- Published:
- Wednesday 5 October 2016
The Andrews Labor Government welcomes moves from the Commonwealth to overhaul VET FEE-HELP, something we have been calling for since we came to office in 2014.
The announcement comes at a time of declining training numbers nationally and uncertainty about the future of the National Partnership Agreement.
The Labor Government is now calling on the Turnbull Government to provide ongoing funding for a new National Partnership with the savings it will achieve from its changes to VET FEE-HELP.
The current agreement is due to expire at the end of June 2017 and will cost Victoria around $130 million a year in funding.
The National Partnership Agreement is vital to ensuring students can get into the training that will provide them with the real skills to get a real job.
The VET FEE-HELP debacle has taken thousands of Victorian students for a ride, leaving them in debt and without a qualification.
Victoria is in the middle of an unprecedented crackdown on rogue training providers. We’ve terminated the funding contracts of 20 private training providers and have earmarked $43 million in taxpayer funds for recovery.
We will now work with the Federal Government to ensure we have consistency on contract enforcement, course lists and processes for training students across providers.
The Federal Government is also falling in line with our Skills First reforms, which only funds courses that align to the needs of industry.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Training and Skills Steve Herbert
“VET FEE-HELP has done untold damage to the reputation and confidence of Australia’s training system.”
“Now that the Turnbull Government has finally listened to our calls and acted to stop the massive rorting of the system, there is no greater priority than to restore confidence in our training system.”
“As a matter of priority, we’ll pursue a new National Partnership Agreement to ensure Commonwealth funding continues after 2017 – because Federal Government needs to play their part in restoring quality and confidence to our training system.”