Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum for this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

24 March 2011 marked an important day for Australia's vocational education and training, VET, sector. This was the day the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 was passed by this parliament and one of the most significant reforms to the VET sector in years became a reality.

That act clearly demonstrated this government's commitment to improving the quality and consistency of training in the VET sector, both at home and internationally. The act established the National VET Regulator and the Australian Skills Quality Authority, ASQA, commenced operations on 1 July 2011. I acknowledge that this key reform could not have been achieved without the considerable support and cooperation over a long period between the Commonwealth and most states and territories, as well as stakeholders across the sector.

But I have to say, ASQA does not have an easy job ahead of it and there are many significant challenges in the sector that ASQA needs to work through. Since 1 July, ASQA has had responsibility for all registered training organisations, RTOs, in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. It also assumed responsibility for RTOs in Victoria and Western Australia that also operate in referring states and territories, or offer services to international students. This accounts for around 2,000 RTOs and this figure is expected to double over the coming year as Queensland, South Australian and Tasmanian governments enact their legislation referring powers to the Commonwealth.

On commencement, ASQA took over a high volume of work with some 642 outstanding applications being transferred from state and territory regulators. ASQA has begun its operations with a robust, but risk based, approach to regulation. With its new suite of regulatory tools to address non-compliance issues, it is steadily working through its significant workload to ensure that training providers either improve or exit the system.

When the National VET Regulator legislation was before the Senate on 23 March 2011, Senator Evans acknowledged that while the government received very strong support from all the major stakeholders, they raised some legitimate concerns. There were also some issues raised in the reports of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations inquiry into the bill and in the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. Some of these concerns were able to be addressed at the time through amendment of the explanatory memorandum. Others could not be addressed due to the legislative process of states referring their powers. Senator Evans did, however, ask the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to hold a consultation process with stakeholders to consider these concerns and to allow amending legislation to be introduced as early as possible to address them, without disrupting the referral process.

The department has undertaken an extended consultation process with stakeholders, including state and territory government officials. This consultation included two face-to-face meetings; one in Canberra on 20 and 21 April and a second one in Sydney on 9 and 10 August. At the April consultations those sections of the act which had been identified as needing reworking were discussed in some detail. The second consultations in August involved consideration of an exposure draft of the amending bill, on a confidential basis, to explain in detail the changes that are being proposed in response to concerns and suggestions of the stakeholders.

These consultation processes also provided an opportunity to reflect on the advice provided by the two Senate Standing Committees: the Scrutiny of Bills Committee and the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee. I thank these committees for their work and considerations on this important government reform. I am happy to say that through this extensive consultative process, stakeholders have generally expressed their agreement to the measure in the amending bill that I am introducing today. This is an excellent outcome for all concerned—but most importantly, it is further confirmation of the widespread support for the reforms we are making to the VET sector and the commitment of all to ensuring that Australia has a strong VET sector known for its high quality.

Before moving on to explain the detail of the measures in the bill I am introducing today, I would like to again encourage the Victorian and Western Australian governments to join the national regulatory system for the VET sector. Although I know they have some concerns about states' rights issues, I am also confident that they are keen to see improvements in the quality of the VET sector. The National VET Regulator Act provides ASQA with a more robust set of powers than is currently available to state regulators. Feedback from stakeholders is that they welcome the concept of a truly national and consistently applied regulatory system. I trust that we can continue to work cooperatively toward that end.

I will now address the specific measures in the bill.

Objects

Throughout the consultations, and in submissions to the Senate standing committee inquiry, stakeholders expressed the view that an objects clause would contextualise the act and give the sector an indication of its purpose. I am pleased to say that following constructive discussions with stakeholders and states and territories, the government has built a consensus around negotiated objects, and these will be reflected in a new section 2A objects clause in the National VET Regulator Act. The objects would be as follows:

The objects clause will also include two notes defining the standards based quality framework and also that the objects are subject to the constitutional basis of the act.

The government, and stakeholders, consider these objects focus appropriately on the goals for a national regulatory and quality framework that is essential for retaining Australia's reputation, that is essential for the protection of students and that is essential for businesses operating across state borders.

State/ t erritory l aws

This bill also amends section 9 of the act, which deals with the registered training organisations being immune from certain state and territory laws. The amendment clarifies that the intent of the main act is that it applies in the same way in referring and non-referring states in relation to the act's interaction with their state laws.

The bill also introduces a new subsection at 9(3) which provides a new mechanism to allow for laws in non-referring states to be specifically excluded with the agreement of the ministerial council. Commonwealth representatives have negotiated tirelessly and constructively with our state counterparts to draft a provision which all governments are comfortable with.

Amending accredited courses

The amending bill clarifies the circumstances when the national VET regulator can amend a VET accredited course without an application being made by the course owner. This amendment to subsection 51(2)(a) narrows the power currently provided in the National VET Regulator Act. Concern that the existing power was too broad was raised by both the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and stakeholders. The proposed amendment restricts the circumstances when the regulator can amend accredited courses to situations where the amendment:

This power is important to ensure that the robustness of the VET quality framework can be maintained and that courses can be updated in response to changing circumstances or requests from industry.

Cancelled qualification

The National VET Regulator Act provides for a civil penalty where a person purports to hold a VET qualification or statement of attainment that has been cancelled. The act also requires a person to be notified of a cancellation and given a reasonable opportunity to return the cancelled qualification.

Both Senate standing committees raised concerns about this process and were concerned to ensure that a person is aware of, or could reasonably be expected to be aware of, the cancellation of the qualification or statement of attainment before being liable for a civil penalty. The amending bill therefore includes provisions to ensure this is clarified.

Minor changes are also proposed to sections 58, 59 and 60 to clarify details around the period within which a cancelled qualification must be returned, taking into account the method of notification and whether the person affected seeks a review of the decision to cancel the qualification.

The power to cancel a qualification is an important regulatory tool to allow the regulator to ensure the quality of VET in Australia. It helps to ensure that there are not uncertified people purporting to be properly trained and thereby bringing discredit to their industry. The amendments in the bill ensure that the process in respect of informing a person of a cancelled qualification is as fair and transparent as possible.

Use of force

The Scrutiny of Bills Committee, and some stakeholders, raised some concerns about the use of force provisions in the National VET Regulator Act. The act specifies that an authorised officer may use force against a 'thing'—for example, to move or open a filing cabinet—when executing a warrant. The government is proposing to amend section 70 of the act to include limits on the use of force. Under the proposed amendments, the person in charge of the 'thing' in question must be given a reasonable opportunity to move or open it themselves, prior to any force being used. The amending bill also clarifies that the section does not authorise use of force against people.

These amendments are consistent with the recommendation of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee in that they reflect the approach taken in other Commonwealth acts such as subsection 3U(d) of the Crimes Act 1914. In his speech to the Senate on 23 March, Senator Evans indicated that the relevant provisions in the act would also be amended to include the recording by video of situations where force is used in executing a warrant. This option was also raised by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. However, on further investigation by the department, it was found that the use of video recording in such circumstances is not mandated by any other piece of Commonwealth legislation. Given this, the government did not feel it appropriate to place this requirement on the national VET regulator at this time. This, of course, does not prohibit authorised officers under the act from using video recording equipment if the regulator believes it is appropriate in certain cases.

Authorised officers

The Scrutiny of Bills Committee also raised concerns around the wide discretion that the regulator had to appoint authorised officers and that authorised officers be appropriately qualified and trained. The proposed amendment seeks to amend the act to enable the minister to make a determination about required experience, training and qualifications (if any) for authorised officers appointed by the regulator under section 89 of the act.

Sharing information with the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency

In order to ensure a consistent approach to tertiary education regulation, particularly as greater numbers of providers operate in both the higher education and VET sectors, an amendment is proposed to facilitate information sharing with the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency, the higher education regulator. Not only will this facilitate information sharing; it will also help to reduce the regulatory burden on dual-sector providers.

Headings

Stakeholders also suggested that, for ease of reading, some headings should be changed to better reflect what particular sections deal with. The government is always happy to work with the sector to ensure the act is user friendly and clear for RTOs, trainers and students. We are therefore seeking minor amendments to the headings of sections 107, 108, 109 and 110. This amending bill reflects the government's continued commitment to working with governments and stakeholders to continually improve the quality and consistency of training across the VET sector. A strong, nationally consistent regulatory framework is a key step in achieving this. I commend the bill to the House.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Childhood Learning) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011. Remarkably, this bill seeks to amend legislation that was before this House only a few months ago. At the time it was acknowledged that changes would be required to the legislation. However, amendments could not be made at the time as a result of the referral arrangements of the states.

One of the lessons we have learnt from this bill is that, when text referrals are made from states referring their powers to the federal government, committees should have an opportunity to examine the text prior to any state government passing the legislation. We would not then find ourselves in the rather odd situation where, when the minister spoke to the original bill, he foreshadowed—of course correctly and appropriately—the amendments that would need to be made, but of course New South Wales had already referred its powers to the Commonwealth. Therefore, at the time of this parliament creating the national VET regulator, we were not able to do it in one simple session and in one piece of legislation. We have had to return again to make the amendments that we see today. It is clumsy and it is messy.

The Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee recommended that in future, when we are dealing with these COAG processes, we approach it a little differently. The original legislation saw the establishment of the national VET regulator, which is the Australian Skills Quality Authority, ASQA. This came about after agreement between the states and territories to introduce a national system of VET regulation, instead of each state's training authority assuming responsibility in that state.

The coalition supports the concept of national regulation of the VET sector, primarily because of the need for consistency and quality across the board. There are approximately 4,900 registered training organisations, or RTOs, operating in Australia, with many of these organisations operating in more than one jurisdiction. We believe that a VET qualification should be afforded the same regard as a university qualification and, for this to occur, we need to be certain that we have a regulatory framework in place that will ensure quality.

Approximately 30,000 international students undertake VET qualifications in Australia each year. Education is our fourth largest export and we need to be certain that we promote a quality product. Certainly a national regulator will assist in this. However, we were critical of the establishing legislation, and for good reason. Regrettably, this is not truly a national system. It is not even close to being a national system. Western Australia and Victoria, two of our biggest training states, have not signed up to the national regulator. Ultimately, the system in place is therefore not national and WA and Victoria are maintaining their separate regulatory systems. This will result in parallel systems operating in both those states, with RTOs that operate across borders having to comply with both systems. Those states have agreed to enacting mirror legislation. However, ongoing concerns—particularly surrounding a guarantee that state owned facilities, such as TAFEs, would be audited by state regulatory bodies—are in fact further confusing and creating anxiety about the amount of duplicating auditing activity.

In addition, Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland are yet to actually pass legislation through their parliaments. As it currently stands, according to the RTO count on the training.gov.au website as at October 2011, of the 4,909 current RTOs, 2,032 are registered with ASQA, the new VET regulator; 1,514 are registered in Queensland; 314 in South Australia; 109 in Tasmania; 556 in Victoria; and 386 in Western Australia. When the Queensland, South Australian and Tasmanian governments refer their VET regulation powers to the Commonwealth, another 1,937 RTOs will be registered by ASQA, so ultimately—at least in the short term—multiple registration arrangements will persist.

I return briefly to the topic of international education. This government aspires to have a national system of VET regulation yet has so little faith in the capacity of this regulator to deliver a quality product that it excludes VET and even non-university higher education providers from its proposed visa and work permissions reforms as a result of the recent Knight review. I have to question what message this sends to potential international students about the quality of the education they can expect here in this country, and I ask the ministers responsible to demonstrate the faith that they should have in our VET sector and the training that is delivered by it.

Notwithstanding the fact that there have been poor providers, providers who have had poor-quality products and instances where we have had to take corrective action against our institutions, generally we have a very strong, very positive and very good VET sector in this country if we want to attract international students—and that is exactly what we should be doing. It is a complete win-win for the Australian taxpayer. The facility is able to charge the international students and there is no call on either the state or the Commonwealth dollar for entitlements funding to do that, so it is a good thing to do. It is being done all over the world, and we have to be rather careful that we do not miss the boat and find that the international student market that we might target—South-East Asia, in particular—has been catered for by other countries as far away as those in Europe and North America.

One reason for these amendments is inadequate stakeholder consultation on the part of the government in the first instance. Fortunately, a Senate committee inquiry allowed stakeholders a forum to voice their concerns. The amendments in the bill seek to remedy the key issues highlighted in the inquiry and the minister has, I believe, gone through those amendments in detail and explained very well what they are. The key amendments see the introduction of an objects clause to provide for consistency, ensuring that VET is regulated against a standards-based quality framework and has an underpinning regulatory framework while protecting students by ensuring the quality of courses.

This was a major criticism by stakeholders of the original legislation, and, whilst a common inclusion in legislation was actually omitted from this legislation by the government, there has also been the clarification of when a training provider registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority is immune from or subject to state or territory laws. This was also a major concern identified by the Victorian and Western Australian governments, as they realised that the act overrode the law in non-referring states which were actually meant to be excluded. The proposed section 9 now itemises the circumstances when an RTO is immune from state and territory laws, regardless of whether it is operating in a referring or a non-referring state. Conversely, proposed sections 9(2) and 9(3) itemise the circumstances when an RTO will be subject to state and territory laws.

In the original legislation, ASQA had authority to amend VET courses of their own initiative. The amendments in this bill seek to clarify in which instances amendments to courses may be made. Items 15 to 16 propose amendments to section 70 which provide more specific information about when an authorised officer can use force against a thing, mainly when the person in charge of the thing has been given the first opportunity to open, move or otherwise deal with this thing or when it is not possible to give that person the opportunity to do so. This section now clarifies that this does not authorise the use of force against a person.

Additional amendments seek to allow the minister to determine appropriate qualifications for authorised officers. Under this clause, the chief commissioner must be satisfied that someone holds the requisite power and qualifications in order to take up the position. Item 34 proposes to insert new section 191(a), which will enable the legislative instruments provided in the act to refer to documents that are not legislative instruments but which are integral to the VET sector, such as trainee packages and their guidelines.

While the coalition is supportive of these amendments, there is one other concern that I would like to address. The Australian Skills Quality Authority is set to operate on a cost recovery basis. A number of registered training organisations have contacted me, anxious that the new fee structure may impact on the financial viability of their businesses. Given that the intention of the national VET regulator was to reduce complexity and ensure a level playing field, I do find this somewhat ironic. We have to be so careful that when we introduce another layer of bureaucracy and administration, another framework and a new authority—particularly one that does not actually take the place of existing bodies in all states—we do not burden the people in the field in the sector with over-regulation. I do fear that this is happening.

The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth just mentioned that ASQA would face some challenges, and that is absolutely right because, in order for every single RTO—and that includes private and public—to be audited, to be given some sort of rating and to have the ability to demonstrate to students that it has passed a certain test, that is an enormous amount of work starting from scratch. I question whether the resources that are given to this body are sufficient, because if they are not then we will just get a messy approach. We will get websites; we will get phones that are not answered by real people; and we will get a sector that is frustrated because it cannot get the answers that it needs. I have already had the members of the sector talking to me about the way that the VET regulator is making edicts or pronouncements or talking about the policies and the steps it will take via website only and is not actually engaging in a 'human face' way with the bodies that it seeks to audit. I understand that it is early days, and I understand that you cannot necessarily blame the organisation if it is under-resourced, but I would ask the government to be careful that we do not talk up the task and fail to provide the dollars to do the job, because that would not be a good thing.

I know that people have felt that there have been students that have been burned by small, relatively new RTOs and training providers, but there are some extremely good small RTOs; they usually do a specific task in a specific area that they have specific expertise in. If they face the same costs—which will be recovered by the VET regulator—as, for example, a large regional institute with several campuses then they are going to find that they cannot afford to operate on their own, and again that is not a good thing. So, if we approach this with 'one size fits all', again we will find that we are punishing smaller private providers, and that is not, I believe, the approach that the government wants to take.

So overall I think that, while the intent behind a national regulator can be truly beneficial for the VET sector, we have fallen well short of the intended goal. It is not a national system by a long shot. However, this amending bill provides for a framework for a better system of regulation. I do acknowledge the support of the stakeholders that were finally consulted. I thank the Main Committee.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure that I rise to speak on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011. Vocational and skills training represents a very important part of Australia's education system. As everyone in this place knows, and anyone in Canberra knows, if you try to get an emergency plumber on the weekend here in Canberra, it is a very difficult task, because there is currently a massive skills shortage for tradespeople in Canberra and right across Australia. It is also, as I have mentioned in this place before, a very expensive task in terms of the costs, because we have so few plumbers and they can charge.

This skills shortage is having a massive inflationary effect on our economy, particularly in Canberra, and it is also a major barrier to improving our productivity. The government understands this, which is why we are investing a great deal of energy and considerable funding in improving access to education, particularly vocational and trades education. This is a government that understands the transformative power of a quality education. It understands that, by educating and training a person, you not only generate macro-economic benefits for Australia but also have a massive positive effect on the person who has actually received the education. Jobs and trades represent a significant and important part of our identity, and all the research shows that the better educated a person is, the happier they are and the healthier they are. Having a skill represents being able to make choices rather than having choices thrust upon you. This was a lesson I learnt in my own life from my family. My great-grandmother, my grandmother and my mother all lived lives not of their choosing because they did not get the opportunities they wanted because they lacked an education. They did not get a chance to lift themselves out of their relative poverty and to live a comfortable retirement. In fact, my grandmother lived only to the age of 54, due to poor health and having to do three jobs just to keep seven kids fed and watered. That is why I am such an advocate of education—because it is only through education that the poverty cycle can be broken, it is only through education that kids can choose their own paths and it is only through education that you can really make anything possible.

So I am proud to be part of a government that is investing so much in education—in infrastructure, trades, apprentices, vocational and tertiary education—and research. I am particularly pleased with the large investment in skills training. The $3 billion we have provided for the Building Australia's Future Workforce program will provide some 130,000 new training places for apprentices. We are also funding mentoring programs to make sure apprentices stay in their trades. As it stands, less than 50 per cent of apprentices complete their first year, so this program is vital to skilling the country.

It is also worth noting that few women engage in trades. In fact, I believe that in the manual trades women make up only two per cent of apprentices. It is a point that was underscored for me just recently when I went to a women in construction event here in Canberra, where I met a number of fantastic women who are out there doing amazing work in trades. One of them, who actually won an award, did a science degree and then moved into a trade because she decided that that was where she wanted to go in terms of her future. She is an impressive young woman. She is a great asset to Canberra, to trades and to women in trades.

We are also providing tax-free payments to apprentices to support some 200,000 apprentices, some 4,000 of whom are in my own community here in Canberra. However, while these programs represent a significant leap forward, all of them are predicated on the ability of Australia and its training providers to offer a high-quality education system. If we fail to protect and assure the quality and integrity of our system, we risk our ability to train young Australians in the skills they need for the future.

Further, we also place at risk one of Australia's largest export industries: who could forget the revelations a few years ago now that were aired on the ABC about young international students who paid large sums of money to come to Australia to learn a skill only to find their experience was not what was promised? I remember well the stories of catering colleges that lacked kitchens and of pilot training schools that would not let students fly a plane. While I have no doubt that those operators are outriders, that they are unique in the system and do not represent the vast bulk of training providers, the damage they do to our economy and our international reputation is enormous. Their behaviour affects not only the quality of education received by the students but also the reputation of any qualification offered by an Australian provider. This untenable situation was a direct result of the interplay between different federal education and immigration laws, and the different laws governing vocational education in the states. While these laws were designed to ensure that such situations did not occur, it is clear that they did not do their task.

That is why this government instigated the Baird review of education services for overseas students and the Bradley review of higher education. We closed immigration loopholes that promoted some truly abhorrent behaviour by providers. We made amendments to the ESOS Act and the Higher Education Support Act. We are also establishing the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator through the bill of that name—amendments to which we are discussing today—to close some of the gaps that exist between the state and federal regulatory environments. These amendments bring a national and unified approach to quality assurance in the vocational sector. While 20 years ago it may have been okay to have state based regulations to govern these sectors, this does not represent the current state of play. Today, vocational education, as I have said, is a multibillion-dollar national and international industry and as such requires a national approach.

We have a national economy, and I believe that we must as much as possible ensure that the regulatory environments align. Such alignment reduces compliance costs and means that we can focus on what really matters, not on red tape. The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator was agreed to by COAG in 2009 precisely for these reasons, and most states agreed that there was a great need for consistency in the regulation of the sector. This consistency will mean not only better protection for all students in Australia's VET sector but also a reduced regulatory burden for providers, as they will no longer have to comply with, potentially, nine different systems. This not only reduces the cost of their compliance but also means one set of laws and one regulator more capable of monitoring the industry and ensuring compliance. The amendments in this bill make further enhancements to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act to provide further clarity.

As a former student president of the oldest workers college in the world, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, I appreciate that this government continues to examine the laws governing quality assurance in education, particularly in vocational and trades education. Quality assurance is a task that is never quite finished and must always be examined, because the failure to regularly monitor and update assurance and regulatory processes has the potential to place the entire sector at risk.

By taking the actions we have, this government has made great leaps in making sure Australia's regulatory and quality assurance processes are up to the task. Today we make further amendments to these processes to make them even tighter and more effective. I encourage the government to continue to monitor the VET sector and to continue to make further improvements where required. These changes show that we are a responsive and responsible government that routinely monitors what is an evolving system and an evolving sector. Through this bill we will ensure that Australian students get exactly what they deserve: the opportunity to get high-quality education and highly valued training to make sure that they live a life of their choosing, not a life chosen for them by a lack of education or skills. I commend this bill to the chamber.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011. The amendments in the bill will supplement legislation passed earlier this year to create the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator, which will be responsible for the registration and audit of registered training providers. The National VET Regulator was put in place to ensure national standards were being met and to ensure the quality of qualifications and skills issued by RTOs.

I support the concept of national regulation of the VET sector, primarily because of the need for consistency and quality across the states. There are approximately 4,500 registered training organisations operating in the VET market. Placing these RTOs under a national reporting and regulatory system will go some way towards ensuring that there is consistency within the VET sector. I note that the move towards the National VET Regulator has been supported by the coalition. However, many issues have been raised since the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee inquiry into these bills, and these concerns have been recorded within the coalition senators' dissenting report.

My main concern is that the system in place is not a national one with Western Australia and Victoria maintaining their separate regulatory systems. Additionally, Queensland's state system will continue to operate until such time as the Queensland parliament passes referring legislation. I understand that this is yet to happen. Consequently, parallel systems will operate in Western Australia and Victoria. So RTOs that operate across borders will have to comply with dual systems. This will potentially place additional costs on RTOs that offer courses across state borders. I refer to the coalition senators' dissenting report to highlight this issue:

… the evidence presented to the committee is that the NVR Bills have the potential to undermine national regulation. While Victoria and Western Australia have indicated they are prepared to introduce mirror legislation in their state parliaments to give effect to this aspiration, Western Australia have advised that it is unable to do so on the basis the NVR Bill as currently drafted …

The NVR has since been introduced even though the coalition strongly disagreed with the government pushing it through without all of the states willing to refer their powers. This is a concern for the coalition because what we have here is a national VET system that will maintain different qualifications between the states, with an overlapping bureaucracy. However, the amendment bill I speak about here today does show some improvements to the original bill's form and includes some of the recommendations set out by coalition senators in the dissenting report.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the amendments being debated here today will introduce an objects clause to the act in a new section 2A. The objects of the act would be: to provide for national consistency in the regulation of VET; to regulate VET using a standards based quality framework and, where appropriate, risk assessments; to protect and enhance VET quality, flexibility and innovation as well as Australia's domestic and international reputation for VET; to provide a regulatory framework to encourage a VET system that is appropriate to meet social and economic needs for a highly educated and skilled population; to protect students undertaking or proposing to undertake Australian VET by ensuring the provision of quality VET; and to facilitate people having access to accurate information relating to the quality of VET.

The bill also amends the act to allow for immunity from certain state and territory laws for those RTOs that operate within the Australian Skills Quality Authority. However, registered organisations will still be required to adhere to a variety of state and territory laws. The Australian Skills Quality Authority will also be allowed to amend VET accredited courses on its own initiative if it is considered reasonable in the circumstances. The bill will also clarify provisions that discuss cancelled qualifications, the imposition of a civil penalty and the discretion of the national VET regulator to appoint authorised officers.

One of the key amendments in the bill aims to protect and enhance Australia's domestic and international reputation for VET. For education institutions on the Gold Coast, this is a very important issue. The Gold Coast is a region with low higher education participation rates, as illustrated by the data from the 2006 census where only 18 per cent of the Gold Coast population aged 25 to 34 were degree qualified compared to the national average of 29 per cent. Considerable work needs to be done to increase participation rates at all levels and to ensure that our education sector remains viable and capable of producing a skilled workforce for the future.

The Gold Coast is already established as an education city, with four universities, over 160 RTOs and a wide range of public and independent schools. Today I would like to focus on the VET sector, highlighting how the Gold Coast is already well developed, with further opportunities for growth. As I have already stated, there are over 160 RTOs on the Gold Coast, both public and private. We have the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE, which is one of Australia's leading vocational education and training providers and makes a valuable contribution to the Gold Coast from both an educational and an economic perspective. There are six TAFE campuses on the Gold Coast, including the Coolangatta campus within my electorate of McPherson. I have had numerous discussions with TAFE regarding future developments on the Gold Coast and I look forward to a working closely with TAFE into the future.

We also have numerous private RTOs including EIM Training, which has a campus at Robina, also within the electorate of McPherson. EIM Training offers a broad range of courses, including in business and management, children's services, financial services, manufacturing, training, management and hospitality. I support training providers in the marketplace as they provide diversity and choice for our students. There is also an alternate model for trade training on the Gold Coast that is provided by the Australian Industry Trade College, which I am proud to have located within my electorate. The AITC was established in 2007 with the objective of giving students the opportunity to pursue a career in industry while completing the final years of their schooling. The unique learning structure at the AITC gives students the opportunity to commence a school-based apprenticeship in a trade of their choice and graduate with a Queensland certificate of education. Over 530 school-based apprenticeships have been achieved by the college in over 50 different trade qualifications, and around 95 per cent of students graduate with a Queensland certificate of education each year. These numbers are impressive when compared to the conventional schooling senior certificate rate of only 75 per cent.

Around 92 per cent of year 12 graduates from the AITC were employed as apprentices in 2010. At any one time there are around 300 students at the college working towards the same goal of an apprenticeship in their chosen trade. In order for the AITC to be able to offer such a unique opportunity for their students, they have formed relationships with local RTOs to facilitate the training plans for their students to get them through their school-based apprenticeship qualification. I would like to see more institutions offering flexible learning options, as the AITC are, to encourage a future skilled workforce. They do a wonderful job getting young people qualified and ready for work, and I commend them for their work.

By improving the existing VET sector through appropriate regulation and reporting and by adopting these amendments today, we are working to ensure those in the VET sector who pride themselves on their high-quality qualifications and reputation continue to prosper and grow. Meanwhile, those who have given the sector a bad reputation for poor quality will be prompted to make the necessary changes to their operations and training to ensure they keep up with the national standard. In closing, I reiterate that I support the concept of national regulation of the VET sector as consistency and that quality needs to be assured across the country.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Skills Australia has forecast that future economic demand will be driven by the services sector and that we will need an additional 2.4 million people within the workforce with qualifications at certificate III level or above by 2015. That is, an additional 2.4 million skilled Australians are needed by 2015. It will be an enormous effort. That is why over the course of this government's term we have dedicated so much effort and so many resources to the task of training those Australians. To meet the expected industry demand, it is thought by Skills Australia that that figure of 2.4 million will rise to 5.2 million by 2025.

This is an enormous challenge for government—a challenge that is being met by this government. We know that the very nature of work is changing due to the impact of rapid technological change. We are seeing high-skilled jobs grow at 2.5 times the rate of any other job. Never before has there been such an imperative for our nation to be investing in skilling its people. Economists confirm that investing in our skilled workforce is not only good for individual Australians but also critical for our continued economic success and our productivity growth. That is why education—and vocational education in particular—is a Labor priority. Equitable access to education and skills is at the heart of this priority. Better high school completion rates, more apprenticeship completions and more university graduations are critical for a future prosperous and equitable Australia.

The government is delivering on the education and skills needs of this country. The government's commitment to skills training was the centrepiece of this year's budget, in which we announced a $3 billion investment over the next 4½ years in skills and training to address the skills shortages being experienced by industry. Labor's budget investment placed industry at the centre of our efforts to target skills and training and to respond to the pressures of our patchwork economy. Our approach includes placing industry at the heart of the training effort to deliver skilled workers, reforming the Australian apprenticeship system, improving workforce participation and reforming the VET sector to meet the long-term needs of the economy. All of this is in line with the objectives of the bill we are debating in the chamber today, the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011. The legislation before the House is yet another piece of Labor's program of reform of the apprenticeship system and vocational education and training. Labor is committed to a funding model that sees government and industry working in partnership to indentify and jointly fund training to meet critical skills shortages. We know that, as a direct result of the reforms introduced by the Labor government, there are now close to 100,000 additional students grasping the opportunity of a university education this year. That is 100,000 more students than there were in 2007.

In addition, this year there is a record half a million Commonwealth supported student places in Australian universities and in other higher education providers. The good news is that Australia's apprenticeship and traineeship numbers are also growing significantly, from 410,000 in September 2006 to over 459,000 in March 2011. This is the largest level that has ever been recorded. The economic dividend from this investment in our human capital is significant, but it is also making an enormous difference to the lives of individual Australians, by giving them an opportunity to play a part in the skilled workforce of the future.

Research by KPMG found that, in the period between 2010 and 2040, the government's reforms to higher education will deliver, on average, an additional $20 billion in GDP every year, and that an average of 80,000 additional jobs will be generated each year during the same period. That is why, quite simply, it is our No. 1 priority.

The bill before the House today sets out new arrangements to improve consistency of regulation in this important sector. The legislation supplements the decision by COAG, in December 2009, to create a new national system of regulation for the VET sector. Legislation to set up a National VET Regulator passed this parliament in August this year. It was one of the most significant reforms to the VET sector. It demonstrated this government's commitment to improving the quality and consistency of training in the VET sector. The establishment of a national regulatory body for the VET and higher education system was recommended by the Bradley review of higher education, which also recommended a review of the provision of education to international students.

The resulting Baird review of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 also supported simplifying regulatory arrangements, including a single national regulatory body to assist with the monitoring of the quality of services provided to international students.

Problems with private colleges catering for international students had undermined the confidence in the VET sector and the quality of training being delivered. That is why implementing new, strengthened regulatory arrangements, including the proposed amendments to the ESOS Act, will help the sector regain confidence and recover from the failings of the previous state based regulators. The national regulator will be able to investigate breaches of the ESOS National Code and advise the secretary if they are not satisfied that the provider meets the fit and proper person test, resulting in automatic suspension in all states where the provider is registered with the national regulator.

The bill makes amendments to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, to address some concerns expressed by stakeholders and the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee and the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee. Specifically, the amendments in the bill before the House today include introducing new objects into the act; more narrowly defining when the regulator may amend accreditation courses; clarifying that a person using a cancelled qualification will only commit an offence if they have knowledge of that cancellation; requiring an authorised officer executing a warrant to request the occupier to open or move a thing before making any decision to use force against it; and, finally, identifying the training and qualification requirements for authorised officers.

Regulation in the VET sector is currently fragmented between nine different regulators. It is expected that, with complex reform like this, significant efforts will be made to ensure consistency between these different systems, including nationally agreed standards and model clauses for state legislation. Despite these efforts, there are still considerable inconsistencies in the way regulation is carried out across the country by state regulators. The national VET regulator will have an enhanced suite of powers to that which is currently available to state regulators, allowing it to more effectively deal with poor quality providers and to safeguard the quality.

In conclusion, we know the skills challenge is great for this nation, which is why we have to start to address this great challenge today. It is a matter of record that since coming into office this Labor government has created almost three-quarters of a million jobs, working in partnership with business, with other levels of government and with unions. The challenge we face is how we manage our future growth to ensure that all Australians benefit. What marks out this government is that we are working to ensure that we provide opportunities for all Australians, regardless of their age, their background or their postcode. We are working to ensure that all Australians can maximise their potential so that they can share directly in our success and participate in our society. We will fulfil the Australian social contract by ensuring that the next multibillion-dollar wave of investment in our resources industry also brings a dividend for the many, not just for the few. It is a Labor priority, and the Labor way, to manage the great opportunities and the great challenges that we face over the coming decades and to ensure that we spread the benefits so that everybody gets an opportunity to enjoy the prosperity that this great country can provide. I commend the bill to the House.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a bill that I very much want to speak on because VET, vocational education and training, is very important to our nation. Previous governments have, regrettably, taken their eyes off the ball, and I have seen firsthand what that has done with respect to the development of skills in our workplaces, which is something that we need to stay focused on and not simply take for granted. The vocational education and training industry has certainly become highly competitive, and Australia is very well placed to do well in exporting our training to overseas students. That is why the whole notion of vocational education got onto the national agenda.

The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011 makes significant amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000. The amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 include making the national vocational education and training regulator, known as the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the single designated authority for VET institutions providing services to overseas students. The legislation sets up the new statutory authority, which will have powers and responsibilities to register and audit in order to monitor those training institutions providing vocational education and training to overseas students studying in Australia.

The concept of a single regulatory body clearly simplifies the regulatory arrangements to assist in monitoring the quality of services provided to international students. This will assist in providing confidence in Australia's VET system and in its service providers, which have come in for a lot of criticism over recent years. We have seen the damage that has occurred, quite frankly, as a result of nine different regulatory regimes pulling in different directions. As a consequence that damage has occurred with respect to not only student outcomes but also the overall reputation of Australia as a deliverer of vocational education and training. That is something that has to be seen as very much in the nation's interest—to have that level of coordination, not to pick and choose winners in the delivery of vocational education but to ensure that what vocational education we do sell is of sufficient and consistent quality. That is what this legislation is designed to do.

A single regulatory body will also allow for appropriate and timely intervention where there is poor-quality education and training of providers, particularly with respect to international students. That is important. In recent years we have seen a number of VET providers simply close their doors. Not only is that very bad for those students who have enrolled; it is extraordinarily bad for the reputation of this country when many of those students are foreign based and this is reported internationally. That reflects not only on the particular VET provider but on this country as a whole in delivering vocational education and training.

The amendments in this legislation also provide for the establishment of nationally agreed intensive English-learning courses for overseas students to ensure that there is national consistency of standards and protocols. This will assist in ensuring that international students studying at Australia's VET institutions receive the appropriate level of English language training, which is one area that has come in for some criticism over recent years.

It is highly significant for Australia to uphold high standards in the services provided to international students. International students as a group are highly significant to Australia's economy and, quite frankly, our global positioning in education and vocational training. The very perception of our image, in many instances, is reflected in the quality of education we give to overseas students. In the broad, economic figures suggest that, due to their volume, international students form a very high proportion of our export earnings. In 2010 there were 470,000 international students enrolled in education programs in Australia, which was an increase of over 16 per cent on the previous year. Of those 470,000 international students, close to 150,000 were enrolled in the vocational education and training sectors. International students in VET courses therefore comprise almost 30 per cent of international students studying in Australia. The proportion is high, considering the overall financial contribution of this group. According to the International Development Program, international students contribute a little over $5.5 billion to the Australian economy. That is significant.

International students also make a significant contribution to the Australian culture. I briefly indicated the image that is portrayed overseas when things go badly, but when things go well that is also reflected when people choose Australia as their appointed destination in which to study. That positive imagery of Australia is significant not only in attracting further students here but also in how Australia is perceived abroad.

Looking at both the universities and the VET institutions, Australia is one of the preferred providers of education. As a matter of fact, it is the third most popular English-speaking destination for overseas students. Asia is clearly one of our biggest markets, with almost 75 per cent of overseas students studying in Australia coming from the Asian region. We need to ensure that our educational institutions, including those providing vocational education and training, uphold the highest standards of quality, and the establishment of a single regulatory body will help achieve consistency across the board. It will be significant in being able to assess, monitor and apply those regulatory skills to ensure that there is that degree of consistency in those courses that are offered and are registered with the body.

This was recognised by the Intergovernmental Agreement for Regulatory Reform of Vocational Education and Training when they set the objects of ASQA. It has been on the drawing board for some time. Those who are intimately involved in the VET sector have foreseen the need for having such a body. Regrettably, it has not met entirely with the support of each of the state and territory bodies to date. However, the amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 will deliver and foster a sharing of information between the established national VET regulator and those states for the purposes of deciding whether to approve an institution as a VET provider or not.

As I have just indicated, not all of the states have signed off on this. As I understand it, Victoria and Western Australia are still standing somewhat aside. There is no doubt that there has been a broad measure of in-principle agreement in the intergovernmental approach to regulatory reform at the VET level. At the Commonwealth level, there is considered to be a need to have a body which in principle has authority and can act in each of the states and territories to set these standards. When ASQA was established, it was on the basis, principally, of the referred powers—powers that were going to be referred constitutionally by the states and territories. But, regrettably, to date, as I understand it, only New South Wales has actually passed the necessary legislation. It is expected, however, that the remaining states that have agreed to refer their powers—namely, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania—will enact theirs by the end of the year. However, whilst the Victorian and Western Australian governments have not signed up and have indicated that they are not proposing to sign up to the same national VET regime, they have undertaken to enact legislation that will mirror what is being established, but to apply, hopefully, on the same terms and conditions within each of those states.

That is at least a step in the right direction. It is not quite what I think all those who participated in the original discussions were looking for, but it will help ensure that there are appropriate safeguards built in, in terms of applying national, consistent standards across the board. We would expect that between each of those organisations we will have consistency and a measure of dialogue, but I would hope that in due course both Western Australia and Victoria, after the operation of the national regulatory system, will see fit to subscribe to the operation of that body.

The bill will focus on strengthening our national regulatory and quality framework, which is essential for retaining Australia's reputation for being a high-quality vocational education and training provider both nationally and internationally. I have spoken on a number of occasions about my passion for vocational education, as both my sons are tradespeople. One is an electrician and the other a carpenter; as a consequence, they have extensively used the VET sector—principally New South Wales TAFE. Whilst universities are very, very important to us, an academic pursuit for everyone is simply not realistic. In fact, we do need tradesmen and we need those tradespeople to have their skills constantly upgraded. This means that the VET sector, as it applies throughout the country, stays equally important.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Miller TAFE. Oddly enough, it was the very TAFE that both my sons attended. It is in my electorate, and it was a good opportunity to go out and attend a number of the classes and workshops that were being conducted. I spoke to a number of the staff there as well as the students, who were undertaking vocational education in a range of different trades and other courses. Ms Rabia Lodhi, the college manager, and Phil Chadwick, one of the teachers from the electrical trades at Miller TAFE, together with Mr Chris Pittaway from NSW TAFE certainly showed me around all sections of the TAFE.

There were activities such as the stonemasonry course which, by the way, is the only stonemasonry that is being taught throughout NSW. It is good to see a number of people travelling from all over the place to Miller, in my electorate, to attend instruction on stonemasonry. There is also the electrical section, carpentry units and, importantly, the childcare vocational education facility. It is certainly one of the state-of-the-art childcare facilities which are delivering such an important course. Miller TAFE is certainly changing the lives of many in my local community. These are real pathways to employment, ensuring the development of skills for local employees and, significantly, playing a role in helping local industry attract the people they need to generate skilled employment for future. (Time expired)

Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with some pleasure today that I rise to speak on this particular amendment, which amends the National Vocational, Education and Training Regulator Act. This parliament put those through in 2011. Some detailed stakeholder consultation has followed, and feedback from a Senate inquiry into the legislation that the parliament passed.

I might start by recognising the Gordon Institute of TAFE, which is known as 'the Gordon' in the Geelong area. For many, many generations it has trained young tradespeople in the Geelong area and has done an absolutely fantastic job in educating the broader Geelong area. I particularly want to acknowledge the hard work of the CEO, Grant Sutherland, and the board, who have built a first class institution and provided many, many young people with the education they needed to pursue their chosen career in the trades. I think it is appropriate that I do take the opportunity to do that.

Today we are talking about some important amendments that this parliament needs to make to strengthen further Australia's vocational educational system. As I indicated earlier, on 24 March 2011, the Commonwealth passed some very important legislation in the VET sector. This was not only a historic day in reducing the regulatory burden but it also standardised a national system to provide a stronger vocational education system, one which students from Australia can understand. It also, importantly, ensured that we strengthen what is otherwise a very strong reputation overseas in providing a high-quality VET system for Australian students and also for international students.

Indeed, in Australia we are fortunate to have a strong system, but a system that was fundamentally in need of some key reform. That reform in 2011 established a regulator and put in place some fundamental building blocks to deal with the fragmented system that we had in Australia. We had, I think, nine different regulators in this space creating uncertainty. As part of the COAG reform agenda it was agreed that this was an area where the Commonwealth ought to take a stronger role and we put in place the necessary legislation back in March. Having said that, it has come to the parliament's and the government's attention that there is a need to pass some amendments to further strengthen the regulation we put in place.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority has the huge task of putting in place the necessary regulation. It is a task that I am sure that that body is well placed to do. We have many thousands of registered training organisations around this nation, which demonstrates the strength of this sector. When we did not have as strong a set of regulations nationally as we could have had, unfortunately that created some difficulties for us internationally, particularly in Victoria, where some instances have been highlighted over the last few years.

I congratulate the Hon. Chris Evans, the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations. This is a huge task that we need to undertake. We have been in detailed consultation with the sector in terms of forming not only the body and the legislation that was passed back in March but also the amendments that we are talking about today that further strengthen the regulation in this area. I congratulate the minister for working closely with the stakeholders and for working closely with the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee, which has made some useful observations and recommendations following its inquiry.

National regulation in this area does require cooperation and partnership with other regulators in this space. I am referring to the states and territories in this sense. All of the states and territories have been cooperating with the Commonwealth. I point out that I understand Victoria and WA, instead of relying upon national regulation, have indicated that they will be passing mirror regulation in this space. That will be helpful in creating a standard system across this nation in this space.

Through consultation and submissions that were received by the Senate committee inquiry and stakeholder views expressed, we have agreed to introduce a number of changes to further clarify the role of the national regulator. In particular we will insert a number of objects in the act to assist the sector and the regulatory body we have established. That is to provide national consistency in the regulation of VET, to regulate VET using a standards based quality framework, and then, when appropriate, put in place risk assessments to protect and enhance the quality, flexibility and innovation for which VET has a reputation both within Australia and internationally. As I said earlier, this particular area of the Australian economy is very important; indeed, we rely on many tens of thousands of people making their way to Australia to receive a quality education. I think it is important that we do put in place the necessary arrangements to strengthen our reputation internationally, even though we already do have a very good reputation.

Furthermore, I think it is very important to protect students proposing to undertake VET by making sure that quality services are provided within the system and to facilitate people's access to accurate information relating to the quality of VET. This government has put in place a number of arrangements and tools to enable people to assess the quality of the services they might access from state and territory governments and of course the Commonwealth. MyHospitals would be one of those types of tools and My School another. It is important that there are tools in place that enable consumers to make decisions based on the best information available, because we do want to have a quality system. We want consumers to be able to understand the system, to be able to assess the quality of those VET courses and to be able to understand what it is that they are accessing and, ultimately, buying. That is extremely important.

It is appropriate that we point out the quality work that was undertaken by the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee on this. It is not every day that a government MP praises the Senate, but I think the work that the committee put in certainly assisted the government to put in place the arrangements necessary to strengthen our VET system.

In my electorate of Corangamite and across the broader Geelong and south-west Victorian areas, we have a number of institutions that have contributed very strongly to the development of skills in this sector. Indeed, this government has a very proud track record of investing in vocational education and training skills. I wish to highlight Labor's Trade Training Centres in Schools program—and I am pleased to see the minister at the table now—which will help very much to provide opportunities for young people to access the VET system and will strengthen and provide employment opportunities in various sectors.

For a very long time, many people, particularly those on the conservative side of the political fence, viewed the VET system as a second-class system. That is not how the Gillard government view VET. As I have outlined, we are providing numerous opportunities for young people to enter VET. Australia has a very dramatic, emergent skills crisis, where we do not have enough adequately qualified people, particularly in the domestic trades area and in terms of supporting the mining boom that we are currently seeing. Investing in this area is extremely important and it is important that we have strong regulation over this sector. It is important because we are going to be putting more students through the system in the years to come, not less, and we need to ensure that there is a quality framework in place to ensure that young Australians have every opportunity to access a quality system—a system that is accountable and that is fundamentally transparent, not only in terms of training young Australians but also, importantly, for what has become a very substantial export market with the number of people travelling to Australia to access vocational style education.

Australia has a proud record in this area. I commend the minister responsible and I commend the education minister, the Hon. Peter Garrett, for his efforts in this space as well. This government will continue to support the VET sector. We recognise the important contribution that it makes to the Australian economy and to the lives of individuals, whether it be locally in my part of the world—the greater Geelong area—or, indeed, right throughout this nation. I certainly wish to indicate that the Victorian and Western Australian governments, if they are not prepared to operate within a national system, must as a minimum past mirror legislation in this space to ensure that we do have a national system as best as possible. I commend the bill to the House.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank members for their contribution to this debate on the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011. I particularly note the remarks made by my colleague the member for Corangamite.

In summary, the VET sector does play a critical role in building our nation and our society. The government recognises the challenge for the VET sector to be responsive to the needs for economic growth and increased productivity through skills, and also the need for a more mobile workforce ready to adapt to changing economic needs across state boundaries.

The National VET Regulator and the Australian Skills Quality Authority began operations on 1 July this year. The commencement of the authority is a great achievement and represents one of the most significant reforms of the VET sector in the past two decades. It has come about through the productive efforts of state and territory governments and the Australian government. Additionally, there has been real commitment from the VET sector for this reform.

The amending bill before the Main Committee addresses the concerns raised by stakeholders as well as the Senate Standing Committee for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the Scrutiny of Bills Committee when the act was passed in March this year. There had been extensive consultations undertaken with stakeholders and they strongly support the amendments included in this bill—in particular, the objects clause. The objects clause was developed in consultation with stakeholders and confirms that a focus on quality is a joint key priority for the VET sector.

The bill is also amending section 9 of the act, clarifying the operation of the law in all states and territories and addressing concerns raised by Victoria and Western Australia that the national VET regulation legislation interferes with state relating to apprenticeships and the management of TAFE organisations. Now that these concerns have been addressed, the Australian government again encourages Victoria and Western Australia to reconsider their decision to join the national regulatory framework.

Finally, the amending bill reflects the government's continued commitment to working with governments and stakeholders to continually improve the quality and consistency of training across the VET sector. The fact is that a strong, nationally consistent regulatory framework is a key step in achieving this, and the amendments contained in this bill are welcome improvements. I commend the bill to the Main Committee.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

Sitting suspended from 17:30 to 18:30