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The author raises a number of questions about the adoption of competency-based training (CBT) by Australia's vocational education and training sector, which have not yet been answered. These include: the lack of critical appraisal of CBT; the need for an understanding of the future direction of Australian industry to ensure that the competencies are relevant; why Australia should be modelling itself on a predominantly British training model when European and Asian countries may offer potentially better training models - they are higher in the OECD survey of national living standards; why industry is determining the standards used in training - can industry clearly identify and articulate what competencies are required; the lack of any hard research evidence that points conclusively to significant educational benefits generated by the current TAFE 'initiatives' of integrated theory and practical, multi-mode delivery, modular-based learning, etc. (including CBT); questions about assessment and its related processes - for example, are we assessing a physical action, understanding of a piece of knowledge, or quality of output? How do we assess maturity of approach; the need for adequate treatment of the matrix of values - entrepreneurship, national identity, ethical behaviour, etc.; questions about costs and bureaucracy.