This bill became law on Jul 3rd, 2023.
Education & skills
Training providers' data-reporting rules can now be approved through a delegated process that the Skills Ministerial CouncilThe intergovernmental ministerial body that can approve or delegate approval of the reporting rules for VET data. sets, which should make updates faster.
Ministerial CouncilThe intergovernmental ministerial body that can approve or delegate approval of the reporting rules for VET data. approval rules made the VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data reporting instrument slow to update and left limits on sharing data that could help students choose courses. This bill lets reporting rules be approved through delegated decisions and expands how VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data systems can collect, use, share and publish training data.
Australia’s VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. sector was still relying on a 25-year-old data system that could leave national training activity information 20 months out of date, making it harder for governments, students and other authorised users to see what courses were being delivered and judge the impact of public investment. The bill responded by streamlining how reporting rules are approved and widening lawful data sharing and publication, and after Parliament passed it in June 2023 and Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence. followed in July, those updated data rules could start applying, including to information already collected.
The main reservation was not about the goal of better VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data, but about giving ministers, the regulator and the department broad delegated control over reporting and data-sharing rules without fuller scrutiny of how the scheme would work in practice. That concern appears to have been limited and mostly procedural, raised by coalition speakers who still supported the bill while calling for committee examination and wider consultation with the training sector.
Brendan O'Connor MP introduced this bill. It passed with support from Greens, Liberal Party, Labor, Nationals, some crossbench members; opposed by UAP, One Nation.
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
Training providers' data-reporting rules can now be approved through a delegated process that the Skills Ministerial CouncilThe intergovernmental ministerial body that can approve or delegate approval of the reporting rules for VET data. sets, which should make updates faster.
The Australian Skills Quality AuthorityThe national regulator that oversees training providers and can decide some of the data-reporting rules on this page. can base reporting requirements on its own administrative decisions, including deciding when a training provider does not have to give certain data.
The law lets approved VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data computer systems collect, use and share training data when the Education Department sets the allowed circumstances in a legal instrument.
The Department Secretary can release some vocational training data to the public, but personal information still cannot be released apart from a registered training organisationA provider that is approved to deliver vocational training and has to report data under the rules discussed in the bill.'s name.
The new rules for using, sharing and releasing vocational training data apply from commencementThe date when the new law or part of it starts operating and its rules begin to apply. even to information that was collected before the law started.
(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).National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(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.National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(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.National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(5) Subsection (4) does not authorise the release of personal information, unless the personal information is the name of a registered training organisation.National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
The amendments to sections 210A and 210B of the Principal Act made by Schedule 1 to the Amending Act apply to the use, disclosure or release of information on or after the commencement time, regardless of whether the information was collected before, on or after the commencement time.National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Streamlining) Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
Context
Australia’s VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. sector was still relying on a 25-year-old data system that could leave national training activity information 20 months out of date, making it harder for governments, students and other authorised users to see what courses were being delivered and judge the impact of public investment. The bill responded by streamlining how reporting rules are approved and widening lawful data sharing and publication, and after Parliament passed it in June 2023 and Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence. followed in July, those updated data rules could start applying, including to information already collected.
Government introduces a bill to support the VET Data StreamliningThe reform program the bill supports, aimed at making vocational training data faster to collect, share and use. program
The minister said the bill would change how registered training organisations submit activity data and modernise how authorised users can access and use VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. information.
Hansard ↗Parliament hears national VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data can be up to 20 months late
During the second reading debate, the opposition said the lag in national VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. activity data was unacceptable and needed to be fixed.
Hansard ↗Government says the 25-year-old data system is slowing decisions on VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. investment
Members supporting the bill said the existing system delayed the collection, availability and use of activity data, weakening the ability to assess whether VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. spending was effective.
Hansard ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, clearing the way for the new data collection, sharing and publication rules to become law.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence. turns the bill into law
Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence. completed the process so the amended rules could commence and apply even to VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. information that had already been collected.
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)
Referred to committee
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 AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main reservation was not about the goal of better VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data, but about giving ministers, the regulator and the department broad delegated control over reporting and data-sharing rules without fuller scrutiny of how the scheme would work in practice. That concern appears to have been limited and mostly procedural, raised by coalition speakers who still supported the bill while calling for committee examination and wider consultation with the training sector.
No party represented in the debate opposed the bill, but some support was clearly conditional on closer scrutiny.
Broad delegated powers needed closer scrutiny
Coalition speakers said the bill should be examined in detail because key reporting and data-handling rules would be set later through delegated processes and administrative decisions, creating concern about how the framework would operate for training providers in practice.
Sector consultation was seen as incomplete
Sussan Ley said training-sector stakeholders had concerns and argued Labor should consult more broadly before relying on the new framework, suggesting implementation risks had not yet been fully tested with affected providers.
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 Greens, Liberal Party, Labor, Nationals, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from UAP and One Nation.
These are votes on the bill itself rather than amendment votes.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Brendan O'Connor supports the bill, saying it will streamline VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data rules, cut delays in national data collection, and give governments and regulators better information faster.
Read in Hansard ↗Andrew Wallace says the coalition will support the bill in principle because it continues reforms the coalition started and acts on the Braithwaite review.
Read in Hansard ↗Sussan Ley says the coalition will support the bill because it improves VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data collection and transparency, but she wants a full committee process because training-sector stakeholders have concerns and Labor should consult more broadly.
Read in Hansard ↗Mascarenhas supports the bill and says it will modernise the VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data system so the sector can make better and faster decisions.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
4 speakers · 6 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 3 separate contributions by Brendan O'Connor on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Minister's second reading speech
Brendan O'Connor supports the bill, saying it will streamline VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data rules, cut delays in national data collection, and give governments and regulators better information faster. He argues this will improve training outcomes and support broader VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. reforms.
“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
Brendan O'Connor supports the bill, saying it will streamline VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data rules, cut delays in national data collection, and give governments and regulators better information faster. He argues this will improve training outcomes and support broader VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. reforms.
“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
Brendan O'Connor supports the bill and says it will streamline VETAustralia's job-focused training sector, including courses and qualifications outside school and university. data reporting, improve the timeliness and quality of information, and help the sector respond more quickly to students, employers and governments. He also notes that the opposition supported the bill.
“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 AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament, after which its changes can commence., turning the bill into an Act.
Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (14/04/2023)
Referred to committee
Referred to Committee (23 Mar 2023): Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (14 Apr 2023)
APH bill page notes
