Dear Members,
And so we continue with our work to fight for our sector and address the concerning rhetoric around the many, many great quality providers providing fantastic outcomes. Earlier this week I was in Canberra visiting members of parliament (including the cross bench) raising our concerns.
This morning ACPET distributed a media release which called out the significant ramifications of the reforms and importantly, the implementation process that is currently occurring. We continue to be very concerned about the lack of consultation and the impact on our great sector. I further highlighted these in an interview on ABC AM this morning.
We have been overwhelmed with real stories from the field about the real impact of the reforms. You will see that our social media strategy (coming out over the next few days) takes the voices of our members to really start to shine a light on the real impact of these reforms on our sector. Its jobs, and businesses and ultimately the students that will suffer if we don’t get this right. We really appreciate the support that you have provided to this social strategy and again, can we encourage you to share the messages through your network. I have been amazed with who is noticing this advocacy.
Today, the legislation was presented to parliament by Assistant Minister Karen Andrews. The Minister’s speech can be reviewed on the weblink here (please go to 10:10 to get to the speech.) The full set of information of the Bill can be found on the Australian Government Parliamentary Website here
Put simply, I am outraged by the anti-business approach being taken by the (apparently) Liberal Government.
As I write I am learning about the nature of the legislation that is being introduced including a proposed fee for providers to apply for VSL and a tax to cover the cost of student surveys and the introduction of an ombudsman. As you know ACPET has been advocating for an ombudsman for some time but the introduction of a new fee, plus tax on providers is absurd, particularly in the context of the price caps and qualification list. Late this afternoon, ACPET sent out another media release highlighting that private training providers will have to pay for a system they overwhelming believe will damage the sector.