National vocational education training (VET) legislation introduced

Thursday 2 December 2010 @ 11.15 a.m. | Industrial Law

On 26 November 2010 the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Bill 2010 was introduced into parliament.

The two key elements of the Bill are

  • establishing a national regulator for the vocational education and training sector, and

  • setting out the regulatory framework within which the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (NVR) will operate.

The NVR will derive its power from a referral of powers in referring states and from the Constitution in non-referring states and territories and it will take over the regulatory functions of state regulators in referring states and territories. In non-referring states, it will have responsibility for registered training organisations which offer training to international students or which also operate in a referring state or territory. The aim is to have the NVR operating by April 2011.

In speaking to the Bill the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, Senator Chris Evans said: “The new arrangements will improve the consistency of regulation across the country, making it easier to respond to emerging challenges in areas of critical skills shortage”. He also pointed to the fact that 37% of international students are studying in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector and that the establishment of the national regulator was an important measure to “ensure quality and sustainability in international education.”

A single national regulator for the VET sector – your comments welcomed.

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