THE Productivity Commission’s latest report five-year Productivity Inquiry: Advancing Prosperity maps out what’s required to create a tertiary education system that is student centric, more cohesive and better positioned to address workforce shortages.  That’s the view of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent providers in the skills training, higher education, and international education sectors.

“The key to addressing workforce shortages and supporting students can be found through creating an integrated tertiary education system in which the skills training and higher education systems operate as one, yet retain their separate strengths and identities.  Many of the recommendations in the Productivity Commission report seek that also,” ITECA chief executive Troy Williams said.

It is significant that the Productivity Commission has taken up many of the recommendations from ITECA concerning student loan programs.

“One of the most egregious aspects of today’s tertiary education system is that many students pay a 20 percent student loan tax simply for choosing to study with an independent provider.  It is welcome news that the Productivity Commission has made recommendations to end this discrimination,” Mr Williams said.

Another recommendation taken up by the Productivity Commission is a proposal to consolidate the Australian Government’s various online platforms to guide student decision-making.

“The recommendation that the Australian Government’s microcredential information platform be extended to skills training courses and other well-recognised domestic course offerings is well over due.  It corrects a hitherto lost opportunity to help students make informed decision making,” Mr Williams said.

For Australia’s skills training system, one of the more significant recommendations from the Productivity Commission was that the Australian Government fund extra training and development programs for trainers and assessors so they can adequately perform independent and proficiency-based assessment.

“If the Australian Government made the recommended commitment to support the development of the skills training workforce, the ability of ITECA members to support the reskilling and upskilling of the Australian workforce would be significantly enhanced.  That’s just what Australia needs at this crucial economic juncture,” Mr Williams said.

Given the significance of the Productivity Commission’s report, ITECA will actively lobby the Australian Government for the adoption of key recommendations.

“The Commission’s report shows what a student centric tertiary education system looks like, one that would be well equipped to help Australia address its skills shortages,” Mr Williams said.

According to data referenced in the ITECA State Of The Sector Report, independent providers support more than 97 percent of the 4.3 million students in skills training and around 10 percent of the 1.6 million students in a higher education awards program.

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AUSTRALIA's competition landscape will be the focus of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics’ public hearings with the Productivity Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on March 16 and 17, 2023.

These are the first hearings for the committee’s new inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation.

Committee Chair, Daniel Mulino MP said, "Healthy competition and stimulating productivity can enhance the wellbeing of all Australians.

"Boosting productivity is a key driver of wages growth, while healthy competition can lead to higher quality goods and services, greater variety, lower prices, and more innovation.

"The Productivity Commission and the ACCC are key players in these areas and a number of other issues that the committee will be exploring throughout this inquiry. Both organisations have done extensive work in this field, so the committee will benefit from their perspectives and experience."

The committee is also seeking submissions that respond to some or all of the inquiry Terms of Reference by Friday, March 31, 2023. Submissions can be made online via www.aph.gov.au/economicdynamism.

More details about the inquiry and upcoming public hearings, including the full terms of reference, are available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Productivity Commission
Date:Thursday 16 March 2023
Time: 2pm to 4pm

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Date: Friday 17 March 2023
Time: 11am to 1pm

Both public hearings will be broadcast live at https://www.aph.gov.au/live.

For more information about this committee, visit its website. 

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit will hold a public hearing on Friday, March 17, for its inquiry into Commonwealth grants administration.

The hearing will focus on equity, decision-making and matters relating to the allocation of funding under three programs: Urban Congestion Fund, Regional Growth Fund and the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP, noted that these three programs have had significant funding commitments and expenditure by the Australian Government, making them worthy of further scrutiny.

“In the last public hearing held on 3 March, the committee examined a number of grants programs that had been subject to audits by the Australian National Audit Office,” Mr Hill said. “In the upcoming session, we are keen to see whether the issues identified by the Auditor-General in the audit reports are recurring in these other programs.

“The committee will also hold two roundtables in the afternoon, on integrity in Commonwealth grants administration and on grant applicant experiences.”

Details for the public hearings are:

Friday 17 March 2023
Time: 9am – 3.15pm
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra
Inquiry into Commonwealth Grants Administration

Further information about the inquiry is available on the Committee website.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has recommended the Australian Government ratifies the International Labour Organization Convention No. 138: Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (the Convention).

Committee Chair, Josh Wilson MP said, “The purpose of the convention is to effectively abolish child labour by ensuring that the right of children to attend school will be protected; that types of economic activity that may be undertaken by children will be regulated; and that children’s health, safety and morals will be protected."

The convention contains three key obligations: a requirement to specify the age of completion of compulsory schooling as the minimum age for admission to employment or work (in any case not less than 15 years); a requirement to establish 18 years as the minimum age for hazardous work (or 16 years if certain protections are in place); and a requirement to specify the conditions where children no younger than 13 years may undertake light work.

The flexible framework provided by the convention means members with varied legal systems can ensure their compliance with its obligations. While there is not a single prohibition against child labour in Australia, the committee agreed that in effect it is prevented through the combination of education, employment, and workplace health and safety legislation.

Children across jurisdictions in Australia will continue to be permitted to undertake light work where the available evidence suggests such work is undertaken in beneficial circumstances without impact on their health and wellbeing.

“Ratification would add to Australia’s existing strong framework for the education and safe employment of young people," Mr Wilson said.

“One way it would achieve this is through reporting requirements to the International Labour Organization (ILO). One year after the convention enters into force, Australia would submit a report on its compliance. Every three years, Australia would then report to an ILO committee of experts for an impartial and technical evaluation. In essence, we would be held to the commitments we have signed up to.

“By becoming party to this convention, we would join a large part of the international community. Importantly, it would lend credibility to Australia in promoting strong measures to eliminate child labour in the Asia-Pacific," Mr Wilson said.

The committee expressed that it looked forward to receiving a copy of Australia’s first report on compliance with the convention.

The report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.

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