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:40): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question relating to TAFE.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On 21 May, the minister announced a 90 per cent subsidised training monopoly for TAFE. In a letter to stakeholders dated 10 June 2015, TAFE said that they would soon begin the consultation process of becoming more locally responsive. To quote the chief executive of TAFE, Mr Robin Murt, he said that he will 'soon commence consultation around our state to assist us in identifying how we can improve our vocational education and training offering'. My question to the minister is: would it not have been prudent for this process to have been undertaken before the minister decided to give TAFE an almost monopoly responsibility for subsidised vocational training places in South Australia?

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) (14:41): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, I very much welcome TAFE's announcement that outlines the consultation process that it will undertake to help transform the way it's going to deliver training to South Australians.

The TAFE reforms are indeed consistent with the government's WorkReady policy. We have said that we would support TAFE to transition to a more innovative and flexible training delivery model for it to become more sustainable in a competitive market, and that's because TAFE continues to be very important to the government as a major public institution, and its activities are integral to a stable, reliable and innovative VET sector.

TAFE SA has advised me that this process will be part of ongoing reforms and that this will specifically target increased access, flexibility and job outcomes. TAFE has assured me that it has the capacity to deliver all of the training places that it's been allocated. I certainly look forward to seeing the results of the regional training consultations and would urge industry groups, students and other interested people to participate in that process.

TAFE, as we are aware, has advised that it will commence a consultation process to transform the way that it's going to be delivering training to South Australians. It's basically said that it will look at the way it does things, the way it does its work, how it does its work and where it does its work and will be looking for other very creative and innovative ways to increase training accessibility to South Australians, particularly those people in our regions. TAFE SA has advised me that it intends that this process will be part of, as I said, the ongoing reform, and this will specifically target access flexibility and job outcomes and build on its reputation as Australia's largest training provider.

TAFE has already undergone significant reforms. It's transitioned, as we are aware, from three institutions to one, becoming an independent statutory body with an independent board and streamlining its operations to deliver 30 per cent more training with the same level of spending. However, the TAFE board has indicated that more needs to be done to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of how they deliver training. They have assured me that this means improved training outcomes for students, and this is why they have indicated that they will undertake this consultation process.

As I have already put on the record in this place, in discussions with TAFE I outlined WorkReady and indicated that TAFE needed to move to a dollar-for-dollar parity with the private sector in relation to its commercial activities by 2018-19. I also outlined the transition model for the three phases to transition WorkReady through to an open, contestable marketplace. TAFE indicated to me that for them to be able to do that they would need to undertake considerable reforms, and they indicated to me the level of support that they would need, particularly in 2015-16, to enable that very difficult and challenging task to be done.

For the reasons I have outlined, we have offered them that support. It is an interim position, so as each year goes by, we intend to have a larger and larger contestable part to the market, particularly as completions. As I have indicated here previously, we have a very high level of current enrolments. The pump is very heavily primed and, as that empties out, those moneys will be redirected into particularly the private providers to assist them. It is for those reasons that this government has determined that it will support TAFE during this transition process, with the ultimate aim of it being, as I said, on a dollar-for-dollar parity with the private providers for its commercial activities by 2018-19.

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