This bill became law on Jul 3rd, 2023.
Education & skills
Students can access more public information about vocational courses and training providers.
The government said national vocational training data could be up to 20 months old when published each year. It argued this delay made it harder to respond to skills shortages and funding problems. The reforms were intended to modernise a 25-year-old system and give students, governments and training providers more useful information sooner.
Before the Bill, Australia’s 25-year-old VET data system could leave activity information up to 20 months out of date, while Ministerial CouncilFederal, state and territory skills ministers. approval made reporting changes slow and data-use limits left prospective students without a ready source of course information. Brendan O'Connor MP introduced the Bill on 9 March 2023, and after Parliament passed it on 22 June and Royal Assent on 3 July, the amendments became law to support faster updates, controlled system use and public course information.
Sussan Ley (Liberal) said training organisations had concerns about the changes, although she did not describe those concerns in detail. She called for a thorough parliamentary committee inquiry so the sector could raise and resolve them. Ley also argued the government favoured TAFE, the public vocational training system, over private and industry-led providers.
Brendan O'Connor MP introduced this bill. It passed with support from Labor, Greens, Liberal, Jacqui Lambie Network, some crossbench members; opposed by One Nation, UAP.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 03 July 2023
Final passage
Recorded final vote
1 counted final-passage vote was recorded.
Passage speed
116 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
Students can access more public information about vocational courses and training providers. Personal details cannot be released, except a provider's name.
Training providers can have certain data-reporting requirements approved through a person or body chosen by federal, state and territory skills ministers.
Training providers can receive exemptions from specified reporting requirements through decisions made by the national vocational training regulator.
Organisations operating vocational training data systems can collect, use or share information while building, testing or running those systems.
State and territory data systems receive this authority only when it helps providers meet recognised reporting requirements.
People whose information was collected earlier are covered by the new rules once they begin. Existing reporting requirements also continue.
Release of information to the public (4) The Secretary may release the information to the public to the extent that the information is of a kind the release of which: (a) has been agreed to by the Ministerial Council; or (b) if the Ministerial Council has agreed that a specified person or body may endorse the release of kinds of information by means of a specified procedure in specified circumstances (if any)—has been endorsed by the specified person or body by means of the specified procedure in the specified circumstances (if any). (5) Subsection (4) does not authorise the release of perNational Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
2 Subsection 187(1) Omit “, as agreed by the Ministerial Council”, substitute: (a) have been agreed by the Ministerial Council; or (b) if the Ministerial Council has agreed that a specified kind of requirement may be endorsed by a specified person or body by means of a specified procedure in specified circumstances (if any)—are of the specified kind and have been endorsed by the specified person or body by means of the specified procedure in the specified circumstances (if any). 3 After subsection 187(1) (1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the legislative instrument may make requirementNational Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
3 After subsection 187(1) (1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the legislative instrument may make requirements that depend on the making of a decision of an administrative character by the National VET Regulator. (1B) To avoid doubt, the reference to person in paragraph (1)(b) includes a person from time to time holding, occupying or performing the duties of a specified office or position, even if the office or position does not come into existence until after the Ministerial Council’s agreement is given.National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
9 At the end of Division 2 of Part 9 Subdivision E—VET data systems 214B Collection, use or disclosure of information (1) The collection, use or disclosure of information for the purposes of designing, building, operating, maintaining or testing a VET data system in circumstances specified in a legislative instrument under subsection (2) is authorised by this Act. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make a determination specifying circumstances as the Secretary considers appropriate. (3) The determination can only specify circumstances inNational Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
214B Collection, use or disclosure of information (1) The collection, use or disclosure of information for the purposes of designing, building, operating, maintaining or testing a VET data system in circumstances specified in a legislative instrument under subsection (2) is authorised by this Act. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make a determination specifying circumstances as the Secretary considers appropriate. (3) The determination can only specify circumstances in respect of a VET data system that is not a National VET data system ifNational Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Transitional Provisions) Act 2011 10 In the appropriate position 1 Definitions In this Schedule: Amending Act means the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023. commencement time means the time at which Schedule 1 to the Amending Act commences. Principal Act means the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011. 2 Application of amendments The amendments to sections 210A and 210B of the Principal Act made by Schedule 1 to the Amending Act apply to the use, disclosNational Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment as-passed text
Context
Before the Bill, Australia’s 25-year-old VET data system could leave activity information up to 20 months out of date, while Ministerial CouncilFederal, state and territory skills ministers. approval made reporting changes slow and data-use limits left prospective students without a ready source of course information. Brendan O'Connor MP introduced the Bill on 9 March 2023, and after Parliament passed it on 22 June and Royal Assent on 3 July, the amendments became law to support faster updates, controlled system use and public course information.
Old VET data rules slowed updates and limited course information
The 25-year-old system could leave activity data up to 20 months old, Ministerial CouncilFederal, state and territory skills ministers. approval slowed changes to reporting rules, and information-use limits left prospective students without a ready source of course information.
National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment explanatory memorandum ↗Brendan O'Connor MP introduces the bill
Brendan O'Connor MP introduced the Bill in the House of Representatives to support the VET Data Streamlining reforms.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both Houses passed the Bill in the same form, clearing the amendments for Royal Assent.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal Assent makes the VET data changes law
The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, making law the measures intended to speed reporting-rule updates and allow controlled VET data use and public course information.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Reported from Federation Chamber
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Referred to Committee (23/03/2023): Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (14/04/2023)
Report tabled 14 Apr 2023
APH bill page notesThe bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
Recorded vote: 44 to 3.
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
Sussan Ley (Liberal) said training organisations had concerns about the changes, although she did not describe those concerns in detail. She called for a thorough parliamentary committee inquiry so the sector could raise and resolve them. Ley also argued the government favoured TAFE, the public vocational training system, over private and industry-led providers.
Ley said the Coalition supported the bill's aims and shared the government's concern about data delays of up to 20 months. Jenny Ware (Liberal) called the bill uncontroversial and supported it, while the minister later confirmed the opposition backed the bill.
Further sources
Votes
The chamber-passage votes come first. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.
House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Passed 44 to 3. Support came from Labor, Greens, Liberal, Jacqui Lambie Network, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from One Nation and UAP.
Did not vote: Liberal Party
These are votes on the bill itself rather than amendment votes.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
O'Connor supports the bill because it will modernise vocational education data collection, reduce long reporting delays and give governments, regulators and training providers faster, higher-quality information.
Read in Hansard ↗Andrew Wallace says the coalition supports the bill in principle because it will reduce long delays in national vocational training data and continue reforms begun under the previous government.
Read in Hansard ↗Ley says the coalition will support the bill because faster, more accessible vocational training data is needed, while welcoming committee scrutiny to address training-sector concerns and calling for fair treatment of all providers.
Read in Hansard ↗Mascarenhas supports the bill because it will modernise outdated vocational education data processes, speed up access to information and enable better decision-making while giving training organisations two years to adjust.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
4 speakers · 5 contributions · 4 support
“This bill updates our data management processes in the VET sector to meet the changing ways in which society is using data for community benefit. When I worked at Energetics, big datasets and collection mechanisms were essential for carbon accounting, and we were doing this because we were responding to global market conditions which required decisions to be made quickly and accurately. This legislation is effectively about updating our 25-year-old data system processes. This will enable better decision-making and ensure a high-quality VET sector student experience. I welcome the support of the crossbench and the opposition in passing this legislation and I hope to see positive impacts of the change under this legislation soon.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The Bill is a key step in modernising the collection and use of VET activity data. The data reforms in VET Data Streamlining are important: they will enhance both the quality and relevance of VET by making timely and quality VET activity data available to governments, regulators, training providers, students and the VET sector as a whole. This Bill and VET Data Streamlining will provide the Government with "better data, faster" as it delivers its agenda to uplift VET, be it through Fee-Free TAFE and VET places, the TAFE Technology Fund, or the many projects which depend on reliable VET activity data.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Our government is delivering on our promise to elevate the sector, and TAFE is at the centre of the sector. We are determined for Australia to maintain our position as a global leader in VET. We are delivering 180,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places, upgrading essential TAFE infrastructure through the $50 million TAFE technology fund, and supporting new energy apprenticeships for a modern economy. For these innovations to succeed it is really critical that we can respond rapidly to emerging challenges, address skill gaps and take advantage of market opportunities. The ability to harness the power of information through modern systems and a new information standard will be key to achieving this goal. We can't track things properly if we don't have the best information and data. It is in the national interest that we modernise the way that we collect data, the way we use data and the way we make decisions about the kind of country and workforce that we are going to support in the future. I am really proud to be able to be part of the government to bring this bill to the House. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Brendan O'Connor on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Minister's second reading speech
O'Connor supports the bill because it will modernise vocational education data collection, reduce long reporting delays and give governments, regulators and training providers faster, higher-quality information.
“The bill is a key step in modernising the collection and use of VET activity data. The data reforms in VET data streamlining are important: they will enhance both the quality and relevance of VET by making timely and quality VET activity data available to governments, regulators, training providers, students and the VET sector as a whole. This bill and VET data streamlining will provide the government with 'better data, faster' as it delivers its agenda to uplift VET, be it through fee-free TAFE and VET places, the TAFE Technology Fund, or the many projects which depend on reliable VET activity data.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
O'Connor supports the bill because it will streamline vocational education reporting, improve data quality and timeliness, and help governments respond more effectively to the sector's needs.
“The amendments in this bill will support necessary VET data reforms to improve the timeliness and quality of VET data and deliver on the government's commitment to enhancing the quality and relevance of VET reforms, such as through fee-free TAFE, the TAFE technology fund and other pending reforms. Once again, I thank all members for their engagement with and contributions to the debate on this important bill. I appreciate the fact that the opposition have supported this bill. Some of the work on this bill commenced prior to the election, so I note the work that was undertaken by those opposite, and I acknowledge the work of the NCVER, state and territory governments, sector regulators and the VET sector more broadly in advancing these important VET data reforms.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
4 speakers · 4 support
“To the bill itself, there are a number of things the coalition will support. The coalition is in step with the government's commitment to resolving the situation in national VET activity data collection, which can see data lags of up to 20 months. Whilst in government, the coalition also sought to address the issues. Once again, this is a bill which continues important reforms that the coalition started. Specifically, the bill gives effect to some of the recommendations outlined in the Braithwaite review. This was a review commissioned by the coalition when in government, and, naturally, we support in principle those recommendations as laid out in this legislation. We do so in good faith and expect that the government will subject this bill to a thorough committee examination to ensure that the issues raised by the sector are aired and addressed. I'm pleased that the government has agreed to make that commitment.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“For these reasons, we will be providing support for the aims of this bill, but we should note that there are concerns in the training sector about these changes. It is on that basis that we have sought a commitment from the government to subject this bill to a thorough committee process to allow those concerns to be aired and addressed. I am pleased the government has agreed to make that commitment. I welcome the ongoing and constructive relationship between the office of the minister and my office. It enabled a constructive outcome on Jobs and Skills Australia, and I believe it will assist here as well.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“To conclude, for all of these reasons I support the proposed legislation that is currently in this place. It was commenced under the former coalition government and has come about as a result of the Braithwaite review. It is uncontroversial, but it is a key step in modernising the collection and use of VET activity data. As I said in opening, I will always support any reforms that will help to improve our education system overall, whether it's VET, university, primary or preschool education. So for all of these reasons, I commend this bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I would just like to add some brief remarks on this legislation, which of course we're supporting, as has been indicated. I think it's really just an opportunity for us to reflect on this bill. Obviously it's going to improve the ability for data to be captured and collected from RTOs and give more flexibility around how that occurs.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Referred to Federation Chamber
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
House · Reported from Federation Chamber
Reported from Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Recorded vote: 44 to 3.
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, turning the bill into an Act.
Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee
Report tabled 14 Apr 2023
Referred to Committee (23 Mar 2023): Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (14 Apr 2023)
APH bill page notes
