Free TAFE

Australian Council of Trade Unions submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Education and Employment Inquiry

Australian unions strongly support the Free TAFE program and this legislation which seeks to cement Free TAFE as an ongoing and secure part of our Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. Our support for this legislation rests on three pillars:

1. The efficacy and good outcomes delivered by the Free TAFE program.
2. The need to legislate the program.
3. The opportunity and requirement to codify and solidify the program’s focus on TAFE.

This legislation of an ongoing Free TAFE program will represent another clear illustration of the Government’s commitment to undoing the near decade of neglect that VET suffered from under the previous government. Free TAFE will be an important part of the much-needed and likely long-term efforts to ensure that Australian workers can access the skills they will need for the jobs of today and of the future. Australian unions commend the Government for advancing this bill and we ask that Parliament works to pass it expeditiously.

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