TAFE: Vital to Australia's Future

The Greens are committed to a well funded, publicly owned TAFE system as the dominant provider of vocational education and training. We will work to reverse the damage done to TAFE by State and Federal Governments.

Australia's economic future depends on a strong, well funded public TAFE system. We must reverse the deterioration in working conditions of TAFE teachers and students and the growth in poor quality private providers.

The Greens are campaigning to:

End the casualisation of TAFE. Restore full time teaching to 70% of hours taught. Protect the rights of casual teachers, including access to professional development.
Provide growth funding to TAFE. Reduce class sizes, restore course lengths, increase administrative support and end the axing of courses to save money. Fund teacher salary rises and professional development. Reduce the workloads on teachers.
End the growth in the "user choice" funding of private providers. An immediate freeze on government funding of private providers. Ban public funding of private providers where TAFE can supply the same training.

For more information:

See The Greens NSW Education Policy Summary

Latest News:

Private training providers circling TAFE like sharks

16 January 2012

Private training businesses will be circling publicly owned TAFE colleges like sharks as they look to fill the gap left by a massive drop off in international student numbers, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye

Piccoli toying with skills training privatisation

12 January 2012

Greens NSW MP John Kaye is calling on Education Minister Adrian Piccoli to dump any plans to force TAFE to compete for funds with private training colleges.

TAFE under attack again:cut the wages then privatise

12 October 2011

The O'Farrell government's sudden announcement that TAFE teachers will be dumped into the federal industrial relations system is yet another blow for the public provider of vocational education and training, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

O'Farrell government joins the VET privatisation brigade

29 September 2011

The Greens condemned the Department of Education September 2011 paper 'Smart and Skilled: making NSW number one' released yesterday as a step towards privatisation of TAFE and robbing low income families of their opportunity to improve their economic prospects.

Keneally's TAFE election promise an insult to teachers and students

25 February 2011

After 16 years of damaging funding cuts to the TAFE sector by the state government, the Premier's promise of a $315 million capital investment in TAFE should be seen as nothing more than a cynical stunt four weeks out from an election, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Greens working to stop TAFE privatisation

27 July 2010

The public provider of skills training and further education is being undermined by unfair competitive tendering for funding and damaging reductions in state and federal budget, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Collapsing private McTraining colleges are legacy of TAFE cuts

22 March 2010

The collapse of another private training college shows that the free market cannot deliver quality vocational education as efficiently and reliably as a well resourced, publicly owned TAFE system, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Report shows TAFE funding cut 30 per cent over ten years

16 March 2010

A report from Monash University's Centre for Economics of Education and Training (CEET) shows that government funding per hour in the state's TAFE sector fell 30 per cent between 1998 and 2008, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Education Minister’s TAFE bashing damages state’s future

11 February 2010

TAFE teachers taking strike action today are standing up for the future of the state’s economy, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Keneally must step in and stop DET attacks on TAFE Teachers

09 December 2009

Incoming Premier Christina Keneally must step in and solve the long running dispute between TAFE professionals and the Department of Education and Training, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.