Press Conference - Bendigo TAFE city campus
TUESDAY, 10 JUNE 2025
LISA CHESTERS, MEMBER FOR BENDIGO: Lisa Chesters, federal member for Bendigo. Very proud to be back here at the Bendigo TAFE city campus with my good friend Minister Andrew Giles, the Minister for Skills and Training, to make a very important announcement for our nursing students here.
It’s exciting to be back. We’ve had the federal election since we were last here, and one of the key issues, the key reasons, that we fought so hard to hold the seat of Bendigo is because I knew that it would be our government to deliver free TAFE. Free TAFE for students for the skills that we need locally but, more importantly, give people the opportunity to study and to pursue careers in fields of their passion, of their need but also to what we need in our community. We don’t want cost to be a barrier, and by – through free TAFE people can do the training that they’d like to do and that we need them to do in areas like nursing.
So I’ll hand over to Minister Giles, who’s also got a further announcement on our free TAFE commitment, but we have already made and are delivering as a Labor government.
THE HON ANDREW GILES MP, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: Yeah, thanks very much, Lisa. It’s great to be back in Bendigo at Bendigo TAFE’s campus here. I think it’s my third visit and I want to say how pleased I am to still be standing next to Lisa Chesters as the federal Labor member for Bendigo. Lisa is not only someone I’ve known for a long time and a good friend, she’s someone with an unparalleled record of standing up for the community she represents. And I have absolutely no doubt over the course of this parliament she’ll be a strong and effective voice, including on issues in the skills and training portfolio.
I had the opportunity to come down here just before the election was called and spoke to many enrolled nursing students here. I spoke then about the importance of free TAFE, because, make no mistake, free TAFE was a key dividing line between the Albanese Labor government and the opposition leading up to the election. The opposition said ‘if you don’t pay something, you don’t value it’ and committed to cut free TAFE. That would have been a deep cut to the aspirations of so many people around here – around 2,800 people have enrolled in free TAFE in Bendigo. And many have enrolled in the Diploma of Nursing.
And I had the great privilege of speaking to students, like Nerissa, last time about the difference that free TAFE had made, the difference that enabled people to get into a course that they perhaps had always wanted to do but had been held back by cost.
It’s fantastic to see so many people getting the skills they want to do jobs we need through free TAFE.
But I also heard then about some of the other barriers that prevented people from fulfilling their career aspirations, and one was the challenge of unpaid prac, mandatory placements. So I’m pleased that we’ve been listening and we are committed, as Lisa just said, to looking at all the barriers that are holding back Australians fulfilling their potential and supporting our national goals.
So today I’m pleased to announce enrolments will open for paid prac placements from the 1st of July in the sum of $331.65. These will be available subject to certain criteria. They won’t go to everyone; they’re targeted based on need. I have got some feedback on that, and I’m sure we’ll continue to get that, but we’re determined to break down the most obvious barriers preventing people from undertaking courses of study to help themselves and to help all of us. So these will apply to people on payments or to people who are working close to full time or 60 hours over a fortnight earning under $1500 a week.
This is going to be particularly important in regional areas. We know that regional areas have been predominantly beneficiaries of free TAFE. We also know that prac placements are a particular challenge in the regions with additional costs where people have to move away. So we know that this payment will make a real difference in making the completion of study easier or, in many cases, taking away a deterrent that might have been preventing someone from studying.
This is a really important announcement. It will open more doors to more people to enable more Australians right across the country but particularly in the regions to get those skills we need and which they want for good, secure, fulfilling jobs. So I’m very pleased to be back here in Bendigo where so many of these conversations started, where I was asked hard questions by nursing students, as I have done – as I have been already today. And I’m really pleased to be back reconnecting with some of those students, meeting more students, bearing witness to their journey and, of course, being here to answer any of your questions.
JOURNALIST: I guess how important is it to have these paid placements for the skills shortage faced across the country?
GILES: It’s really important. This obviously is the precursor to some paid placements that will affect some people in the university pathways, including nursing and teaching, for example, and university social work. It’s about recognising that there are so many barriers that have been holding people back in areas where there are skill shortages. That’s been a really important part of the free TAFE story, too. It’s not just about making courses available; it’s targeting that to areas of workforce need, targeting that to areas where we need work to be done, and also in concert with some initiatives, for example, in early childhood education and care – an area Lisa knows a lot about – by thinking about how pay increases are obviously another piece of that puzzle.
It’s about us recognising as a government and as a country that we face a really significant skill shortage that impacts every Australian. We’ve got both a challenge to resolved that and diminish its impacts across the economy and society, but also great opportunity to open up more fulfilling jobs to more Australians, particularly in the regions.
JOURNALIST: Just on the website, the fact sheet, it provides some numbers – 68,000 higher education students and over 5,000 VET students. Can you just clarify: are all of those students going to be able to receive this payment?
GILES: Well, they’re subject to the criteria that I went through. So we think around 5,000 Diploma of Nursing students, based on our modelling. Of course, we’ll see how the uptake goes. And higher education similarly. We’ve looked at modelling based on those courses where we believe students are being potentially held back either in undertaking the course or in being able to complete the course because of the cost of having an unpaid mandatory placement.
JOURNALIST: Can you confirm the courses that will have these paid placements?
GILES: Well, in TAFE it’s the Diploma of Nursing. In the university sector it’s nursing as well and teaching and social work through university.
JOURNALIST: Students groups have described this as too little, too late, a slap in the face and they’ve voiced concerns that it’s going to be means tested so restrict access. What do you say to those concerns?
GILES: Well, I’m not sure about the tone of that commentary. I don’t think that reflects what we have been doing across the board. Previously the cost of a Diploma of Nursing was more than $17,000 in most jurisdictions, so that’s a really significant contribution to opening a door that was otherwise shut. We’ve been listening to students and we’re responding to that.
In terms of the concerns, well, we’ve obviously got to get the balance right between recognising the constraints that we have in terms of our ability to support people to make sure that every one of our investments delivers a dividend. I think we are taking a really big step forward to opening more doors for more Australians to pursue their dream career and will not be held back in completing their course.
JOURNALIST: I mean, I guess at a basic level, I mean, there’s been a lot of reporting during the last Albanese government term about placement poverty and some of those stories. I mean, why should we expect that to change within the next three years?
GILES: Because of this announcement, put simply. Because of this announcement: $331.65 a week for people undertaking placements to deal with those costs. This is a real answer to a real problem. It demonstrates that we’ve been listening but also we’re being fiscally responsible, which I think is what the community expects.
JOURNALIST: We’ve had a lot of small businesses close in in the region recently. I guess as the Minister for Skills and Training, what can you do at a practical level to, I guess, ensure the viability of small business, particularly in trades that mightn’t have necessarily modern skills?
GILES: Yeah, look, I might ask Lisa to comment on the Bendigo region area because obviously she’s well across that as the local member. But more broadly, I’ve been working closely with Jobs and Skills Australia so that we can better understand what’s going on in the labour market. We do know that pressures around the supply of skills and labour have been quite significant. But understanding that, making sure that particularly in regional economies we have got that skill basis available to support businesses, particularly small businesses.
Now, there’s not going to be one silver bullet to this. Obviously the best thing we can do is sort of economic management that the Treasurer has been presiding over. But underneath that, if I think about my responsibilities, I do think about free TAFE, ensuring the supply of labour is there. I do think about some of the mechanisms that have been holding people back, for example, for small businesses we’ve got a pilot around supporting group training organisations to assist people to complete their apprenticeship in those sorts of settings, which, again, respond to these sorts of pressures.
So it’s something that we are constantly looking at while we also make sure that we’re breaking down all of those barriers that maybe holding people back from being effectively engaged in the labour market through adult education, numeracy, literacy, digital literacy training as well.
But in terms of the Bendigo picture, I might ask Lisa to make a few comments.
CHESTERS: Just a couple of comments just on local skills. I know that there has been a little bit of interest in some of those skills which have a smaller cohort or a smaller need these days, sort of like watch making or watch repairing and jewellery making. Sometimes there are trades that we do see a decline in people wanting to take on that as a career or as an apprenticeship, a traineeship with a jeweller, with a watchmaker partly because the future work available, how many people in this room are wearing a watch today compared to 20 years ago. How many people are going out there and every birthday buying their special person in their family a piece of jewellery? As a society different skills will be needed going forward based upon changing fashion, changing needs and just the way in which our society evolves.
So then the fall back of that then is there may not be that one person wanting to take on that traineeship or apprenticeship or in the family if this is a small family business, the son or daughter may not want to take on their parents’ trade. So that is one reason why we see some small businesses locally in those areas changing or closing.
The other bit of news that I’ve seen and commentary locally on social media and in media has been around the mall and shops in the CBD. One of the biggest challenges that we have with the vacant shops in the CBD is the landlords are not upkeeping and modernising those spaces. There are no toilets. There’s not decent plumbing. They are cold. They are not great places for staff to work in. So I can understand why big businesses and small businesses are not choosing to rent those spaces. There’s a lot of work that the landlords need to do to get together to work out how they can make those spaces more modern. They need to, in my opinion, invest more in those spaces to bring them up to modern standards. Because I’ll be really honest – I would not want to hire one of those spaces for my staff if it did not have a toilet. It’s as practical as that.
So there is work. We do want to have a vibrant CBD. But there’s a lot of work to do between the landlords and the real estate agents coming together to look at how they can modernise those spaces so that they can attract more businesses back to them.
JOURNALIST: I mean, I guess, retailers say that it’s more actually to do with – yes, one, the economic climate, which is not necessarily a government thing, but also red tape and issues to do with, yeah, just business costs, input cost.
CHESTERS: They would have to be more specific around the red tape – what red tape are they talking about? Because we hear that catchcry a lot, but let’s talk about practicalities and specifics. And then we can work out which level of government is responsible for that but, more importantly, how we can move forward. I know some of the businesses that have reached out that are closing up, and in some cases it is just purely the family wanting to close down the business because their son or daughter have decided to pursue a different career. And that’s their choice, their opportunity.
SPEAKER: We might hear from a student.
JOURNALIST: Do you want to just step up to the mic. Full name, please.
NERISA SHORT, STUDENT: Nerissa Short. And then this is Kathleen Keena. We are the cohort heads for Feb 2025.
JOURNALIST: Do you mind just spelling out your name?
SHORT: Yeah, N for Nellie, E for elephant, R-I-S-S-A. Short, as in not tall.
JOURNALIST: And your Kathleen?
SHORT: Yeah, so Kathleen – K-A-T-H-L-E-E-N and Keena – K-E-E-N-A.
JOURNALIST: Perfect. I guess, tell me about your experiences. I mean, would you have taken on your degrees if this paid placement wasn’t available?
KATHLEEN KEENA, STUDENT: Well, I’ll go first. I want going to. I’m a single parent and it wouldn’t have been a feasible option for me trying to maintain looking after three kids and a household. So having this come in for paid placement for myself in particular and people in my situation is a massive incentive for people to go and continue to do that.
JOURNALIST: So I will take a step back. Before paid placement was available, I mean, free TAFE –
KEENA: No, I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t free. Couldn’t afford it. Not a feasible option.
JOURNALIST: And what about now? Now that paid placements have been announced as available for your courses, I mean, how much of a relief does that offer looking after three kids?
KEENA: It’s a weight off, like, my shoulders. So, like, having a mortgage on my own, having that extra little bit of money that will help cover while I’m away is massive. So, like I said, not just for single parents or, you know, people that aren’t able to work because of the study load, it gives that just little bit of relief that you need to go, “Okay, I can take a step back, relax and do what I need to do to continue the course and not pull out.”
JOURNALIST: Were you concerned about going into placement before you knew that it was going to – there were going to be payments available?
KEENA: Massively. Didn’t – I’m a week-to-week person. Like, that’s my budget, it’s week to week. And going in was literally trying to sit down and nut out how I would afford it on top of everything. So it’s a massive relief and I’m so grateful that they’ve come in and said that today.
JOURNALIST: Do you have anything you wanted to comment on with the paid placement?
SHORT: Yeah, look, it’s definitely – I was quite surprised at the turnaround. I know last time it was something that unfortunately 25 of us all came out and, yeah, kind of mobbed both Lisa and Andrew with. Just the fact that it wasn’t extended to Diploma of Nursing when we do have the same placement requirements, and obviously we do end up in the same work space. So it is a big relief. I think to the people as well – just a note on it – the idea that it’s based upon need. I have no issue with that to be honest. The people who need are the people who should get it. And by not cashing it out to every student, it essentially ensures the longevity of the program.
JOURNALIST: Perfect.
DAVID RICHARDSON, BENDIGO TAFE CAMPUS DIRECTOR: Okay. David Richardson, Campus Director, Bendigo TAFE. Richardson. R I C H A R D S O N.
JOURNALIST: I guess the paid placements isn't just for university courses, it is also for the Diploma of Nursing at Bendigo TAFE. I mean, how do you feel about these paid placements now?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Well, we're delighted to first of all welcome the Honourable Andrew Giles here to Bendigo TAFE and local member Lisa Chesters to make this announcement this morning. Having paid placements for our students doing the Diploma of Nursing from the 1st of July is quite significant because that financial support will mean that they can undertake the essential and the compulsory clinical training and have that financial support to do so. So, we're delighted with this announcement today.
JOURNALIST: Regionally, I mean, it's a great announcement. I guess, were you concerned about any of your students, you know, doing these placements before these payments were available?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Yes, well, I mean, we've just heard from some of our students that not only was free TAFE a significant incentive for them to actually undertake the programs, but now we have this second layer of financial support with the clinical prac placement financial support, and these are breaking down all the barriers to make sure that the students fulfil these courses and can go straight into local employment with local organisations.
JOURNALIST: You might not know with the paid placements, but I guess, have you found more students coming to TAFE regionally because of the free TAFE courses available? And I mean, if you do know, with these paid placements available as well?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Yes, we've definitely noticed more students coming to TAFE because of free TAFE, and now they'll be even more incentivised because of the clinical placement support. We have over 200 students studying this Diploma of Nursing here, and almost every single one of them is a fee-free student.
JOURNALIST: Just a bit to clarify, I mean, we're using the term paid placement, It's not quite that, it's a payment, so it's not as if they were to do a full week and get a full wage for it.
DAVID RICHARDSON: Yeah, financial support for all of our students is incredibly important, and $331.65 goes a long way to offsetting the potential loss that those students may experience in not being able to undertake their part-time paid employment during their clinical placement. So, some financial support is incredibly important to these students.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it is important that there is just clarity around, it's not quite a paid placement?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Well, the prac placement is still a very important component, and we have many students that have varying backgrounds, some that have full government support, some that have part-time jobs, some that work full time. So, there are varying degrees of how supportive this payment will be. But the announcement is extremely welcomed by Bendigo Kangan Institute. These support payments will go a long way to supporting these students to finish their Diploma of Nursing here at Bendigo TAFE.
JOURNALIST: Would you like to see the program expanded to other cohorts?
DAVID RICHARDSON: I'll leave that to the Federal Government to consider, but certainly we're very appreciative that our main course here is the Diploma of Nursing. It's the most sought after skill set that we have in our community. And this announcement today of this financial support will go a long way to supporting more students joining the program and getting good employment outcomes with local organisations.
ENDS