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The 2003 Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) national conference was held in Brisbane in August 2003. This paper discusses the contribution made by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and member organisations to the continuous reform of the national training system to ensure that it continues to meet the current and future needs of employers and employees. One focus of this contribution is the ACCI's advocacy, based on sound policy principles, of user choice which is about freedom of choice, flexibility and creating strong markets. The strengthening of user choice is seen as a key element in employer engagement in training with user choice encouraging a direct market relationship between individual training providers and their clients (employers and employees). The paper reviews key activities around Australia in the user choice area and offers a proposal for the way forward including a set of principles for the operation of user choice nationally. It is suggested that an independent risk assessment, which should identify and analyse the key risks associated with user choice, should be undertaken.