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Policy initiatives > Budget highlights > Western Australia 2019-20
The 2019-20 state budget was released by the McGowan Labor Government on 9 May 2019. Budget highlights relating to skills and training are provided below. Direct links to relevant budget papers are provided for quick and easy access.
As part of WA's commitment to the National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund (NPSAF), $182.4 million has been budgeted over 2018-19 to 2021-22 for a new Employer Incentive Scheme and for Additional Apprenticeship and Traineeship Training Places, with $45 million allocated to regional areas. The new Employer Incentive Scheme is:
A payroll tax exemption will continue to apply for all apprentices (Budget paper no. 1: Treasurer's speech, p.6; Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, pp. 115 and 175; Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 328).
$22 million will be provided towards the creation and ongoing management of national parks, marine parks and conservation reserves as part of the Plan for Our Parks initiative, providing jobs for Aboriginal people in regional Western Australia. This is in addition to continued funding of $15.6 million for the Aboriginal Ranger Program (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 5).
A State-wide network of Jobs and Skills Centres has been established to provide a one-stop shop service for jobseekers, potential students and employers to access career, training and employment assistance. Where appropriate, Jobs and Skills Centres have partnered with local service providers to deliver career and job services to local and remote communities. Jobs and Skills Centres are complemented by a comprehensive website resource that includes a jobs notice board, qualification lists and a course search feature. Under the Government's election commitment, these services have largely been transitioned to 'Jobs and Skills Centres' located at the TAFE Colleges (Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 329 and 332).
Priorities set for publicly funded training and workforce planning will support whole-of-government strategies designed to promote jobs growth and the diversification of the Western Australian economy. Examples of whole-of-government initiatives include Our Priorities, the STEM Skills Strategy, METRONET, the Western Australian Defence and Defence Industries Strategic Plan, and the Future Battery Industry Strategy (Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 329).
Investment in roads and public transport totals $2.5 billion in 2019-20 and includes $1.2 billion in 2019-20 and a total of $4.1 billion over four years allocated in the budget for job-creating METRONET projects (Fact sheet: Building METRONET & transforming our roads, pp. 6-7; Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 2, p. 551-559; Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, pp. 141-143).
Primary industries budget measures include $131.5 million additional expenditure to support agriculture in WA, grow export markets and create long-term jobs (Fact sheet: The WA economy & WA jobs, p. 3; Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 150).
The total Commonwealth Payments for specific purposes and National Partnership Payments to Western Australia for Skills and Workforce Development are estimated at $187.1 million for 2019-20 (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 305).
WA has been allocated $158.7 million under the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development for 2021-22 (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 305).
The Commonwealth NPSAF funding reflected in this Budget aligns with the bilateral agreement signed with the Commonwealth Government in December 2018, providing funding over the period 2018-19 to 2021-22. Commonwealth funding is tied to the provision of a matching State funding contribution, which will be met through the redirection of payroll tax revenue from reforms to the payroll tax exemption for new worker trainees. The redirected revenue will fund a new Employer Incentive Scheme to provide training support to employers of apprentices and trainees, and is dependent on the passage of amendments to the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002. Under the bilateral agreement, NPSAF funding from 2019-20 onwards is also contingent on the revenue collected through the Commonwealth's skilled migration levy. The State will work with the Commonwealth Government to ensure sustainable funding levels for the duration of the agreement in order to deliver the agreed NPSAF training outcomes (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 62-63)
The Training Accreditation Council (TAC) has the statutory responsibility for providing regulatory services to Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) operating solely in Western Australia. Regulatory Services to RTOs include quality assurance and recognition of VET services, and are estimated at $2.553 million (net) for 2019-20 (Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 337).
An estimated $174 million per annum will be spent to deliver vocational education and training, career and employment advice, and TAFE support services across regional Western Australia (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 178).
Works with estimated expenditure continuing in 2019-20 include the $67.7 million Remedial Works program (over 2018-19 to 2022-23), which will be used for a range of essential projects to upgrade ageing infrastructure and better equip TAFE Colleges so that students and industry have access to contemporary and industry relevant training infrastructure. $21.9 million of this funding over 2019-20 to 2022-23 will be invested to refurbish and upgrade training facilities and infrastructure at regional TAFE campuses across the State (Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 329; Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 178).
Construction of a replacement TAFE campus in Esperance will commence in 2019-20 (for completion in 2021) at a total cost of $17.9 million. The new campus will be equipped with industry relevant training facilities to support the local community's training and workforce needs, particularly in the areas of trades, nursing and aged care (Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 178).
A new approach to catering for the specific training needs of enterprises will be piloted in the allied health and social assistance sectors to support the large forecast employment growth in this sector over the next five years. The Enterprise Training program will assist enterprises to partner with registered training organisations (RTOs) to develop customised programs for existing workers and will prioritise regional delivery (Budget paper no. 2: Budget statements volume 1, p. 329).
$4.5 million ($1.5 million each year for three years commencing from 2019-20) has been allocated to implement the StudyPerth International Education Action Plan. The Action Plan is designed to increase international student numbers and visitation from family and friends (Budget paper no. 1: Treasurer's speech, p.7; Budget paper no. 3: Economic and fiscal outlook, p. 91).
Prior year budget highlights can be accessed by clicking on the buttons below.
NCVER (National Centre for Vocational Education Research) 2019, Budget highlights: Western Australia, VET Knowledge Bank, NCVER, Adelaide, <https://www.voced.edu.au/vet-knowledge-bank-policy-initiatives-budget-highlights-western-australia-2019-20>.
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