Two states go it alone on college watchdog

Two states are boycotting COAG's plan for a training watchdog

VICTORIA and Western Australia are boycotting COAG's plan to set up an independent national watchdog for vocational education and training.

The body, announced by COAG yesterday, will register and audit training providers, and accredit courses in the $6.4 billion industry from 2011.

Victoria and Western Australia have refused to hand over control of their state-based systems, and will continue to regulate providers operating within their borders.

But all training providers that operate across state borders, or enrol international students, will have to be registered through the new national body.

Education Minister Julia Gillard yesterday said the reform would help build a mobile workforce with common skills standards. "It will mean employers can have confidence in the skills and qualifications of their employees, wherever they are trained in the country," Ms Gillard said.

"It will also mean employees can invest in their education and training with an assurance about the quality and transferability of their qualifications."

The COAG communique states that the new regulator will be set up under commonwealth legislation, despite two of the biggest states opting out.

"This COAG decision is noted by Victoria and Western Australia," it says. "(They) will continue to regulate providers operating in their states and will enact legislation to mirror the commonwealth legislation."

The collapse of several colleges for overseas students has damaged the reputation of Australia's higher education sector, triggering a charm offensive by politicians to convince potential students Australian education has been cleaned up. China this week re-issued a list of providers that students were approved to study at, in an escalation of warnings about Australia's $17bn education industry.

COAG also agreed to amend the Australian Quality Training Framework urgently to fix "weaknesses" in the international education sector.

COAG will strengthen the requirements for ongoing registration, and force "stronger financial viability and fee protection conditions" upon education providers by next March to prevent the exploitation of international students.