Independent Tertiary Education Council Conference 2026 Brisbane

Acknowledgements omitted

At a time when skills shortages are holding back growth and productivity, getting the balance right in VET has never been more important. 

But this is about more than filling vacancies. 

It’s about Australians looking for secure, well‑paid work.

The value we share here today, as governments and RTOs, is that every Australian should be able to access new skills and with it new opportunities.

To achieve that, governments and providers need to work in partnership with each other.

States and territories have an essential role in administering the sector in their jurisdictions.

And the Commonwealth is working alongside governments, industries and providers to support a system that works across the country.

Our economy needs a strong TAFE sector and a strong independent training sector.

Independent RTOs are a critical part of a strong and diverse VET system.

And that’s why ITECA is so important. 

You’re providing a voice for a wide variety of high-quality providers.

It’s a sector that is flexible and innovative, meeting skills needs across the economy.

From small, specialist RTOs to large dual‑sector institutions covering VET and broader tertiary training.

In a system as diverse as VET, the Commonwealth’s role isn’t to run every single part of it. 

Our role is to be a steward of the system – protecting its integrity, raising the bar on quality, and bringing partners together, so skills investment can turn into real jobs.

Australia’s economic growth and labour productivity also depends on a high-quality skills, training and education system.

A tertiary education system that’s more joined up. 

Where our VET and higher education sectors are better aligned to address labour market need.

This will further drive the benefits our tertiary sectors already provide to our nation, and I know this is something ITECA is heavily focused on, too.

It will forge stronger and more flexible pathways between VET and higher education, making it easier for all Australians.

It will help us boost productivity and address skills shortages.

But importantly, it will encourage lifelong learning, up-skilling and re-skilling.

Our vision is that every Australian should have access to high-quality training, getting the skills they need to succeed.

To see this vision become a reality, governments must set standards, implemented by our independent agencies.

Nearly one year on from their introduction on 1 July 2025, the strengthened Standards for RTOs are continuing to be embedded across the sector.

This is raising the bar on quality for all VET providers. 

These Standards better reflect the diversity of the VET system and were carefully designed to be fit-for-purpose across a wide-range of RTO settings and delivery contexts. 

But quality – and integrity – in VET ultimately depends on all of us.

RTOs, TAFEs, GTOs, governments and employers.

The Budget handed down last month also reinforces the integrity of our world class VET system.

We are providing additional support for ASQA to help continue its crackdown on the bad apples that threaten Australia’s high-quality VET sector. 

And I acknowledge Saxon Rice, the Chief Executive Officer of ASQA, who will address you later this morning.

We know the vast majority of providers are doing the right thing. 

But we must still tackle unscrupulous providers who seek to take advantage of the good name of our VET sector. 

While ensuring high-quality providers are still able to concentrate on supporting students.

Since late 2024, ASQA has cancelled more than 43,000 qualifications that were issued without proper training or assessment.

It’s not something ASQA does lightly. 

But it’s necessary to protect workers, employers and confidence in Australia’s skills system.

Quality training means safer worksites, more productive businesses and better outcomes for students.

Quality training also needs quality data.

Because knowing what jobs Australia needs - and where those jobs are needed - is essential for turning skills into employment. 

Jobs and Skills Australia is such an important part of that equation.

And that’s why in this Budget we’re providing ongoing support for JSA. 

We are strengthening its labour market analysis, as well as its work to enhance workforce, skills and training advice. 

This is advice that benefits ITECA and its members, as well as governments and industries. 

I also want to acknowledge the role ITECA members play with JSA. 

It helps us plan not just for our current workforce, skills and training needs, but looks over the horizon to what we need in the future.

I’m sad to be losing Professor Barney Glover from JSA at the end of this month – but excited that he won’t be going too far in taking up his new role as inaugural Chief Commissioner of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

I also want to acknowledge Deputy Commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia Trevor Gauld who addressed this conference yesterday.

Deputy Commissioner Gauld spoke about the current state of Australia’s labour market and the significant workforce transformation we are facing over the next decade.

He highlighted the importance of strengthening integrated education and training pathways, particularly between VET and higher education.

This will help ensure Australians are equipped with the skills needed for the jobs of the future.

While I’m on the topic of JSA, I do want to bring you some new data that JSA is soon to announce.

Like all of you, I’ve seen the doors that open and the lives that change because of a VET qualification.

It is truly powerful.

VET sets Australians up for a new career – and sets them up for life.

It gives them the skills they need, and that can set them apart.

JSA will soon release a new paper, Partial VET completion: Insights on outcomes and pathways.

It finds that even partial VET completion gives students purposeful, job relevant skills that support entry into work, progression in employment and ongoing engagement in learning over time.

While I, like you, want to see as many students as possible reaching the end of their course, I also want to recognise the reality that reaching course completion isn’t the priority for every single student.

That if they get the right skills out of their time in a course, that can still lead to a good outcome for the learner, and for their employer.

The paper finds measurable improvements in employment and income, reduced reliance on income support and strong, consistent outcomes for apprentices and trainees. 

It also shows that partial VET completion improves outcomes across priority cohorts and regions. 

This highlights the continued need for targeted support such as that our Government is backing through our investments in the sector.

JSA’s research shows that partial completer apprentices and trainees achieved a 90 per cent employment rate and a median income uplift of $13,800 – almost double the national median uplift of $7,000. 

The evidence challenges the assumption that non completion equates to poor outcomes, demonstrating that partial participation in VET can deliver meaningful economic benefits, including higher earnings and reduced reliance on income support.

As the workforce changes, our strong VET sector provides pathways for learning, up skilling and re training to support Australians into their future jobs. 

This is why our Government will always back Australians to get the skills and training they need.

Of particular focus is apprenticeships – a vital link between skills and secure jobs.

We also need to better target this support.

That’s why we undertook the Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System.

It found that small and medium employers are the most responsive to financial support when making hiring decisions.

We are still backing the jobs of the future. But we need our incentives to be invested where they have the most impact.

We need these to be better targeted on priority industries where skilled workers are most needed. 

Large employers remain critical to our skills development. This is particularly the case in capital-intensive industries, helping to boost the capacity and quality of our apprentices.

What the evidence tells us, however, is that government incentives are the most critical for small to medium sized businesses.

These changes in the Budget give us a chance to ensure public investment delivers the greatest impact.

Group Training Organisations remain a pivotal part of the training landscape. 

Providing invaluable support to both employers and apprentices alike.

Helping businesses navigate the paperwork involved. 

While providing valuable training to apprentices, not just now, but throughout their career.

GTOs are also critical to sustaining productivity, regional employment and delivery of the government’s housing and infrastructure priorities.

We know apprentices employed through GTOs have completion rates up to eight per cent higher than those directly employed by small and medium sized employers, and up to five per cent higher than large employers.

That’s why we’re continuing to provide GTOs with the support they need for apprentices – for both KAP and other priority occupations.

And small to medium sized businesses will still benefit from the GTO Reimbursement Pilot, with access to subsidised GTO fees.

I’ve touched on how the VET sector depends on partnerships.

As I know ITECA has reflected previously, it will be those with strong industry connections that will have the edge over their competitors.

That’s why we continue to support Jobs and Skills Councils.

It’s about fostering genuine partnerships.

And those partnerships are benefiting independent RTOs. 

From BuildSkills Australia with the building and construction sector, to the Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance. 

These are partnerships we want to see continue.

Independent RTOs are also essential for our push to improve foundation skills training in Australia.

We’re backing this up with $142 million over five years under the National Skills Agreement to strengthen foundation skills.

This includes developing a 10-year national foundation skills strategy.

We are delivering the Skills for Education and Employment program through a network of providers across metropolitan, regional and remote areas. 

Again, independent RTOs make a significant contribution to delivery of the SEE Program with the likes of MAX Solutions, MTC FutureReady, STEPS Group, and Navitas Skilled Futures, just to name a few.

Importantly, the program has both general and First Nations streams to reflect the specific needs of different communities.

A sign of how important Independent RTOs are to the VET landscape.

Independent or government-owned, a sustainable VET workforce pipeline is essential for delivering high-quality learning.

Which is why, in collaboration with states and territories, we developed the VET Workforce Blueprint that provides a roadmap to build, grow and support the VET workforce.  

Under the National Skills Agreement, the Commonwealth is investing up to $100 million over five years to strengthen the VET workforce. 

This includes $70 million in matched funding for state and territory initiatives to address local needs, and $30 million for the Commonwealth to support agreed areas of national action.

Again, highlighting how important these partnerships are. 

This is driving better data, improving our understanding of what the workforce needs.

All while considering a wide range of provider types operating with different delivery models.

Australia’s skills system is built on partnerships.

It’s a partnership involving governments that fund and regulate.

A partnership with providers big and small who deliver training in virtually every community in this nation.

And a partnership with employers who shape what skills are needed on the ground.

The Commonwealth’s role is to steward it. 

To protect its quality and integrity, and to help guide the priorities that will help tackle the economic challenges of our times.

ITECA plays an important role in that ecosystem.

You represent a diverse membership. 

You contribute constructively with us. You challenge us when it matters.

As we work through the reforms in this Budget, that partnership will matter more than ever.

And I look forward to continuing that work with you. 

Thank you.