Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy fears being evicted from old TAFE site in Port Adelaide

Crucial to the maritime and fishing industry, a Port Adelaide training academy fears it may have to move from the old TAFE site.

Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy's chief executive Bob Miller and chairman Hagen Stehr. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

The state’s fishing industry has been blindsided by a warning its academy which trains up to 900 seafarers a year would need to move out of its Port Adelaide headquarters.

The warning was made by a representative of TAFE SA which is landlord for premises leased by the Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy.

“She (the TAFE representative) told us the Naval Group have the rights to the whole building and we weren’t going to be able to continue leasing the premises,” academy chief executive Bob Miller said.

The warning was verbal, not written, but sparked alarm for the academy which has been trying to renew its lease which is due to expire at the end of March.

Naval Group, which will build the next generation submarines, already occupies much of the site as its South Australian headquarters.

There are vacant offices in the building which could accommodate some expansion but pressure may build in a few years time.

Academy chairman Hagen Stehr said the training organisation had been promised many times they could stay indefinitely.

The not-for-profit academy has invested extensively in the site, building a fully equipped marine engineering workshop, cold rooms and seafood processing lines.

“It’s unbelievable,” Mr Stehr said. “They don’t understand our industry.”

ALP MP for Port Adelaide Susan Close said the academy felt like it had been “disrespected” and there were real concerns for the industry.

TAFE SA chief executive David Coltman said no decisions had been made and that the organisation was simply seeking to clarify workspace requirements at the site where TAFE SA closed its own operations in January last year.

“There are a number of tenants at the TAFE SA Port Adelaide Campus and TAFE SA is seeking to understand their needs for space now and into the future,” he said.

“Our priority is to work with tenants to see if we can meet their changing needs.

“No tenants have been requested to exit the campus.

“No leases have been cancelled.”

A meeting between TAFE and the academy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Loading tuna off Port Lincoln.

Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni has been in contact with the academy and is understood to want to ensure it can continue to deliver training in SA.

“The academy provides important skills training for the maritime industry,” Mr Pisoni said.

“The State Government subsidised its courses to the tune of $1m last year.”

The academy pays about $80,000 a year in rent – considerably below commercial rates. Mr Miller said there were two potential sites on the Port River but rent could jump to $450,000 a year and hundreds of thousands of dollars would be needed for refurbishment.

Courses are subsidised by government and the cost of any move would need to be recouped from higher subsidies or fees.

The academy trains 600 to 900 people a year, mostly in short courses which advance the skills of seafarers already in the industry.

It is on the cusp of a significant expansion to train students from Indonesia and the Philippines, with final contracts only awaiting the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry executive officer Brian Jeffriess said there was a such a shortage of skilled crew that fishing boats were, at times, unable to put to sea.

“You can’t take the boat to sea unless you have the right number of crew with the statutory qualifications,” said Mr Jeffriess, who also is on the academy board.

“So unless those people are available and there are enough of them, you just don’t have an industry.”