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This chapter is part of a volume that proposes a systematic approach to the tertiary education system reform agenda, building on the work of Peter Noonan (1955-2022), professor of tertiary education at Victoria University, who was a central figure in the development of this policy agenda. The chapter is an edited version of a paper [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 119.1038] written by the authors in 2015. It sets out an idea that was both central and enduring to Peter Noonan's policy vision for tertiary education in Australia: an entitlement to funding for an initial post-school qualification for every young person. Noonan argued strongly that the different funding models and entitlements across vocational and higher education systems were acting as a barrier stopping young people from pursuing the education or training of their choosing.

The vocational and higher education sectors are financed separately, work to separate policy settings, and attract differing perceptions of prestige. The result of these variations is that tertiary education, taken as a whole and as a national institution, does not realise its potential for effective and equitable investment in human capital development. This chapter concentrates on the design of the financing system as it applies to revenue flowing to providers for qualification delivery. The aim is to inform the creation of a more transparent financing framework for tertiary education with clear responsibility and accountability for each level of government.

Edited excerpts from publication with additional information.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 154.572. Show less

The communiques for the Ministerial Council of Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE), the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Standing Council on Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE), COAG Industry and Skills Council (CISC) (skills stream), COAG Skills Council, Skills Ministers' Meeting (SMM), and Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC) are a public record providing an overview of the outcomes of each meeting.

As a result of a COAG decision on 30 April 2009, Ministers agreed to a realignment of roles and responsibilities for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE). MCEETYA was replaced by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), and MCTEE replaced MCVTE. At a joint meeting of MCVTE and MCEETYA on 12 June 2009, Ministers agreed to MCTEE commencing from 1 July 2009. A realignment of responsibilities and functions for MCTEE included a broader, cross-sectoral role for the council. As agreed by COAG, MCTEE had responsibility for higher education, vocational education and training (VET), international education (non school), adult and community education, the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), employment, and youth policy relation to participation in tertiary education, work and workforce productivity.

On 13 February 2011, COAG agreed to a new Council System consisting of Standing Councils, Select Councils and Legislative and Governance Fora. SCOTESE was established in September 2011. SCOTESE had high-level policy responsibility for the national tertiary education, skills and employment system, including strategic policy, priority setting, planning and performance, and key cross-sectoral issues.

On 13 December 2013, COAG agreed that its Council System should be streamlined and refocused on COAG's priorities over the next 12 to 18 months. This included agreement to establish CISC, which replaced SCOTESE. The inaugural meeting of CISC took place in Brisbane on 3 April 2014. Initially, the chairperson of CISC was the Commonwealth minister for industry, with membership comprising state and territory ministers with portfolio responsibility for industry and/or skills. The government of New Zealand was also invited to participate. The skills and industry streams of the Council routinely met separately, allowing the respective ministers to focus on sector specific issues.

The COAG Skills Council was announced on 9 August 2019 and replaced CISC. The Council assisted COAG by developing and implementing policies under the vision endorsed by COAG, ensuring the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a responsive, dynamic and a trusted sector that delivers an excellent standard of education and training. The Council was responsible for skills development and national training arrangements, with a focus on major policy reforms requiring Commonwealth-State collaboration. The Council's priority actions included ensuring the national training system delivers a highly skilled and productive workforce to support national and local economies.

In May 2020 the Prime Minister announced that the former COAG had ceased. It was replaced by a new architecture for federal relations including the Skills National Cabinet Reform Committee (Skills Committee). In addition to the Skills Committee, skills ministers had responsibility for the ongoing management of VET system through the Skills Ministers' Meeting (SMM). Both the Skills Committee and the Skills Ministers' Meeting provided a forum for intergovernmental collaboration and decision-making about skills development and national training arrangements. The Skills Committee and the Skills Ministers' Meeting consisted of ministers from each state and territory, with portfolio responsibility for skills issues.

The Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC) was established following a review of Ministerial Councils in 2022 [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 155.151]. The SWMC provides a forum for national cooperation and stewardship across the VET system and on the intersection of skills and training policy with workforce issues. The Council collaboratively progresses items of national importance within the portfolio to achieve agreed objectives and priorities. SWMC meetings are held at least quarterly.

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On 23 March 2023, the Senate referred the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Bill 2023 [Provisions] to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 14 April 2023. The purpose of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Bill 2023 (bill) is to amend the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (NVETR Act) to better support data collection and other related measures being implemented as part of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Data Streamlining reforms.

In July 2020, the Commonwealth and state and territory governments agreed to the Heads of Agreement for Skills Reform [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 141.854], which committed to improvements in the VET sector, including increasing data collection and analysis to support regular assessment of governments' policies and performance. The VET Data Streamlining program was established to improve the timeliness and quality of VET activity data, including introducing: modern technology that enables real-time submission of VET activity data; a new VET Information Standard to replace the existing AVETMISS; and updated regulatory and governance settings.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the bill will support these reforms by ensuring that 'the information collected from students and training providers, and the data systems being built to facilitate the transfer of that data into the national [VET] data set, are flexible and responsive to the needs of governments and other users of VET data'. The bill would insert definitions to distinguish between VET data systems used by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and other entities, such as state and territory authorities, and those operated and maintained by the Commonwealth.

To inform the regulation of the sector, the NVETR Act imposes an obligation on registered training organisations (RTOs) to report data in accordance with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Provision Requirements) Instrument 2020 (DPRs). The DPRs sets out the requirement for providers to supply the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) with data upon request, and to submit quality indicator data at least annually. The NVETR Act would be amended to enable the Ministerial Council to delegate their powers to agree to all, or parts, of the DPRs to other individuals or bodies, such as senior officials of the Commonwealth and states and territories. This would allow the DPRs to be 'amended more readily and without Ministerial Council approval for specified circumstances that the Ministerial Council considers appropriate'.

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The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic had extraordinary health and economic implications globally and in Australia. JobKeeper was a central pillar of the policy response in Australia. It was a wage subsidy and income support program announced on 30 March 2020. JobKeeper provided support to around four million individuals - around one-third of pre-pandemic employment - and one million businesses. JobKeeper had three objectives: to support business and job survival; to keep employees connected to their employers; and to provide income support to individuals. It enabled eligible workers at eligible firms to receive a payment from the government through their employer. For stood down workers, the payment was an income support payment; for others, it was a wage subsidy. JobKeeper remained in place until 28 March 2021. Modifications to policy design, including changes to eligibility criteria and the payment rate and structure, were made following a three-month review.

The Independent Evaluation of the JobKeeper payment considered both the impact and processes of JobKeeper over the entire payment. The effectiveness of JobKeeper was assessed in terms of achieving its objectives, in line with the terms of reference. Lessons learned from the design and implementation were also recorded with a view to informing future policy responses. The final report details the key findings of the evaluation, with contextual information and supporting evidence.

Key findings include: (1) JobKeeper helped to stabilise the Australian economy during a crisis. It played a critical role in addressing the extraordinary and unquantifiable uncertainty at the time of its introduction and averting the worst economic tail risks of the pandemic; (2) JobKeeper was effective in achieving its stated objectives. It preserved employment, supported incomes and prevented large scale business failures during the pandemic; (3) While there were important benefits associated with JobKeeper, there were also significant costs. The fiscal cost of JobKeeper was significantly frontloaded in the first six months. The economic cost, while relatively small, became more significant in the later stages of the program; (4) Overall, JobKeeper provided value for money through its broad social benefits and the role it played in addressing extraordinary and unquantifiable uncertainty and averting the worst economic tail risks of the pandemic; and (5) JobKeeper was implemented with incredible speed and was well managed. In the circumstances, implementation struck an appropriate balance between rapidly deploying support and managing risks of error and fraud.

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