Fee-free TAFE promise hits major hurdle

The Coalition has confirmed it will oppose Labor’s promise for an extra 100,000 free TAFE placements, saying the unfunded policy could “permanently” saddle the budget bottom line by an extra $500m each year.

This comes as the government is attempting to pass the key legislation in final two sitting weeks of the year which would guarantee the funding of 100,000 fee-free TAFE place every year from 2027.

However, the Opposition says while the Bill forces the government to pay for the 100,000 placements, Labor is yet to allocate funding for the proposed policy which they say will cost the budget $500m a year.

It also says funding requirements should not be legislated in perpetuity without a review of its success, with Coalition skills and training spokeswoman Sussan Ley labelling the Bill as a “lie”.

“Anthony Albanese is trying to cash in on TAFE’s brand to boost his bad poll numbers but you can’t claim you are permanently funding 100,000 free TAFE places and refuse to allocate a dollar,” she said.

She also took aim at a footnote in the Bill’s explanatory memorandum which says an “FT (free TAFE) place may not be free of all fees. The fees covered will depend on the terms and conditions of the relevant FT agreement”.

Although the Coalition has pulled support, the Greens have confirmed they will still support the Bill, which is still before the House.

In principle, this means Labor still needs the support of at least two crossbenchers in order to guarantee support for the Bill in the Senate.

To date, Labor has spruiked increasing take-up in vocational education and training courses through its 500,000 fee-free placements, however questions have been raised on course completion rates.

Documents quietly released by Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles also revealed only about 13 per cent of enrolments begun under the fee-free TAFE arrangements had been completed between March 2023-24, with courses generally taking between six to 12 months to finish.