Law and policy in vocational education and training: a contemporary survey

This research project arose from the view that neither labour law nor education law has given very much attention to the legal structure and incidents of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. Its central objective is to provide a systematic classification, examination and evaluation of the law relating to the provision of VET in Australia. This central objective was broken down into specific objectives. The first of these specific objectives was to classify the body of law. The second was to describe and examine the most important aspects of VET policy. The third was to...  [+] Show more

This research project arose from the view that neither labour law nor education law has given very much attention to the legal structure and incidents of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. Its central objective is to provide a systematic classification, examination and evaluation of the law relating to the provision of VET in Australia. This central objective was broken down into specific objectives. The first of these specific objectives was to classify the body of law. The second was to describe and examine the most important aspects of VET policy. The third was to investigate the link between the policy and the legislation. As well, several hypotheses in examining the law and policy in relation to VET were examined: that the law and policy on VET have not evolved in a systematic manner; that the law and policy on VET do not provide a rational, coherent or internally consistent program for VET in Australia; and that the law and policy on VET do not provide adequate guidance for people working in VET. In order to investigate these hypotheses, the law and policy were examined according to the following conceptual criteria: transparency; completeness; coherence; and consistency. Consequently, the fourth specific objective of the report was to evaluate the law according to these conceptual criteria. Finally, the fifth specific objective was to examine the nature of the link between the legislative framework of VET and labour market conditions.