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In this lecture, the author argues the need to think about the Australian tertiary system moving from one which included a higher education system for the intellectual elite, and a vocational education system focused on practical skills, to one that provides a more comprehensive tertiary system for everyone. In this lecture, the author elaborates on the argument that tertiary education in Australia has not properly adapted to this new environment and therefore requires a reconceptualisation. As this lecture coincides with the radical de-regulation of higher education in the 2014 Commonwealth Budget, the author assesses these measures and whether they assist with the reconceptualisation of tertiary education.

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Despite some growth in the proportion of the working age population that is employed over the last 20 years, there has also been a growth in the proportion of households (which contain working-age people) that are jobless. Thus, joblessness has become increasingly concentrated into jobless households. In Australia there is a particularly alarming problem of the number of children living in jobless households. The proportion is around one in six and is one of the highest in the OECD. The problem of reducing the number of jobless households is a major and explicit priority of the Commonwealth Government’s welfare reform process, as addressed by the McClure report. It is jobless households that have the highest dependency on welfare, and the growth in welfare dependence over the last 20 years to a large extent mirrors this growth in jobless households. This objective, therefore, was highly complimentary to the parallel objective addressed by the McClure report, to substantially reduce the proportion of the working age population which is heavily reliant on income support.

The author of this paper was one of the members of the Reference Group that produced the McClure report that recommended a simplified income support system, improved work incentives, as well as increased economic and social participation requirements on welfare recipients, and enhanced employment services. In this paper [the author] provides an outline how welfare reform could reduce unemployment and joblessness, through this combination of policies. [The author] also argues that it is important to link welfare reform to reforming the operation of the wages system.

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This article is an edited version of an invited address to the 2023 Australian Labour Market [Research] Workshop. The author draws on his four decades of experience in academia and government, to highlight some major changes that have occurred in the Australian labour market and the education and training system and associated key policy issues that have arisen as a result. These changes raise the following questions. How can we better match labour supply with labour demand? Is our tertiary education system providing the skills we need? Are our migration settings supporting the enhancement of labour market outcomes?

The article highlights why the current environment in Australia is well placed to pursue evidence-based policy solutions to these questions. In particular, the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) is a significant development in the history of evidence-based policy making in the areas of labour markets, education and training. The early work of JSA has already shed significant light on these key policy questions and opens up a path to an evidence-based national jobs and skills roadmap.

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This chapter is part of a Melbourne Institute compendium that discusses a range of contemporary issues, with a focus on the economic analysis of important social issues, such as employment, health care and education.

The authors discuss the large equity and efficiency benefits of full employment. Evidence suggests that the full employment level of unemployment, or the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, can now be below 3.4 per cent - as it was for the quarter century to the early 1970s. They question whether the 2022 aggressive tightening of monetary policy places sufficient weight on full employment. They suggest a more balanced blend of fiscal and monetary policy to support sustainable growth in incomes.

Alongside achieving full employment, reform of education and training and the tax and transfer system can increase skills, participation, hours of work and productivity, and lead to a more equitable distribution of income. Investment in child care and early childhood education would increase parents' labour supply, and enhance childhood development and therefore human capital in the long term. Achieving full employment along with such reform would increase real wages, before and after tax, and distribute income more equitably. There is a strong case for sophisticated simulation economic modelling using state-of-the-art tools to strengthen the evidence base for policy design.

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Reforms to higher education in Australia over the past twenty-five years have followed the worldwide trend towards greater use of market mechanisms accompanied by greater accountability for public funds. In this paper [the authors] evaluate the opportunities and limitations of the current system of funding higher education in Australia. Three important tensions are highlighted: (i) the variety of prices paid by different students; (ii) the strong incentives for institutions to expand in size; and (iii) the strict regulation of the discipline mixes of universities. [The authors] put forward a number of proposals which collectively would deal with the current tensions and create a more level playing field for universities and students.

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In April 2002, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne together with The Australian newspaper organised the Economic and Social Outlook Conference, Towards Opportunity and Prosperity. The aim was to identify broadly agreed principles for a new and different reform agenda for Australia. Topics covered included education, joblessness, ageing, population and health. This book is based on the conference. It provides an overview of the conference, outlining the main threads of the policy debates in these areas and the new reform agenda that emerged from the conference. It is presented in three main parts. Part one, ‘Introduction and background’, sets the scene by assessing the Australian economy over the last hundred years and examining its current performance. The second part, ‘The new reform agenda’, covers the key policy issues and contains the following chapters: Unemployment, joblessness and welfare reform; Education and innovation; Population policy; Work and family; Ageing and retirement; Health policy; The environment and the Kyoto Protocol; Are we becoming a branch office economy; Microeconomic reform. These chapters draw on the papers presented at the conference and include extracts from some of these papers. Many of these are summarised by the authors themselves, some are synthesised by the editors, and a number of extracts are also reproduced. In addition to the conference papers, a number of articles were written for 'The Australian' newspaper in the lead up to the event, by a range of relevant experts and public figures. Some of these are also reproduced in the book. At the beginning and end of each chapter, the editors set the scene and draw out conclusions, respectively. The final part, ‘The way forwards’, provides the editors’ view of the reform agenda. Show less

On 3 June 2021, the Minister for Education and Youth, and the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business, announced the Review of University-Industry Collaboration in Teaching and Learning. The review was led by Martin Bean, former Vice-Chancellor of RMIT and Peter Dawkins, former Vice-Chancellor and President of Victoria University. The Review's aim was to advise how universities, industry and government can increase industry engagement in teaching and learning through improved course curricula, more systematic engagement, and expanded opportunities for students to gain work experience and industry relevant skills. Targeted consultation sessions were held with higher education providers and peak bodies, industry peak bodies, employers, professional body associations, academic experts, and government representatives. Over 30 submissions were received from institutions and individuals in response to the Review's terms of reference. The Review and its findings will build on work currently underway to improve research commercialisation, innovation, and job-ready graduates.

The Review recommends seven short-term actions that government, higher education providers and industry can take to promote greater collaboration across the sector: (1) accelerate the development and use of the Australian Skills Classification as an open access national skills taxonomy; (2) expedite the reform of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) to facilitate better collaboration between higher education providers, vocational education providers and industry; (3) build a unified credentials platform to surface current and emerging skill shortages, provider guidance to individuals to make informed learning decisions, link to quality micro-credentials and act as a bridge to labour market opportunities; (4) providers and industry to build a stronger culture of partnership in the delivery of industry-focused micro-credentials, accelerated through a targeted investment fund; (5) roll out a flexible higher education cadetship program combining an employment contract and a learning program; (6) enhance higher education's engagement with industry through the National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund (NPILF) [consultation paper available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 144.557] and the National Strategy on Work-Integrated Learning [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 119.961]; and (7) build stronger partnerships between higher education, vocational education, and schools, including the introduction of a cross-sectoral teaching and learning innovation fund.

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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 draws on 'Review of University-Industry Collaboration in Teaching and Learning' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 146.844], to provide a way forward for meeting the future skills needs of the Australian economy through greater collaboration between higher education, industry and vocational education and training (VET).

The authors make seven specific recommendations to strengthen the links between tertiary education and Australian industry: (1) establish an open-access national skills taxonomy; (2) implement Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) reform for transparent, rigorously defined learning outcomes and credit pathways; (3) establish a unified credentials platform; (4) develop and deliver industry-focused microcredentials; (5) increase cadetships - scaling 'earn and learn'; (6) improve learning outcomes with work-integrated learning; and (7) grow cross-sector partnerships. It is argued that, when adopted, these recommendations will produce learners with the knowledge, skills and capabilities required for the short- and medium-term future. Implicit in this reform is a new role for universities as connectors linking different elements of tertiary education.

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

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. Looking into the future, how should Australia's tertiary education system be funded? In this chapter the authors set out some principles of an ideal model for funding tertiary education, and note differences between this ideal and the current system. Key issues identified are the current mismatch between the cost of course delivery and the funding received in higher education, differences in fees and access to income contingent loans between students of higher education and vocational education and training, and a lack of coherence and transparency in the current system of regulated fees and government support across both sectors.

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

Although employment levels in Australia are healthy when compared to those 20 years ago, the distribution of work across households has become more unequal. The present paper measures any polarisation of employment that has taken place in Australian households between 1982 and 2000/01. [The authors] find that employment has indeed become polarised across Australian households with most of the polarisation within-household types and not entirely reflecting changes in household size. Particularly worrying is the polarisation found in households with children. This is likely to have consequences for the well-being of future generations.

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