Following the re-election of the Labor government at the recent Federal election, the Prime Minister has confirmed that the VET sector’s key Ministers have retained their portfolios:
- Minister Andrew Giles– retains the Skills and Training portfolio
- For international VET providers – Minister Tony Burke retains Home Affairs, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Cyber Security, Arts, and
- For dual-sector VET providers – Minister Jason Clare retains Education.
In adjacent portfolios, there have been some changes:
- Tim Ayres– Minister for Industry and Innovation and Science
- Julian Hill– Assistant Minister for International Education (a new role, and he retains his previous role as Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs and adds ‘Customs’ to it)
- Andrew Charlton– Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy (a new portfolio), and
- Andrew Leigh – Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury (with the explicit emphasis on ‘Productivity’ being a new addition to his responsibilities).
The Parliamentary Budget Office confirms that there were only a few VET promises made during the election (see below), meaning that continuing to deliver on the commitments in the National Skills Agreement and associated Implementation Plans will continue to be the primary focus for the VET sector in the years ahead.
The commitments were to establish:
- An Advanced Entry Trades Training programto enable 6,000 “experienced but unqualified workers to get qualifications and recognition for their work” in the home construction sector
- A National Training Centre in New Energy Skills– in conjunction with the Victorian government and the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre to upskill 2,000 tradespeople on energy upgrade technologies and to train 200 apprentices each year, and
Relevant to international VET providers – the government committed that international student visa fees will increase on 1 July 2025 to $2,000.
