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In October 1992 the Prime Minister invited the Committee to undertake an independent inquiry into a national competition policy, following the agreement by Australian Governments on the need for such a policy. This report of the inquiry reflects written submissions from nearly 150 organisations and individuals from around Australia as well as consultations with senior representatives of all Australian Governments and many industry, professional, trade union, consumer and other organisations. The inquiry found strong and widespread community support for implementing an effective national competition policy. There is a significant awareness of the opportunities such a policy offers Australia to improve international competitiveness and hence living standards. Contents: Towards a national competition policy; Part one, 'Competitive conduct rules': Overview of competitive conduct rules; Anti-competitive agreements; Misuse of market power, mergers and other rules; Scope of application: principles and issues; Scope of application: review by sectors and activity; Enforcement; Part two, 'Additional policy elements': Overview of additional policy elements; Regulatory restrictions on competition; Structural reform of public monopolies; Access to 'essential facilities'; Monopoly pricing; Competitive neutrality; Part three, 'Implementation': Institutional arrangements; Legal, transitional and resource issues. Show less

This white paper describes the Commonwealth Government's plan for achieving economic growth in Australia, and increasing employment opportunities for urban, rural and regional Australia. The policies were intended to reduce the number of unemployed, and aimed to reach an unemployment rate of five per cent by the end of the century and to set new goals for education and training, for economic efficiency, for income support arrangements and for industry. The paper argues that unemployment inhibits growth, so that reducing unemployment is an essential part of getting the economy onto a sustainable growth path. It outlines the measures planned, including increased spending on employment and training, new income support measures, industry, science and trade initiatives and specific regional development initiatives. Planned reforms include reforms to labour market assistance, training and education reforms, a restructured social security system, a strategy to help regional Australia, workplace agreements to produce a more flexible and responsive workforce, and microeconomic reforms to industry policy. Training reforms include entry level training measures and a youth training initiative.

Volume one provides an outline of the policies and programs and volume two provides additional detail on the rationale behind the policies and the way in which the various initiatives will interact in working towards the goal of reducing unemployment. Show less

In the 1987-88 Budget, the Australian Commonwealth Government announced that it would delay the start of the next funding triennium for higher education to 1989. This paper explains more fully the reasons for the decision in the context of the Government’s longer-term plans for development of the higher education system. The Government is determined that the education and training system play a central role in responding to major economic challenges facing the nation. The paper suggests that Australia can no longer rely on established practices and institutional arrangements to meet these needs. Australia’s universities and colleges of advanced education (CAEs) are the main source of highly educated people necessary to continued economic growth. Research activities within higher education are also vital. For these reasons, the Government is strongly committed to the further development of the national higher education system. The paper outlines the reasons why the Government believes that continuing with current funding arrangements for higher education would not be in the best long-term interests of either the system itself or of the nation in general. The government will therefore embark on a process of policy development and consultation leading to the establishment of a new set of arrangements for Commonwealth support of higher education from the beginning of 1989. In the meantime, the Government has decided to treat 1988 as a year outside the normal triennial funding process. The paper contains an overview of the higher education system and the Government’s plans. Show less

The national strategy for vocational education and training 1998-2003 expresses the collective commitment by Australian governments, in partnership with Australian industry, to vocational education and training (VET). The strategy analyses economic, industrial and social forces for change and their implications for vocational education and training over the next five years. It sets out a vision for VET, aligned with five key objectives. These objectives are: (1) equipping Australians for the world of work; (2) enhancing mobility in the labour market; (3) achieving equitable outcomes in VET; (4) increasing investment in training; and (5) maximising the value of public vocational education and training expenditure. Show less

This report of the Review of the National Innovation System recommends that steps be taken to stop the decline in Australia’s economic performance and to use the opportunity provided by the nation’s recent prosperity to develop a more innovative and productive society. The report provides the rationale for the study, noting the rapidly changing nature of innovation and highlighting the corresponding need to update Australia’s existing national innovation system and policy. A key task for the Review was to identify a set of National Innovation Priorities to complement the broad National Research Priorities already in effect. To this end, the Review Panel engaged in widespread consultation with industry groups and other parties around the country, and used this intelligence to identify areas for attention in terms of those under the direct control of the public sector and those whereby public innovation could overlap with complementary private sector innovative efforts. To manage and coordinate these priorities with those for research in public innovation programs, it is recommended that the proposed new National Innovation Council (NIC) be charged with ongoing evaluation and identification of synergies across programs. The Review process revealed shortcomings in the institutional framework that underpins the innovation system. The Review has recommended the following actions: (1) the creation of a ‘central brain’, the NIC, to achieve the coherence, flexibility and responsiveness necessary for effective innovation policy; (2) a framework of principles for innovation interventions for adoption by federal, state and territory governments to maximise the impact of public investment in innovation; and (3) the establishment of a National Centre for Innovation Research to enhance the rigorous and consistent evaluation of innovation programs. Show less

In 2012, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed on a National Partnership Agreement for Skills Reform which will: contribute to the reform of the vocational education and training [VET] system to deliver a productive and highly skilled workforce which contributes to Australia’s economic future and … enables all working age Australians to develop skills and qualifications needed to participate effectively in the labour market. At the heart of these reforms is the adoption of the Commonwealth proposal for a national training entitlement and a more open and competitive training market.

On 11 December 2013, the Senate commissioned the Education and Employment References Committee to examine technical and further education (TAFE) in Australia. The terms of reference for this inquiry were: (1) the role played by TAFEs in (i) educational linkages with secondary and higher education, (ii) the development of skills in the Australian economy, (iii) the development of opportunities for Australians to improve themselves and increase their life, education and employment prospects, and (iv) the delivery of services and programs to support regions, communities and disadvantaged individuals to access education, training and skills and, through them, a pathway to further education and employment; (2) the effects of a competitive training market on TAFE; (3) what public funding is adequate to ensure TAFEs remain in a strong and sustainable position to carry out their aims; (4) what factors affect the affordability and accessibility of TAFE to students and business; (5) different mechanisms used by state governments to allocate funding; and (6) the application and effect of additional charges to TAFE students.

This report contains the findings and recommendations made by the Committee. The report recommends: (1) that the Commonwealth work with its COAG partners on the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform to ensure that all States and Territories provide clear statements of policy direction on the role of TAFE in consultation with vulnerable industries; (2) the Commonwealth government work with its COAG partners to develop a partnership agreement establishing a minimum and adequate level of support for people with disabilities; (3) that resources and funding for the Australian Skills Qualification Authority be proportionally increased relative to the number of private providers entering the training market; (4) the development of improved government standards for registration of training organisations, as the current regulatory environment provides no guarantee of quality for students; (5) that COAG work towards establishing a formula for use in contestable funding decisions that reflects the true costs of TAFE delivering those services, and establishing a ‘managed market’; (6) that COAG work collaboratively to develop a national workforce strategy for TAFE that addresses the level and quality of teaching qualifications in the sector; (7) that COAG investigate the substantial increases in fees across the board; (8) that criteria for access to assistance programs for fees be examined to ensure that access to VET training is not inhibited by upfront cost considerations; (9) that the VET FEE-HELP Loan Fee of 20 per cent be reduced significantly in line with comparable financial industry products; and (10) full and immediate reinstatement of TAFE funding cuts by State Governments.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This examination of labour and employment policy in Australia was undertaken by the OECD at the request of the Australian Government. It is part of a series of country reviews designed to provide an opportunity for all OECD countries to benefit from each other's experience in this field. The examiners visited Australia in 1973 to discuss policy formulation around aspects identified as important by the Australian Government. The report is structured around these major areas: country background; forces confronting Australia in a world of change; labour utilisation in the context of economic growth; and a selected approach to Australian problems related to labour and industrial relations policies. A background paper, prepared by the then Commonwealth Department of Labour, was prepared to inform this discussion. Show less

On 28 May 1993, the then Prime Minister Paul Keating commissioned the Committee on Employment Opportunities to assess and report on the state of the Australian labour market and options for addressing unemployment and improving labour market programs and income and other support for the unemployed. Special attention was to be given to the problem of long-term unemployment. The Review considered in particular: (a) the economic outlook and the implications for the labour market; (b) developments in the Australian labour market since the 1960s, including: demographic changes; changes in the labour force participation, employment and education experiences of males and females, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, migrants, sole parents, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, people with disabilities, and different age groups; changes in employment levels and patterns, including an examination of the strong growth in part-time employment and regional differences; changes in the types and location of jobs being created and lost; characteristics and location of unemployed, discouraged and underemployed workers; the emergence of long-term unemployment; and the effect on income distribution and living standards of the changing patterns of employment and unemployment; (c) the medium term outlook for the Australia labour market; (d) the trends in the labour market in other OECD countries and an examination of policy responses; (e) the efficiency and effectiveness of: existing measures to assist the unemployed, including labour market, education and training programs; income support; and other forms of support; and the delivery of programs and services of assistance for the unemployed; (f) policy options to respond to the implications of labour market changes, taking into account programs and services provided by other sectors; and (g) options for financing labour market and other support programs for the unemployed.

This report from the Committee explains the choices and trade-offs Australia would need to make to restore full employment, and offers a range of ideas for alleviating the problem of long-term unemployment.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

In 1986, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) initiated a fact-finding mission to a number of European countries that had addressed similar problems to those being experienced by Australia. In particular, the ACTU was interested in visiting those countries which had overcome balance of payments constraints in ways which produced low unemployment, low inflation and economic growth that was more equitably distributed. The mission's report examined, and made recommendations about, macroeconomic policies, wages, prices and incomes, trade and industrial policy, the labour market, industrial democracy and strategic unionism. The report also made appropriate recommendations for action. The section of the report on 'Labour market and training policies' was of particular importance to education and training. It stated that 'one of Australia's overriding concerns must be its deficient skills base as Australia's future international competitiveness would depend largely on how successful it is in creating advantages based on its ability to exploit up-to-date knowledge and skills-intensive products and processes. Success in a world of rapidly changing technologies will require a constant effort to acquire and develop state-of-the-art skills'. This view underpinned Commonwealth Government policies and programs for the next decade. Show less