Master Builders add to growing list of opposition to Labor’s free TAFE bill

It presented analysis that showed that despite the government’s earlier investment in free TAFE, ‘the number of people completing building and construction apprenticeships has not increased’.

The number of people finishing construction apprenticeships has not increased. Picture: NewsWire/Flavio Brancaleone

The nation’s peak body for builders has turned against Anthony Albanese’s cornerstone free TAFE policy and warned apprenticeships were going backwards under the scheme.

Master Builders Australia said that while it was “supportive in principle of the intent” of the bill, committing free TAFE to legislation would be “unnecessary and will have an unintended impact on private registered training organisations”.

The here is growing concerns in the business community about the free TAFE scheme and its results in producing workers.

Construction has previously been cited by the government as a priority of the free TAFE policy.

But analysis from the group shows that despite the government’s earlier $1.5bn investment in free TAFE, “the number of people completing building and construction apprenticeships has not ­increased”.

“To that end, Master Builders holds the view that the initiative should not be committed to legislation until such time as robust data can show that it works,” Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn wrote.

The Albanese government pledged in the 2024-25 budget to fund 20,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places in building and ­construction.

The government has previously said there is a time lag between commencements and completions. The government’s latest figures show there have been 39,200 enrolments in the construction sector under the free TAFE program. This was a 18.1 per cent year-on-year increase, the government said earlier this month.

The Master Builders’ opposition comes after the Business Council of Australia and the Housing Industry Association also came out against the legislation. HIA said last week the government’s performance data reporting on fee-free TAFE had been “grossly inadequate”.

Master Builders, similarly to the BCA, said “the initiative should not be committed to legislation until such time as robust data can show that it works”.

It also warned free TAFE carried a risk of “unfairly distorting the market towards TAFE-­delivered courses”.

Opposition skills and training spokeswoman Sussan Ley said this showed “Australia’s building and construction sector is now against Labor’s free TAFE policy”.

“I again urge Labor to listen to those closest to the skills crisis and shelve their efforts to legislate this failing program,” she said. “Australians rightly expect their tax dollars to be spent on programs that work, and Australia’s construction sector is clearly saying there is no evidence to suggest the free TAFE program is delivering.

“Labor’s only proof point for free TAFE is how many students they have got through the front door and they have repeatedly refused to say how many dropouts there has been. How can Labor permanently legislate a program without any evidence it has delivered better outcomes?”

Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles on Sunday pointed to new data that shows more than 110,000 free TAFE courses have been completed.

“Free TAFE is helping Australians get better jobs with higher wages,” he said. “By removing the financial barriers to study it is giving opportunities to so many Australians who would otherwise miss out. As I travel around the country, at every TAFE I visit, I hear stories from students who tell me what a life-changer free TAFE has been for them.

“The Productivity Commission’s 2019 Shifting the Dial report highlighted that cost is a key barrier to accessing training – through free TAFE the Albanese government is doing something about that. The Albanese government is committed to building the future of our country which is why we’ve proposed legislation to make free TAFE enduring.

“The Liberals and Nationals call free TAFE ‘wasteful spending’ and oppose it … We call it building Australia’s future.”